Tales of Romance tickets now available!

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Love. Suspense. Drama.

These themes are heavily represented in our next VAMSO concert at the Orpheum on Sunday, February 23rd. But amidst the dark themes that these pieces explore, our concert is also a celebration of premieres – first we have Masquerade, a piece composed by our first Head of Composition, Edward Top. As well, VAM cello student Olivia Cho (and winner of the Kay Meek competition, the youngest person in the history of the competition) makes her concerto debut with Saint-Saens’ beautiful and ebullient Cello Concerto in A minor – can you believe this girl is only 12 years old? Finally, our Concertmaster Apprenticeship Program (CAP) is spotlighted with Scheherazade, featuring the first batch of students participating in this program under the tutelage of Dale Barltrop.

Don’t miss your chance to experience this exciting troop of musicians create their own footprints in VAM history. Buy your tickets today!

February VAMSO Concert poster

Ready, set, blast off! Our Passport to Creativity is here!

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The third installment of our Passport to Creativity is here! Happening on Friday, February 21st, our Passport to Creativity days provide a fun way to continue your musical training on school Pro-D Days. Aimed at Suzuki students, activities will include technique class, master class, theory workshops and our usual Composition workshop lead by Edward Top.

There are half-day ($40) and full-day ($80) options available, giving you and your child flexibility to spend your Pro-D days however you like! Spend your morning getting energized by music, and spend the rest of the day hanging out, or spend a full day with us and get inspired by the creative activity happening around you.

Sound good? Speak to your teacher today to pick up a registration form. Space is limited, so sign up today!

passport to creativity

Phyllis E. Salter Competition Winners 2014

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Our annual Phyllis E. Salter Piano Competition, in honour of the memory of Ms. Salter, was this past weekend. Here are the winners, below!

Clare Hii ($1,500)
Sharon Xiao Han Yang ($1,200)
Aydan Con ($700)
Zabrina Ng ($500)
Kristina Yau ($500)

Congratulations to everyone who performed, and to our adjudicator, Gordon Gerrard! To view pictures from the event, please visit our Facebook page.

Barbara Clague Festival of Song – Forms now available!

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Barbara Clague was an outstanding humanitarian and a passionate advocate for the arts and social justice. Now in its 2nd year, the Barbara Clague Festival of Song was created in her memory, helping to inspire and develop young musicians and singers everywhere. Registration forms are now available for this popular event. Download a registration form here, and mail it to our office.

Forms are due on Friday, February 28th, 2014

The Festival takes place on Sunday, April 6th, 2014.

Good luck to those who register!

Gifted Youth finalists and Phyllis E. Salter winners announced

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On Sunday, January 19th, over 25 students participated in the preliminary rounds of the Edith Lando Gifted Youth Competition and the Phyllis E. Salter Piano Competition. Many thanks to our adjudicators, who thoughtfully listened to each participant and wrote personalized comments and scores for every one! Here are the results below:

Phyllis E. Salter Piano Competition Finalists:

Aydan Con
Clare Hii
Zabrina Ng
Sharon Yang
Kristina Yau

Edith Lando Gifted Youth Competition Winners:

Sarah Baek (Cello)
Phoebe Cheng (Violin)
Olivia Cho (Cello)
Athena Deng (Piano)
Maryam Khamis (Violin)
Joshua Liu (Piano)
David Mar (Viola)
Rosalind Wang (Violin)
Augustin Wright (Piano)
Caitlin Wong (Violin/Piano)

The Phyllis E. Salter Competition Finals will be held on Sunday, February 2nd, 2014 at 2:00 pm in the Koerner Recital Hall.
The Edith Lando Gifted Youth Scholarship Recital will be held on Sunday, February 9th, 2014 at 2:00 pm in the Koerner Recital Hall.

Both events are free to attend and are welcome to everybody. Hear the next generation of musical talent!

Congratulations to everyone!

Bjorn & Lori Hareid Senior Secondary Competition Results

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Over 15 participants from all over BC participated in the 22nd Bjorn & Lori Hareid Senior Secondary Competition for Strings, which took place on Friday, January 10th and Saturday, January 11th.

Here are the results below!

Melody Ye Yuan (Bjorn & Lori Hareid Scholarship)
Albert Seo (Loyal Protestant Scholarship)
Tate Zawadiuk (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Volunteers Scholarship)
Trisha Doo (Renee Chen Scholarship)
Julie Lin (Frederick H. McRae Memorial Scholarship)
Hye Won Sohn (Michael & Mary Shields Scholarship)

Congratulations to every who participated, and to our winners!

All Classes and Events Cancelled – January 12th, 2014

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Due to a power outage in the Kitsilano Point area, all classes and events are cancelled today (Sunday, January 12th, 2014). This includes:

Orff
Brain Boosters
Brain Boosters Math/MPM

as well as the Bjorn & Lori Hareid Senior Secondary Competiton Winners’ Recital.

