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 used to consist of 34 full-contract and 15 part-contract musicians, and has been downsized to 34 full-contract and 10 part-contract musicians as of 2024. 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.
The Victoria Symphony was founded in 1941 by members of the Royal Canadian Navy as an amateur ensemble. Melvin Knudsen served as the group's first conductor, leaving after seven years in 1948 when he was succeeded by Hans Gruber. Otto-Werner Mueller was appointed principal conductor in 1963, followed by Laszlo Gati in 1967. The orchestra became a professional ensemble during Gati's years in the mid 1970s. [1]
In 1979, Paul Freeman left his junior position at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to assume the position of principal conductor of the Victoria Symphony. Glen Fast served as his associate conductor beginning in 1983 and eventually replaced him for a short time as principal conductor in 1988 when Freeman retired. Peter McCoppin was appointed as conductor in 1989, a position he held until 1999 when Kees Bakels succeeded him. Bakels left in 2002 at which time Timothy Vernon was appointed interim music director. Tania Miller was the music director from 2003–2017. Danish conductor Christian Kluxen was appointed music director in 2016, and started this position in the 2017–2018 season. [1]
The Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who currently holds the position of music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera —and has held or currently holds positions with the London Philharmonic and Rotterdam Philharmonic —held the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Victoria Symphony from 2003 to 2007. Another Québécois musician and conductor, Alain Trudel, succeeded Nézet-Séguin in 2009, a position he held until 2013. [2]
In 2016 the orchestra went on a cross-Canada tour to celebrate its 75th season. [3]
Music Director Emeritus Tania Miller and the orchestra released two CDs of music by the Dutch composer Wim Zwaag, including a violin concerto performed by the orchestra's concertmaster Terence Tam.[ citation needed ]
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, numbering over 130 annually, at Marian Anderson Hall.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestras.
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orchestras of international standing, second to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. In addition to symphony concerts, the RPhO performs as the opera orchestra in productions at De Nederlandse Opera, as do other Dutch ensembles.
In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music and Chinese classical music. Since Canada's emergence as a nation in 1867, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. As well, it has developed a music infrastructure that includes training institutions, conservatories, performance halls, and a public radio broadcaster, CBC, which programs a moderate amount of Classical music. There is a high level of public interest in classical music and education.
The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra is a Malaysian orchestra based in Kuala Lumpur. The orchestra is resident at the Petronas Philharmonic Hall. It is one of Asia's leading orchestras and is praised for its musical qualities.
Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conductor resident in Germany. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski.
The San Antonio Symphony was a full-time professional symphony orchestra based in San Antonio, Texas. Its season ran from late September to early June. Sebastian Lang-Lessing, its music director from 2010 to 2020, was the last to serve in that capacity. The orchestra was a resident organization of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio. In August 2022, the orchestra's musicians reformed as the San Antonio Philharmonic, a name first used in 1914, and announced a ten-concert classical-music series for the 2022–23 season to be given at First Baptist Church of San Antonio, 100 yards from Tobin Center.
Kees Bakels is a Dutch conductor.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, CC is a Canadian conductor and pianist. He is currently music director of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montréal), the Metropolitan Opera, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was the principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008 to 2018.
The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers an annual subscription series at Westminster United Church, which regularly features Canada's leading soloists, such as James Ehnes and Measha Brueggergosman, and Marc-André Hamelin. Other core MCO activities include recording, touring, and engaging extensive outreach in remote communities in northern Manitoba. Currently, Anne Manson serves as the MCO's Music Director, Karl Stobbe as its Concertmaster, and Vicki Young as its managing director.
The Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra is a prominent orchestra from the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The Japan Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, with administrative offices in Suginami.
Marc Bélanger is a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, arranger, composer, and music educator.
The Orchestre Métropolitain is a symphony orchestra in Montréal, Québec, formed in 1981. It performs primarily in the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts but also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and Théâtre Maisonneuve. Outside the city centre the OM plays in Saint-Laurent, Outremont, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Saint-Léonard, Verdun, Ahuntsic, Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Pointe-Claire.
The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) is an orchestra based in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
Kenji Fusé is a Canadian violist and composer living in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He currently holds the position of principal viola with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. He also teaches at the Victoria Conservatory of Music.
Victor Yampolsky is a Russian-born conductor and the son of pianist Vladimir Yampolsky. He was most recently director of orchestras at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music, a position he had held from 1984 to 2022. He is the music director emeritus of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, where he was music director from 1995 to 2004. He also is the music director of the Peninsula Music Festival and the honorary director of the Scotia Festival of Music in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Before his appointment to the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Yampolsky served as the principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of South Africa and as the resident conductor of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the training ground for younger musicians under the auspices of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Tania Miller is a Canadian conductor.
Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or jazz ensemble big band concerts by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. Conductors of African descent are rare, as the vast majority are male and Caucasian.
Allison Beth Vulgamore is an American orchestra executive, known especially for her tenure with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.