The Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra opens its 32nd season this month at UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium
The Nov. 12 performance opens with Rossini’s effervescent overture from La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie). This bubbly confection is followed by two works of grave beauty. The folkloric modes and dark sonorities of En Saga by Jean Sibelius capture the brooding majesty of his Finnish homeland. Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 3 belies its “Pastoral” subtitle, for its genesis was not in the green leas of the composer’s native Gloucestershire, but in the fields of First World War France, where he served as ambulance orderly. Its contemplation of loss and lament is beautifully serene, evoking perhaps eternal rest or the endlessness of time.
For 32 years the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra – expressive, focused, and adventurous – has brought symphonic sounds to thousands of music lovers, young and old, in communities from Bamfield to Whitehorse and from Haida Gwaii to the Kootenays.
In rehearsals, sectionals, and workshops, the orchestra’s 65 players explore centuries of symphonic style, develop ensemble and performance skills, and build lasting friendships. In the rehearsal hall and on the concert stage, the GVYO brings music to life as only young people can, with verve, enthusiasm and inexhaustible energy, orchestrating joy for themselves and their audience alike.
Tickets for the Nov. 12 matinee performance (2:30 p.m.) cost $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and $10 for children and students. Tickets are available by calling 250-721-8480 or visiting tickets.uvic.ca.
