Event Location: Orpheum Theatre

VAM Orchestral Festival

Class Description: Tickets $5 General Admission Seating 11am concert: Friendly Philharmonic/Junior/Intermediate Symphonies (https://www.showpass.com/vam-orchestral-festival-2025/) 3pm concert: Vanier Park Symphony & Adult Strings (https://www.showpass.com/vam-orchestral-festival-2025-2/) Join 5 of VAM’s orchestras and ensembles in a day of musical celebration. In the morning, the VAM Friendly Philharmonic, Junior, and Intermediate symphonies present works by Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, and more, also featuring the Grand Prize Winners of the 2024/25 Orchestral Concerto Competitions. In the afternoon, VAM’s adult ensembles the Vanier Park Symphony and the Adult Strings embody the joy of lifelong learning and perform works by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and a variety of other composers, featuring conductor and pianist Ian Parker as soloist for Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. VAM's Orchestral Training Program is supported by: Adrienne S. Chan The Edith Lando Charitable Foundation The R & J Stern Family Foundation Vancouver Civic Theatres The City of Vancouver

VAM Symphony Orchestra: Next Generation

Class Description: Welcome the '25/26 concert series with the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. This Next Generation opening concert is a showcase of the most promising young artists, featuring the winners of the 2025 Bjorn & Lori Hareid Concerto Competition and Young Composers’ Competition in a vibrant celebration of emerging talent. For the first time ever, audiences will also cast their votes live for the inaugural Audience Award, with the winner announced during the concert. Followed by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” — a revolutionary work that redefined the boundaries of the classical symphony. Bridging legacy and innovation, this program celebrates the future of orchestral music through the voices of its rising stars.

Program and Featured Students:

• Danny Lin - Composition Competition Winner, Dawn
• Joy Li, Piano (Category A) - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, I. Moderato
• Merett Khamis, Strings (Category B) - Sibelius Violin Concerto, Op. 47, 1st Movement
• Aeri Seong, Flute (Category C, Open) - Liebermann Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, 1st Movement

-INTERMISSION-

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 Eroica

*Repertoire selections and performing artists are subject to change. VAM's Orchestral Training Program is supported by: Adrienne S. Chan The Edith Lando Charitable Foundation The R & J Stern Family Foundation Vancouver Civic Theatres The City of Vancouver

VAM Symphony Orchestra: 2025/26 Season Pass

Class Description:

Experience the Magic of Music with the 2025/26 VAMSO Concert Series!

Unlock a year of unforgettable musical moments with the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. Our exclusive Season Pass offers a seamless way to enjoy all four concerts, with a 15% discount for early bird subscribers. With just one purchase, you’ll have priority access to select seats, ensuring your favourite seat at every concert throughout the year.

Why Subscribe?

• Hassle-Free Transaction: One purchase grants you access to all four concerts.
• Priority Seating: Enjoy the same reserved seat for every concert.
• Exclusive Discount: Save $15 with our early bird offer, valid until October 15th.

Concert 1: Next Generation & Beethoven’s “Eroica”

• Date: Sunday, Oct 26, 2:00 PM
• Program: Featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” and spotlighting winners of the 2025 Bjorn & Lori Hareid Concerto Competition and Young Composers’ Competition.
• Description: Welcome the 25/26 concert series with a showcase of the most promising young artists. Next Generation features rising talent in a vibrant celebration of musical potential. For the first time ever, audiences will cast live votes for the inaugural Audience Award. The program concludes with Beethoven’s revolutionary “Eroica,” bridging tradition and innovation in a concert that celebrates the future of orchestral music.

Concert 2: A Musical Storybook

• Date: Sunday, Nov 23, 2:00 PM
• Program: "The Composer is Dead" is a hilarious whodunit and perplexing murder mystery for the whole family, followed by symphonic selections including "The Lion King", "Frozen", "How to Train Your Dragon", "Up", and more
• Description: Step into a world of musical storytelling with a family-friendly program filled with adventure and imagination. From a playful mystery to cinematic favourites, this concert brings beloved characters and magical soundscapes to life.

Concert 3: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6

• Date: Sunday, Mar 1, 2:00 PM
• Program: Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5 “The Egyptian” featuring Forest Benson, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique.”
• Description: Travel across centuries and continents in a program of vivid contrasts—from Mozart’s theatrical flair to the exotic lyricism of Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky’s deeply expressive final symphony.

