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Early Music Vancouver celebrates 55th anniversary of its beloved summer festival

By Newswire on 26 June 2025 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Newswire, Vancouver, West

Vancouver, BC – Early Music Vancouver (EMV) invites audiences to an exploration of the interconnectedness of music, nature, and the elevation of the soul, in its 2025 summer festival, BACH & MOZART: In Endless Ascent, from July 26 to August 8, 2025, at various Vancouver venues. “Just as trees reach for the sky, we, as part of nature’s ecosystem, reach towards the highest expression of ourselves, and music—the language of the heart and the emotions—helps us up on our journey,” says EMV’s Artistic and Executive Director Suzie LeBlanc. “This year’s festival brings together music from East and West, past and present in celebration of…

Vancouver Folk Music Festival Announces Full Schedule

By Newswire on 16 June 2025 Folk, Newswire, Vancouver, West

June 12, 2025, VANCOUVER, B.C./ / Traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations – The Vancouver Folk Music Festival full schedule is now available for the three day event taking place at ʔəy̓alməxʷ / Iy̓ál̓mexw Jericho Beach Park on July 18 to 20. “In addition to our incredible 12 Mainstage artists, we have curated three days of performances and workshops featuring 44 artists,” says Vancouver Folk Music Festival Artistic Director Fiona Black. “Performances begin at 3:00 pm on Friday afternoon with artists TEKE:TEKE, Nico Paulo and Bel & Quinn to name a few before our Evening Main Stage shows start at 6 pm. On Saturday and Sunday, the festival site…

(L-R): Cheri Maracle, Gryphon Trio, and Marion Newman in Echo: Memories of the World. Photo: Darcy Beck

Review | Echo: Memories of the World Explores Archives’ Power

By Kaitlyn Chan on 4 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Indigenous, Multimedia, Piano, Strings, Vancouver, Vocal, West

As the audience arrived at the Chan Centre for Echo: Memories of the World (May 31), they were immediately directed to the choral loft behind, and above the stage. “This is an intimate concert,” the ushers said as they asked us to fill the first two rows of seats. This intimacy fostered a closeness to one’s neighbour and undivided attention on the carefully curated program we were about to see. On the stage, four or five additional rows of seats allowed some audience members to be even closer, only a few feet away from the performers. Above them was a…

Elena Howard-Scott (Adult Sophia) in City Opera Vancouver's production of Sophia's Forest. Photo: Michelle Diamond

Review | City Opera Vancouver’s Immersive Sophia’s Forest

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vancouver, Vocal, West

On May 29, opera goers wandered from the spring evening streets of Vancouver’s Gastown into the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Ushered toward the second floor of the building, we entered Studio T, which seemed to seat less than 150 people. This venue—by far the smallest in which I have seen an opera—seemed ideal for setting up maximum closeness and involvement with the production. Production designer Wladimiro A. Woyno R. ensured the little stage was filled. On the left there were cardboard boxes and a shelf with trinkets and childhood toys. To the right was a living room set-up…

Juan Duarte and Kyra Soo in Endless Summer. Photo: Jack Tupper

Review | MOVETHECOMPANY’s Gala is All About the Dancers

By Kaija Pepper on 2 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Dance, Scena Arts, Vancouver, West

It was great to see a well-filled Vancouver Playhouse on the May 29th opening night of MOVETHECOMPANY’s 20th Anniversary Gala, with another crowd booked in for the second, closing show. Artistic director Joshua Beamish brought in a few leading dancers from major international ballet companies to up the glamour and give Vancouverites a welcome dose of pointe shoes and elegance—ballet is a hard sell in this city, and companies have stopped touring here, leaving many bereft. The earthiness and quirks of contemporary dance were also much in evidence—all five pieces were choreographed by Beamish, who straddles both worlds. The highlight…

Festival Bites: Insiders Dish on the Best Summer Festival Food Spots

By Kaitlyn Chan on 30 May 2025 Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver, West

