Metchosin-born violin virtuoso Philip Manning eagerly returns to his hometown with a performance at St. Mary’s Church on July 9.
Manning’s musical talent was evident at a young age, from the moment he picked up a violin at age six. Now as a young adult, his musical accomplishments continue to impress.
He recently completed a Graduate Level Artist Diploma in Violin Performance at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, having been granted a full scholarship. He returns to Vancouver Island after winning his first two professional auditions, an extraordinary feat for a new graduate. Fortunately for local audiences, Manning chose the position with the Victoria Symphony, which was awarded to him following a blind audition on May 3.
“I couldn’t be happier to be back living and working in my favourite city in the world, Victoria, B.C., and to be performing for my favourite audiences,” he said.
Manning is no stranger to musical competition. At the age of 18, he won the position of Featured Soloist at Victoria’s 2010 Symphony Splash and performed in front of an audience of 45,000. He was granted full scholarships to the Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific in 2012 and to the intensive Violin Institute at Northwestern University in 2013.
While in Pittsburgh, he won the Duquesne Concerto Competition and was Concertmaster of the Duquesne Symphony Orchestra. Manning was a finalist in the Canada Council of the Arts Instrument Bank Competition in 2015. He was accompanied by Braden Young, who will share the stage with him at the July 9 performance.
Manning and Young first met in 2006 as students in the Collegium Program for Gifted Young Musicians at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Together with a cellist, they formed a trio and performed for five years, winning several awards and competing at the national level.
Young has been studying piano since age seven. He recently completed his Master’s Degree in Collaborative Piano at the University of Toronto and like Manning, has recently moved to Victoria to pursue music at a professional level.
Audiences can look forward to future collaborations between the talented young musicians. As a full-time member of the Victoria Symphony, Manning will be performing throughout the full season, beginning with the group’s summer concerts in July.
Audiences of the Metchosin concert will enjoy a varied program of music, beginning with Beethoven’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano in E flat Major Op. 12 No. 3,” and Bloch’s “Baal Shem.” Following the intermission, Manning and Young will perform the “Sonata for Violin and Piano in D minor Op. 108 No. 3” by Brahms, and finish with two movements from Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango.”
Tickets are $15 with children 12 and under admitted free. Tickets are available at Westside InstaPrint, Coast Collective, Metchosin Country Store, or online at westshorearts.org.
Kristi Hoffmann is communications and outreach assistant with the West Shore Arts Council.