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Vancouver New Music Presents: Sonic Playground

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Vancouver New Music, in partnership with the Vancouver Academy of Music presents a new edition of Sonic Playground on Saturday, January 26, 2014 at 10 AM. This interactive, improvisational and educational music program is a FREE event, open to children 8 – 12 years old, hosted at the Vancouver Academy of Music (1270 Chestnut Street, Vancouver). Devised by Sound Out Loud (Justin Dervies and Robyn Jacob), these Vancouver-based musicians and educators will also lead the workshop.

The four-hour program is designed as an introduction to sound improvisation techniques; it will entail a series of fun confidence building games and sonic awareness exercises, all conducted in a group setting. Participants are encouraged to freely produce sound utilizing traditional musical instruments, as well as the voice and body, and noise making toys that attendees can bring to the session. The auditory approaches to be explored are meant to provide a solid grounding in sonic communication and musical language.

Music experience is not required; some instruments will be available at the workshop, however participants are welcome to bring an instrument, if they have one.

Space is limited, and reservations are recommended: email [email protected] or call 604.633.0861 by Thursday, January 24, 2014 before 5:00 PM.

Justin Devries is a drummer interested in electronic and Balinese music and is an avid researcher of music from all corners of the globe.

Robyn Jacob has 10 years of experience teaching piano, music theory, and composition as well as contemporary music courses. Jacob performs with her solo project Fist Full o’ Snacks and with group projects for Gamelan Gita Asmara, Publik Secrets, and Gamelan Bike Bike. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of British Columbia.

ABOUT VANCOUVER NEW MUSIC
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013, Vancouver New Music is dedicated to exploring and contextualizing new music and sonic art, through concert presentations, festival, community, and workshop events. VNM regularly commissions and premieres new works by Canadian composers, presents leading and emerging electroacoustic and electronic music artists, international composers and performers, sound installations and music theatre. VNM presents an annual festival that focuses each year on a theme within the new music landscape, and explores the interaction of contemporary music with other disciplines such as theatre, installation and media arts. Other activities include lectures and workshops with visiting artists, ensemble workshops and presentations open to the community, and other sound art and new music related community events.

New Language Arts Classes

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Vancouver Academy of Music is pleased to announce two new elementary enrichment programs in Language Arts. The cognitive link between music and writing is undeniable, and is aptly demonstrated with countless musical masterpieces that have been directly influenced by seminal works of literature. Taught by a certified elementary teacher, Reading Power and Writer’s Circle help students improve their reading comprehension and writing skills using provincial curriculum guidelines and highly-acclaimed, best practices programs.  Recommended for all students in independent or public elementary schools and for students preparing for the Foundations Skills Assessment (FSA) tests in February or entrance examinations (SSATs, independent school entrance exam).

Reading Power and Language Arts.  Saturday 2:00pm – 2:45pm ($260 per semester*)

Reading comprehension is tested on most entrance exams for elementary and secondary schools and every year during the Foundation Skills Assessment Test (FSAs) for all students in Grades 4 and 7 by the B.C. provincial government.  This course is ideal for students who are interested in improving their reading, strengthening their comprehension and developing an appreciation for literature.  Students will learn effective strategies to build their reading comprehension and language art skills using Adrienne Gear’s Reading Power and the Reading 44 program developed by the North Vancouver School District #44. Taught by a trained elementary teacher.  Ages 8 and up or by permission from instructor.

Writer’s Circle.  Saturday 2:45pm – 3:30pm ($260 per semester*)

In this course, students will actively explore the elements of powerful writing that will help them through their school career and beyond.  Strategies will include The 6 Traits of Writing and Adrienne Gear’s Writing Power. Lessons will look at the importance of ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and the presentation of their written work.  Time will be set aside each class to experience a variety of genres and students will produce short-story writing pieces to add to their writing portfolio.  Taught by a trained elementary teacher.  Ages 8 and up or by permission from instructor.

*These fees do not include the $75 registration fee.

Contact us at the front desk to register. Space is limited, so register today!

The Koerner Quartet in Concert on Sunday, December 8th at 2pm

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koernerQuartet-lounge

The Koerner Quartet would like to invite you to our second concert of the season on Sunday, December 8th, 2pm at the Koerner Recital Hall.

It is a wonderful opportunity to listen and enjoy an afternoon of chamber music with VAM faculty members Nicholas Wright, Jason Ho, Marcus Takizawa, and Executive Director of VAM, Joseph Elworthy.

We are happy to continue offering free admission to these events. Festival seating applies to this concert and seats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The quartet is pleased to be joined by pianist Tian-Yu Zhou, featured student of VAM’s Rising Star Mentorship program, to perform Schumann’s Piano Quintet.

We will also be performing Haydn’s Quartet Opus 76, No. 4, and Schubert’s Quartet ‘Death and the Maiden’.

To give you an idea of what to expect, here is an excerpt from a live recording from our concert on October 18th:

We look forward to seeing you at the concert. Thank you for your support!