Concert 4: Jaeden Izik-Dzurko Plays Rachmaninoff

• Date: Sunday, Apr 26, 2:00 PM
• Program: Bizet’s Carmen Suite, Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 featuring Jaeden Izik-Dzurko.
• Description: Close the season in style with Rachmaninoff’s towering Third Piano Concerto, Bizet’s bold Carmen Suite, and Saint-Saëns’ whimsical Carnival of the Animals. Secure your Season Pass today and be part of an extraordinary musical journey.

VAM Symphony Orchestra: A Musical Storybook

Class Description: Step into a musical storybook with a concert for all ages. The evening begins with The Composer is Dead, a hilarious and mysterious whodunnit that introduces the orchestra’s instruments as suspects in a musical crime. From there, travel through beloved cinematic worlds — from The Lion King to How to Train Your Dragon, Frozen, Up, and more — in a symphonic journey through Disney, Dreamworks, and beyond.

Program:

• The Composer is Dead  - Picture Book Mystery with Live Narration
• Disney & DreamWorks Collection
  • The Lion King
  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • Frozen
  • Up
  • and more...

*Repertoire selections and performing artists are subject to change.

VAM's Orchestral Training Program is supported by:

Adrienne S. Chan The Edith Lando Charitable Foundation The R & J Stern Family Foundation Vancouver Civic Theatres The City of Vancouver

VAM Symphony Orchestra: Jaeden Izik-Dzurko Plays Rachmaninoff

Class Description: From the wild energy of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals to the fiery drama of Bizet’s Carmen Suite, this program is a vibrant showcase of colour and character. Guest pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko joins VAMSO for Rachmaninoff’s towering Third Piano Concerto — a virtuosic tour de force that brings the season to a triumphant close.

Program:

• Sibelius, Finlandia
• Rachmaninoff No. 3, Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (45 mins)

-INTERMISSION-

• Bizet, Carmen Suite (12 mins)
• Saint Saens, The Carnival of the Animals (23 mins)

*Repertoire selections and performing artists are subject to change.

VAM's Orchestral Training Program is supported by:

Adrienne S. Chan The Edith Lando Charitable Foundation The R & J Stern Family Foundation Vancouver Civic Theatres The City of Vancouver

VAM Symphony Orchestra: Tchaikovsky No. 6

Class Description: Join us for a luminous afternoon with the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra as we present Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6. Known as the Pathétique, this final masterwork stands as one of the most emotionally profound symphonies ever written.  Complemented by a performance from Forest Benson, winner of the 2025 Kay Meek Competition, performing Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103, also known as The Egyptian.

Program:

• Mozart Overture Magic Flute
• Forest Benson: Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 (30 mins)

-INTERMISSION-

• Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6 (50 mins)

*Repertoire selections and performing artists are subject to change.

VAM's Orchestral Training Program is supported by:

Adrienne S. Chan The Edith Lando Charitable Foundation The R & J Stern Family Foundation Vancouver Civic Theatres The City of Vancouver

VAM Orchestral Festival (VAMPJS/VAMJS/VAMIS/ABS/VPS)

Class Description: It’s a day of celebrating the joy of being in orchestra! Come to the Orpheum Theatre and enjoy performances by VAM’s Pre-Junior Symphony, Junior Symphony, and Intermediate Symphony orchestras as well as two ensembles from VAM’s Adult Learning Program - the Adult Beginner Strings and Vanier Park Symphony. 11:00 am Youth Orchestras (VAMPJS/VAMJS/VAMIS) Joseph Elworthy, conductor Enrelle & Keenan Ashong, violin Isabella Wang, violin Bonnie Wong, harp Buy Here 3:00 pm Adult Orchestras (ABS/VPS) Tawnya Popoff, Adult Beginner Strings conductor Joseph Elworthy, Vanier Park Symphony conductor Amanda Chan, piano Buy Here

VAM Symphony Orchestra: The Planets

Class Description:

Presented in collaboration with Canadian Music Competition Ambassadors Concert Series / Série de concerts des ambassadeurs

Inspired by the luminous night sky, Holst's The Planets swirls with the energy of the cosmos and invokes seven colossal astrological characters in one of the most loved works of the 20th century. Bringing the firmament underneath the opulent arches of the Orpheum, VAMSO's performance of this iconic British masterwork will include image projections provided by H. R. MacMillan Space Centre.

