The Vancouver Island Symphony will be playing on the number 鈥�25鈥� with a concert at the Sid Williams Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 15, featuring elegant classical symphonies, as they celebrate 25 years of making beautiful music. The concert, entitled Celebrate 25, starts at 2 p.m. and is one of nine concerts to mark this happy musical milestone.
鈥淥ur starting point for this program was finding music that had the number 25 associated with it,鈥� said Pierre Simard, artistic director and conductor. 鈥淭hen, I turned to the idea of choosing repertoire acting as 鈥榖irthday gifts鈥� to VIS; my own favourite composer 鈥� Prokofiev 鈥� was an obvious choice, with his Classical Symphony, op. 25. The piece is elegant, charming, and pays tribute to Haydn 鈥� and so we paired it with this composer鈥檚 own Symphony no. 25 in C major.
鈥淲e close the concert with Copland鈥檚 celebrated Appalachian Spring; this was our musicians鈥� choice 鈥� and is the perfect way to invoke the quick return of the spring sun, with open, accessible, dance-like and festive music. It鈥檚 a fun piece to play. If I had to describe a composer who wrote what I call white notes, it would be Copeland. It is ballet music that integrates shaker melody, it fits well with the concert, and brings the concert into modern times.鈥�
And modern times call for a modern approach to performance scheduling, which is why VIS offers these one-hour concerts at convenient times for Comox Valley residents. It鈥檚 part of a fresh approach to symphony concerts that has gained traction with symphonies in North America and acknowledges that time-crunched patrons still value classical music. And it鈥檚 just one way the VIS serves as a creative asset to the many communities of the growing Central Island area, and why VIS fans have helped Keep Music Live!
鈥淲hat a treat to now be on the podium, celebrating with the VIS on our 25th anniversary,鈥� adds Simard.
The VIS invites patrons to join them for a post-concert celebratory reception. Wear your party clothes or casual clothes, bring along your 25-year-olds and 75-year-olds, and come celebrate 25!
