Three “Surrey Nights” concerts will be performed by Vancouver Symphony Orchestra this coming season, two fewer than usual for the annual series.
The VSO’s 2021-22 concert calendar was revealed Tuesday (Sept. 7) with some modifications for the orchestra’s 103rd season of music, due to pandemic restrictions.
First of the Surrey concerts is planned Sunday, Oct. 24, when Vancouver-based pianist Robert Silverman will bring “an intimate performance of Bach” to Bell Performing Arts Centre.
The Surrey series continues Jan. 8 with a concert featuring Canadian trumpeter Jens Lindemann performing Leopold Mozart’s “Toy Symphony,” Haydn’s “Trumpet Concerto,” Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question” and Alan Gilliland’s “Dreaming of the Masters.”
Weeks later at the Sullivan-area Bell theatre, a “Mozart, Bach & Bartók” concert on Feb. 20 will spotlight viola player Hung-Wei Huang, concertmaster Nicholas Wright and Otto Tausk, VSO Music Director.
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After a very long period of darkness, it appears Surrey's Bell Performing Arts Centre is set to reopen for business, starting Sept. 7. The 1,052-seat theatre is located at @SullivanHeights Secondary. @Surrey_Schools.
Info on web: https://t.co/Zy676IU6kd pic.twitter.com/IP7ggU9CLV— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) August 27, 2021
Series details are posted to vancouversymphony.ca, or call 604-876-3434. Tickets for series concerts from October through December are sold starting Monday, Sept. 13; VSO donors and subscribers get presale access starting Thursday, Sept. 9.
The coming VSO season will feature a return of audiences to Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre after a 20-month hiatus, with guest artists including Lara St. John, Mischa Maisky, Yefim Bronfman, Buffy Sainte- Marie, Paul Shaffer, Steven Page, Jane Coop, Dee Daniels and other artists.
A “We’re Back!” gala performance Sept. 18 at the Orpheum will be followed by “Back to the Future” concerts featuring the mid-’80s movie, with screenings from Sept. 23-25.
• READ MORE: ‘Back to the Future’ movie/concert for VSO in ‘return to full audiences’ at Orpheum Theatre.
The season will see the return of digital concert broadcasts on TheConcertHall.ca, launched during the pandemic as Canada’s first subscription streaming service for symphonic music.
The VSO concert series in Surrey and at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts will continue but with three and two performances, respectively. The North Shore Classics, VSO Chamber Series and Annex Series are postponed for this season.
To accommodate reduced capacity, the VSO has postponed subscription package sales this fall. Subscriber seats will be carried over to the 2022-23 season.
“This fall, audience safety will be the VSO’s key priority,” orchestra management says in a news release. “The COVID era is dynamic. Health measures change with short notice. As a result, how the VSO sells tickets and seats audiences is likely to shift throughout the season.
“Comfort spacing will be implemented to create space between ticket holder groups. Extra sanitation protocols will be in place at our venues and hand cleaning stations will be available at all venues.”
B.C.’s new vaccine protocol will require proof of vaccination to enter concert facilities.
“We have come through a most challenging and strange time,” Tausk said. “Now, let us turn a page and come back to the things we love most. For the musicians of the VSO and myself, that means making music with you. This will be a season of return, discovery, adaptation, and evolution.”
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