The Vancouver Academy of Music (VAM) is a Canadian

music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

located in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The school was founded as the Community Music School of Greater Vancouver in 1969 through efforts made by the Vancouver Community Arts Council. The school was originally located on West 12th Ave but relocated to the Music Centre in

Vanier Park Vanier Park is a municipal park located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, created in 1967. It is home to the Museum of Vancouver, the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the City of Vancouver Archives, and the H.R. Mac ...

in May 1976. The school officially changed its name to the Vancouver Academy of Music in 1979. The VAM currently has two divisions of study, a college division for students wanting to pursue a performance career and a preparatory division for school-age children and adults.Vancouver Academy of Music
at

Encyclopedia of Music in Canada ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available for ...

History

When the VAM was initially founded, it only offered classes for young children in the

Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata ''Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl O ...

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, and Kodály methods. In 1971

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er Jerold Gerbrecht (longtime principal trumpet of the

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

) was brought in as music director to expand the school to include adult classes in music theory, history, composition, dance, and private instrumental and voice instruction. The school also formed an orchestra and a choir, but at this time still did not grant degrees. The Academy's program offerings continued to expand throughout the 1970s and 1980s with master classes, opera workshops, and other specialized courses. This success led the school to establish a collegiate program, the S. K. Lee College Program, in 1987 in partnership with

Thompson Rivers University Thompson Rivers University (commonly referred to as TRU) is a public teaching and research university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees and vocational training. Its main campus is in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, and its name c ...

and the British Columbia Open University (BCOU). Students attend non-music classes at TRU and have their music courses at the Academy. Bachelor of Music degrees are awarded through the BCOU.

Orchestras

The Academy has Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Symphony Orchestras. Three times a year, the Senior Academy Strings joins forces with the wind department to form the Academy Symphony Orchestra to perform at the Vancouver Orpheum Theatre. Notable conductors include the late Sidney Harth.

Notable faculty (past and present)

Robert Creech Robert Edward Creech (26 September 1928 – 20 December 2019) was a Canadian french hornist, music educator, and arts administrator. He served as Director of the Canadian Music Council from 1975–1979 and Chairman of the Arts Advisory Counci ...

, French horn *

Kum-Sing Lee Lee Kum-Sing () is a Canadian classical pianist and piano pedagogue originally from Sumatra. Biography Lee Kum-Sing studied with Gerhard Puchelt and Hans Richter-Haaser in Berlin and with Julius Katchen and Magda Tagliaferro in Paris. He ...

, Piano * Phyllis Mailing, Voice *

David Meek David Meek (born September 12, 1963) is an American businessman. He held various global executive positions in major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In July 2016, the board of directors of Ipsen (Euronext: IPN), a French pharmaceutic ...

, Voice *

Steven Staryk Steven Sam Staryk, OC (born 27 April 1932) is a Canadian violin virtuoso. He had a distinguished solo career and was concertmaster of several major orchestras, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Concertgeb ...

, Violin *

Gwen Thompson Gwendoline Linda Louise Thompson (born 30 March 1947 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian violinist and music educator. She has been a member of two notable chamber music ensembles with whom she has made several commercial recordings: the Master ...

, Violin

Notable alumni

Lisle Ellis Lisle Ellis, (born November 17, 1951) is a Canadian jazz bassist and composer who is known for his improvisational style and use of electronics. Biography Ellis was born in Campbell River, British Columbia. Ellis began playing electric bass in ...

, composer *

Chan-hon Goh Chan Hon Goh, C.M. D.Litt (simplified Chinese: 吴振红; traditional Chinese: 吳振紅; born in 1969 in Beijing, China), is a Chinese-born Canadian ballerina. Goh was most notably a principal dancer with The National Ballet of Canada before go ...

, ballet dancer *

Erin Wall Erin Wall (4 November 1975 – 8 October 2020) was a Canadian-American operatic soprano who had an active international career from 2001 until her death of breast cancer in 2020. Chiefly associated with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Vancouver ba ...

, operatic soprano *

Jon Kimura Parker Jon Kimura Parker (born 25 December 1959) is a Canadian pianist. Early life and education Jon Kimura Parker was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Keiko Parker and John Parker. He began his studies with his uncle, Edward P ...

, pianist

References

External links