Canadian tenor Benjamin Butterfield, who teaches at the University of Victoria (UVic), will perform on Oct. 27 with Israeli contralto Noa Frenkel as UVic’s School of Music celebrates its 50th anniversary. The event featuring music from Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner and Canadian composer Howard Shore is among several performances through the fall and winter featuring a variety of renowned Canadian and international artists.University of Victoria Photo

Canadian tenor Benjamin Butterfield, who teaches at the University of Victoria (UVic), will perform on Oct. 27 with Israeli contralto Noa Frenkel as UVic’s School of Music celebrates its 50th anniversary. The event featuring music from Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner and Canadian composer Howard Shore is among several performances through the fall and winter featuring a variety of renowned Canadian and international artists.University of Victoria Photo

School of Music to celebrate golden anniversary

Several renowned international artists help the University of Victoria's School of Music celebrate its golden anniversary this season.

Several renowned international artists help the University of Victoria’s School of Music celebrate its golden anniversary this season.

Renowned Canadian violinist James Ehnes – who recently toured Canada in a van with his wife and two children – performs Sept. 29. Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq, who won the 2014 Polaris Music Prize recognizing the best Canadian album on artistic merits, will perform Oct. 17. Other highlights include a performance of Das Liede von der Erde by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) on Oct. 27.

Israeli contralto Noa Frenkel and tenor Benjamin Butterfield will be the featured voices on Oct. 27, when audiences can also hear the overture to Rienzi by German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883), whose anti-Semitic views gained him infamy, and a new piece from Canadian film music composer Howard Shore, who has won three Academy Awards for his work on The Lords of the Rings film trilogy.

Maestro Timothy Vernon conducts the UVic Chorus & Orchestra in a gala concert on Dec. 2, featuring pieces by G. F. Handel (Utrecht Te Deum), Hindemith (Symphonic Metamorphosis), Beethoven (Coriolanus Overture) and Shostakovich (Piano Concerto No. 1 for Strings and Trumpet).

Electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani, whose work has appeared in popular music, movies and commercials, will give the celebrations a touch of the advant-garde in the first week of February.

For more information, see finearts.uvic.ca/music/calendar/events/ or finearts.uvic.ca/music/events/e-pulse/onthepulse/eOnthePulse-2017-18-web.pdf

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