In a special collaboration with the Canadian Music Competition Ambassador Concert Series, this concert features past CMC winners Tate Zawadiuk (VAM alumnus) and Ian Parker (VAMSO Music Director & Principal Conductor).

Ian Parker, conductor Tate Zawadiuk, cello

Repertoire: P. I. Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker Suite P. I. Tchaikovsky, Variations on a Rococo Theme G. Holst, The Planets

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of foundation of the Canimex-Canadian Music Competition, this is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

À l’occasion du 60e anniversaire de fondation du Concours de musique du Canada-Canimex, ce projet est l’un des 200 projets exceptionnels soutenus par le programme Nouveau chapitre du Conseil des arts du Canada. Avec cet investissement de 35 M$, le Conseil des arts appuie la création et le partage des arts au cœur de nos vies et dans l’ensemble du Canada.

Canimex Group, CMC Main Sponsor Groupe Canimex, commanditaire principal du CMC

1:30pm: pre-concert performance by VAM Intermediate Symphony 2:00pm: concert start time

Cover image: Copilot Design

Online tickets are available until 12:00 noon on Friday, November 16. After this point tickets will be available at the door for cash or cheque, subject to availability. The Box Office will open at 1:00pm on Sunday, November 18.

Repertoire selections may be subject to change without notice.

Tickets are non-refundable.

VAM's Orchestral Training Program is supported by RBC Foundation & The R and J Stern Family Foundation.

VAM Symphony Orchestra: Pines of Rome

Class Description:

A magnificent excursion awaits in Respighi's Pines of Rome, a stunningly vivid tone poem depicting pine trees that shelter playful children, loom over catacombs, stand moonlit on a hill, and flank a triumphant military march. Under the baton of conductor Kathleen Allan, these portraits of a timeless city are presented alongside the brilliancy of Ravel's Piano Concerto with pianist Henry From and a special appearance of VAM Choirs in "My Heart is Inditing", from Handel's iridescent Coronation Anthems.

Kathleen Allan, conductor Henry From, piano VAM Mary Buckerfield White Choral Program

Repertoire: O. Respighi, Pines of Rome M. Ravel, Piano Concerto G. Rossini, Overture to William Tell G. F. Handel, "My Heart is Inditing" from Coronation Anthems

1:30pm: pre-concert performance by VAM Choirs 2:00pm: concert start time

Cover image: Copilot Design

Online tickets are available until 12:00 noon on Friday, February 8. After this point tickets will be available at the door for cash or cheque, subject to availability. The Box Office will open at 1:00pm on Sunday, February 10.

Repertoire selections may be subject to change without notice.

Tickets are non-refundable.

VAM's Orchestral Training Program is supported by RBC Foundation & The R and J Stern Family Foundation.

VAM Symphony Orchestra: Firebird Suite

Class Description:

Evoking the radiant verdure of an enchanted garden, VAM Symphony Orchestra brings the 2018/19 season to an exhilarating close with Stravinsky's vibrant, folk-inspired Suite from The Firebird. In an afternoon of monumental Russian masterworks, internationally renowned pianist and VAM alumnus Jon Kimura Parker - hailed by the New York Times as "an insightful, energetic soloist" - joins conductor Ian Parker and VAMSO for Tchaikovsky's formidable yet passionately lyrical Piano Concerto No. 1.

Ian Parker, conductor Jon Kimura Parker, piano

Repertoire I. Stravinsky, Suite from The Firebird P. I. Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1

1:30pm: pre-concert performance by VAM Suzuki Program 2:00pm: concert start time

Cover image: Copilot Design

Online tickets are available until 12:00 noon on Friday, May 10. After this point tickets will be available at the door for cash or cheque, subject to availability. The Box Office will open at 1:00pm on Sunday, May 12.

Repertoire selections may be subject to change without notice.

Tickets are non-refundable.

VAM's Orchestral Training Program is supported by RBC Foundation & The R and J Stern Family Foundation.