The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

based in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

. It is considered

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

's best-known active performing arts organization. Currently conducted by Danish conductor Christian Kluxen, the orchestra consists of 34 full-contract, and 15 part-contract musicians. Each season, the orchestra delivers more than fifty main series programs, as well as a two-week-long summer series. A highlight of the year for many Victorians is the annual

Symphony Splash Victoria Symphony Splash is an annual event held in Victoria, British Columbia on the Sunday before BC Day. The event is produced by the Victoria Symphony and consists of the Victoria Symphony playing, live on a barge, in the middle of Victoria's I ...

fund-raising concert, held on the Sunday of the August long weekend. The orchestra performs on a barge in Victoria's Inner Harbour for an estimated audience of forty thousand—many attending in kayaks, canoes or dragonboats immediately in front of the barge. The orchestra administration consists of a paid staff, a board of directors, and many volunteers.

History

The Victoria Symphony was founded in 1941 by members of the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

as an amateur ensemble. Melvin Knudsen served as the group's first conductor, leaving after seven years in 1948 when he was succeeded by

Hans Gruber Hans Gruber is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1988 action film ''Die Hard'' portrayed by Alan Rickman. Gruber is a cunning thief and criminal mastermind from East Germany who holds the Nakatomi Plaza hostage to steal $640 ...

Otto-Werner Mueller Otto-Werner Mueller (23 June 1926 – 25 February 2016) was a German-born conducting, conductor. He was a professor of conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, as well as at the Juilliard School in New York City. Mueller was bo ...

was appointed principal conductor in 1963, followed by Laszlo Gati in 1967. The orchestra became a professional ensemble during Gati's years in the mid 1970s. In 1979, Paul Freeman left his junior position at the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

to assume the position of principal conductor of the Victoria Symphony. Glen Fast served as his associate conductor beginning in 1983 and eventually replaced him for a short time as principal conductor in 1988 when Freeman retired.

Peter McCoppin Peter McCoppin (born May 2, 1948, in Toronto) is a Canadian conductor and organist. He studied conducting with Erich Leinsdorf, Lovro von Matičič, and Hans Swarowsky, and taught conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music (1975-1978). He wa ...

was appointed as conductor in 1989, a position he held until 1999 when

Kees Bakels Kees Bakels (born 14 January 1945, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. Bakels began his musical career as a violinist, and later studied conducting at the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. He has appear ...

succeeded him. Bakels left in 2002 at which time Timothy Vernon was appointed interim music director.

Tania Miller Tania Miller (born August 28, 1969, in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian conductor. She is currently Music Director Emerita of the Victoria Symphony following her retirement as music director, a post she had held since 2003. Prior to that, ...

was the music director from 2003–2017. Danish conductor Christian Kluxen was appointed music director in 2016, and started this position in the 2017–2018 season. The Canadian conductor

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Yannick Nézet-Séguin, CC (; born Yannick Séguin;David Patrick Stearns, "Nezet-Seguin signs Philadelphia Orchestra contract". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', 19 June 2010. 6 March 1975) is a Canadian ( Québécois) conductor and pianist. He ...

, who currently holds the position of music director of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

and the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

—and has held or currently holds positions with the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

and

Rotterdam Philharmonic The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO; nl, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest) is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orc ...

—held the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Victoria Symphony from 2003 to 2007. Another Québécois musician and conductor,

Alain Trudel Alain Trudel (born 13 June 1966) is a Canadian conductor, trombonist and composer. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec, Trudel first became known to the public as a trombone soloist. He made his solo debut at the age of 18, with Charles Dutoit a ...

, succeeded Nézet-Séguin in 2009, a position he held until 2013. In 2016 the orchestra went on a cross-Canada tour to celebrate its 75th season.Gauthier, Natasha (April 1, 2016)
"Music Review: Victoria Symphony delivers bold, diverse program"
''Ottawa Citizen''. Music Director Tania Miller and the orchestra have released two CDs of music by the Dutch composer

Wim Zwaag Wim is a masculine given name or a shortened form of Willem and other names and may refer to: * Wim Anderiesen (1903–1944), Dutch footballer * Wim Aantjes (1923–2015), Dutch politician * Wim Arras (born 1964), Belgian cyclist * Wim Blockmans ...

, including a violin concerto performed by the orchestra's concertmaster Terence Tam.

References

External links

Victoria Symphony Official Site
{{Authority control Canadian orchestras Musical groups established in 1941

History

See also

References

External links