British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains. British Columbia borders the province of Alberta to the east; the territories of Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north; the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho and Montana to the south, and Alaska to the northwest. With an estimated population of over 5.6 million as of 2024, it is Canada's third-most populous province. The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, while the province's largest city is Vancouver. Vancouver and its suburbs together make up the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, with the 2021 census recording 2.6 million people in Metro Vancouver. British Columbia is Canada's third-largest province in terms of total area, after Quebec and Ontario.
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Metro Vancouver area had a population of 2.6 million in 2021, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Greater Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley, comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3 million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,700 inhabitants per square kilometre (15,000/sq mi), and the fourth highest in North America.
Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the largest municipality in the province outside metropolitan Vancouver. Abbotsford–Mission has the third-highest proportion of visible minorities among census metropolitan areas in Canada, after the Greater Toronto Area and the Greater Vancouver CMA. It is home to Tradex, the University of the Fraser Valley, and Abbotsford International Airport.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Bach's church cantatas in liturgical order in churches all over Europe, and New York City, with the Monteverdi Choir, and recording them at the locations.
Chilliwack is a city of about 100,000 people and 261 km2 (100 sq mi) in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about 100 km (62 mi) east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the greater metropolitan area.
The CBC Radio Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Until the early 1980s CBC had a number of orchestras located in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax but due to federal government budget cuts they were eliminated and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra was promoted to national status. It changed names in 2000 to reflect its status as the CBC's only broadcast orchestra; the last radio orchestra in North America.
Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: The Tempest (2004), Violin Concerto (2005), Tevot (2007), In Seven Days (2008), and Polaris (2010).
Daniel Edward Lapp is a Canadian folk musician based in Victoria, British Columbia and Pender Island.
Richard Alan Bonynge is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances from 1962 until her retirement in 1990.
Thomas Bernard Heppner is a renowned Canadian tenor and broadcaster, now retired from singing, who specialized in opera and other classical works for voice.
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is the third largest symphony orchestra in Canada and the largest performing arts organization in Western Canada. It performs 140 concerts per season. The VSO broadcasts annually on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The orchestra is affiliated with the VSO School of Music, which was established in September 2011. Chamber music concerts by VSO musicians take place at Pyatt Hall on the VSO School of Music campus.
Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada. Its mainstage performances occur in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, other venues in Vancouver and occasionally elsewhere in British Columbia. Vancouver Opera has one of only two professional opera orchestras in Canada. After many regular seasons with four mainstage productions a year, the company saw its first festival season in 2017. Vancouver Opera also runs a school touring and education program, and various community events.
Bramwell Tovey was a British conductor and composer.
The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered Vancouver Island's largest and best-known performing arts organization. Currently conducted by Danish conductor Christian Kluxen, the orchestra consists of 34 full-contract, and 15 part-contract musicians. Typically, the orchestra delivers more than fifty main series programs per season, as well as a two-week-long summer series. A highlight of the year for many Victorians was the annual Symphony Splash fund-raising concert, held on the Sunday of the August long weekend. For more than 30 years, the orchestra performed on a barge in Victoria's Inner Harbour for an estimated audience of thirty thousand— including those attending in kayaks, canoes or dragonboats immediately in front of the barge. The orchestra administration consists of a staff led by Matthew White, CEO, a board of directors, and many volunteers.
Shannon Chan-Kent is a Canadian voice and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Silver Spoon and Smolder and the singing voice of Pinkie Pie in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Misa Amane in the English dub of Death Note, and the Biskit twins and Youngmee Song on Littlest Pet Shop. She also portrays Joy Pepper in the rebooted Superbook, the Chief in Pucca, Courtney's best friend Janet in Spectacular!, and Amy Rose in Sonic Prime.
Robert Edward Creech was a Canadian french hornist, music educator, and arts administrator. He served as Director of the Canadian Music Council from 1975–1979 and Chairman of the Arts Advisory Council of the Canada Council from 1976-1978. In 1991, he was appointed the Chief Executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society.
Huw Edwards is a Welsh conductor. Edwards' conducting career began at age seventeen when he became music director of the Maidstone Opera Company in England. He later attended the University of Surrey, where he conducted the college orchestra along with an ensemble that he formed himself. At age twenty-three, he won a conducting competition which sent him to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He then held a lecturer position at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he was also a doctoral candidate. Edwards was conductor and music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic from 1995 to 2002 followed by the Seattle Youth Symphony from 2002 to 2005. He served as music director of the Portland Columbia Symphony from 2000 to 2012 and with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2020.
Anita Sleeman was a Canadian contemporary classical music composer. She was also a conductor, arranger, educator, and performer.
The Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association (CGOA) is a nonprofit organization that sponsors several performing ensembles in the Columbia River Gorge area of Oregon and Washington. Founded in 1978 as the Mid-Columbia Sinfonietta, the CGOA was created in 2005 and now encompasses six ensembles: Sinfonietta, Voci Choir, Jazz Collective, String Quartet (classical), Stages (musicals), and Youth Choir. As of 2020, Mark Steighner is the artistic director of the association.
Jaelem Bhate is a Canadian conductor, composer, and bandleader from Vancouver, British Columbia. He received his Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting at the University of British Columbia in 2019 under the guidance of Dr. Jonathan Girard. He previously received his undergraduate degree in percussion performance at UBC where he graduated first in his class and received the prestigious Wesbrook Award for academic achievement and leadership. He has also studied with Cristian Măcelaru, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Marin Alsop, Boris Brott, Gerard Schwarz, and Fred Stride.
