Unique choral traditions from the shores of the Baltic Sea
Saturday, May 1st at 8:00pm
Ryerson United Church, 2195 West 45th Avenue, Vancouver

The tiny Baltic States and surrounding countries have ancient choral traditions that still flourish today. These countries have managed to supply the world with some of the most unique, recognizable and deeply moving choral music ever written. This concert will feature the wildly popular music of Pärt, Górecki and Tormis.

Also on the programme is the music of the Latvian-Canadian composer, Janis Kalnins. Still considered a national hero in Latvia, he is largely forgotten in Canada, despite living here most of his life. Vancouver Cantata Singers is proud to present his exceptional music to Canadian audiences once again.

Download your own Baltic Shores poster (pdf) here and the Baltic Shores program (pdf) here.

By Benjamin Britten
May 26, 27, 28 & 30
Frederic Wood Theatre, UBC

Eight VCS tenors and basses performed in City Opera’s production of Curlew River. This work is based on the Japanese noh play Sumidagawa (Sumida River) of Juro Motomasa, which was presented alongside Britten’s work as a “double bill”, a co-production of City Opera Vancouver, UBC Theatre & Film, and Blackbird Theatre. Nakajima’s Sumida River stared the legendary butoh artist Denise Fujiwara as Madwoman. Britten’s Curlew River stared the extraordinary young Canadian tenor Isaiah Bell as Madwoman, joined by John Minágro, Sam Marcaccini, Joel Klein, members of the Vancouver Cantata Singers (Eric Schwarzhoff, Cameron Killick, Shane Raman, Doug Colpitts, Geoff Colpitts, and William Liu - with Steven Belanger and Tom Ellis), and orchestra.

See the Curlew River program here (pdf)