As the season of music festivals arrives, it is time to start planning transportation, lodging and, most importantly, where to eat. Eight artistic directors and performers weigh in on the best local spots. Here are our insiders’ picks of their favourite restaurants, cafés, and bars at summer music festivals across Canada. Early Music Vancouver’s Summer Festival Selections by Artistic and Executive Director Suzie LeBlanc www.earlymusic.bc.ca Favourite Spot for a Meal: Maenam “They have excellent food, ambience and service. A great place for a healthier meal with friends and collaborators.” Favourite Spot for a Drink: Notch8 Restaurant & Bar “(This is) a…

Vivian Chen (harp) with Chor Leoni conducted by Erick Lichte. Photo: Philip Jack

Review | The Big Roar: Chor Leoni’s Heartwarming Celebration of Choral Music

By Kaitlyn Chan on 6 May 2025 Canadian Music, Choral, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Vancouver, Vocal, West

On May 3, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts was filled with the enthusiastic voices of both young and experienced choral singers. This event, The Big Roar, is Chor Leoni’s signature community choral festival. Chor Leoni was joined by MYVoice educational choirs, the young singers of its PRÉLUDE program, its Emerging Choral Artist Program (ECAP), and The Leonids, bringing joy and vigor to this special afternoon event. The programme was diverse, featuring traditional Malaysian folk music, Broadway as well as classical a cappella pieces such as “O Nata Lux.” After the intermission, Chor Leoni performed Melissa Dunphy’s major choral…

A scene from Vancouver Opera’s Madama Butterfly. Photo: Emily Cooper Photography

Review | Vancouver Opera Brings Respect and Care to Madama Butterfly

By Kaitlyn Chan on 29 April 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vancouver, Vocal, West

Although acclaimed as one of Giacomo Puccini’s greatest works, Madama Butterfly has received plenty of criticism over the years for its orientalism. Historically, productions have infantilized and sexualized Asian women, simplified and stereotyped Asian culture in design and performance, and used yellowface to change the appearance of white performers playing East Asian characters. For this production of Butterfly, Vancouver Opera (VO) reflected on these criticisms of the opera’s story and past performances. Their conscious effort to listen, learn, and prioritize East Asian perspectives adds a refreshing and necessary layer of depth to this beautifully tragic opera (seen Apr. 26th). Recontextualizing…

City Opera Vancouver presents the Canadian Premiere of ‘Sophia’s Forest’

By Newswire on 28 April 2025 Classical Music, Opera, Vancouver, Vocal, West

Blending traditional operatic storytelling with cutting-edge innovation, the poignant chamber opera explores the wounds of war and the resilience of the human spirit Vancouver, BC – City Opera Vancouver (COV) is proud to present the Canadian premiere of Sophia’s Forest, a powerfully evocative chamber opera by composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Hannah Moscovitch, on stage May 29 to 31, 2025 at 7:30pm and June 1, 2025 at 2pm at Studio T at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Directed by Julie McIsaac, under the baton of COV Artistic Director Gordon Gerrard, the groundbreaking one-act opera explores timely themes through the…

Hubert Hazebroucq and Ensemble Doulce Mémoire

Review | Hubert Hazebroucq Leads Choreographed Splendor with EMV and Ensemble Doulce Mémoire

By Madeline Boldt on 17 April 2025 Baroque and Early, Concert Reviews, Dance, Vancouver, West

Doulce Mémoire is an old French phrase that can be translated as “sweet memory,” a poetic connection to the past. This is what Ensemble Doulce Mémoire and Renaissance and baroque dance specialist Hubert Hazebroucq brought to the Vancouver Playhouse for Early Music Vancouver’s presentation of Now Let Us Dance on April 12th. A tribute to song and dance of the 15th and 16th centuries, the performance was unlike anything I had ever seen or heard before. The narrative aspect of the show kept the audience holding onto every detail with the show divided into four separate story segments. The first was…

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