Kate's E-portfolio

Wednesday, may2

ORPEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Conductor / Performers

Chris Botti Trumpet

Pierre Simard Conductor

The one and only Chris Botti makes his highly-anticipated return to the Orpheum

 to perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra!

His last VSO performance – a sold-out concert in 2010 – had audiences leaping to their feet for multiple standing ovations.

Who is Chris Botti

 

Since the release of his 2004 critically acclaimed CD When I Fall In Love, Chris Botti has become the largest selling American instrumental artist. His success has accrossed over to audiences usually reserved for pop music and his ongoing associations with PBS has led to four Number One Jazz Albums, as well as multiple Gold, Platinum&Grammy Awards.

Over the past decades, he has recorded and performed with the best in music

Hitting the road for 250 plus days per year, Chris and his incredible band have performed with many of the finest symphonies, at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including performances at the World Series and Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony.

 

Concert Review

It was really fun concert. Performers were tring to communicate with audiences continuously and that scene was impressed to me. These days, I’ve always watched kind of classical music but this concert is quite diffrent from prior concert so it was fresh and awsome! of course, Chris Botti’s performance was kind of jazz and that sound made me happy. And drumer’s performance was wonderful than what i expected and I really enjoyed it.

VSO CONNECTS ELEMENTARY, brings the magnificent and diverse world of symphonic music to elementary school students with an opportunity to interact, create, and learn from Vancouver Symphony Orchestra musicians, and music students from the leading post secondary music institutions in British Columbia. Nine modules were created to highlight specific symphonic works, composers and instruments, and tailored to suit different grade levels.
The goal of the VSO CONNECTS program is to create an environment where students, school trustees, district and school administrators, teachers, and parents, understand the importance and value of promoting the integration of Symphonic music into appropriate areas of the educational program.

VSO CONNECTS ELEMENTARY – MODULES

Module 1: ABC’s of Instruments This module introduces primary students to the different families of orchestral instruments through a hands-on, fun, instrument exploration with a Vancouver Symphony Musician and post-secondary music students.
Module 2: Clinics: Practice, Perfect, Perform Vancouver Symphony musicians provide two coaching sessions for string or band students in small ensembles or sectionals.
Module 3: Composer’s Tool Kit and Composer in Residence After introducing students to the world of composition through the exploration of the Vancouver Symphony’s CD recording of Islamey, students compose their own music. With the help of a post secondary music student and teacher, students select a familiar folk song and compose variations on it by changing the lyrics, dynamics, tonality, articulation and tempo.
Module 4: Composer’s Trunk Students are introduced to and explore resources found in a musical trunk that represent and reflect the life of a selected composer. A post secondary music student visits the school and tells the composer’s life story with performances of musical excerpts.
Module 5: Listen Up! Students are prepared to attend an upcoming Vancouver Symphony Sunday concert at the Orpheum Theatre with insightful sessions by a post secondary music student tailored around listening to CD recordings of the works to be performed. Each student receives a pair of free tickets to the performance.
Module 6: Meet the Maestro Maestro Bramwell Tovey gives a presentation to the school community including students, teachers, administration and parents/guardians discussing the importance of symphonic music and the role music has played in his life.
Module 7: A Morning at the “Office” with the VSO This module offers students an opportunity to experience how the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra prepares for a concert in its own “office” – the magnificent Orpheum Theatre. Students are first given a tour of the historic building, and then observe 45 minutes of a morning rehearsal.
Module 8: Music in Motion A Vancouver Symphony musician works collaboratively with a visiting dance teacher leading students to interpret a selection from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”.
Module 9: Music Tells a Story After students study the characteristics of stories they are reading, a post secondary music student collaborates with the teacher to help the class interpret the mood, the actions of characters and the plot through music.

Today, I went to Champlain Heights Elementary school for VSO connects Elementary program. I can play the flute so i helped Rossane who plays the flute in VSO. The most intersting thing was most of children(kindergarten ~ grade3) had lots of information about music and experience about instrument compared to Korean children. I was really amazed when they gave the correct answer for what we asked.

Among these modules, what we did today is module 1 and 2. At first, VSO musicians(flute,violin,base&trombone) introduced their instruments to children and played Twinkle Twinkle little star which is arranged beautifully. After that time, we separated children into 4 groups and 4 groups took turns taking each instrument class. We teached all students to make a sound and they did really good job. The fact that I had an opportunity  to help musicians and experience canadian elementary school with teachers and children was really satisfying to me.

Musically speaking  / ORPHEUM THEATRE, 8PM

Saturday, april 28

Rogers Group Financial Symphony Sundays/ ORPHEUM THEATRE, 2PM

Sunday , april 29

North Shore Classics / Centennial Theatre, 8PM

Monday, april 30

Bramwell Tovey Conductor

Peter Longworth Piano

Richard Suart Baritone(playing “The Judge”)

UBC Opera Ensemble

WALTON Crown imperial

IRELAND Piano Concerto in E-flat Major

Ⅰ.  In tempo moderato

Ⅱ.  Lento espressivo

Ⅲ.  Allegro

INTERMISSION

GILBERT AND SULLIVAN Trial by Jury

SUNDAY, APRIL 15   7:30PM

ORPHEUM THEATRE

Conductor / Performers

Myund-Whun Chung Conductor

Wu Wei Sheng

Repertoire

        Ravel    Ma Mere l’Oye

        Chin    Su

        Tchaikovsky    Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathetique

The VSO presents a performance by the Seoul Philharmonic, featuring Wu Wei, the world’s leading sheng player. The sheng is a 4,000 year old Chinese mouth organ, the world’s oldest reed-based instrument, and carries a rich, diverse, and amazing sound. Unsuk Chin’s composition for sheng and orchestra provides an extraordinary counterpoint to the music of Ravel and Tchaikovsky.

 Explanation of Music

VSO has 13 performance venues but orpheum theatre where I am working now is the largest and the oledest place.

This thursday, elementary school students visited orpheum theatre to look around here so I helped my collegues who guided them.

Actually this tour was not only for these students but also for me because it is my first time to come to Orpheum. Whenever I come to here, it was always closed so i was so glad to come to orpheum. This place was so huge and wonderful!!!

This picture is taken when orpheum theatre is founded,1927.

This is recent photograph.

It is really intersting that they maintain orginal intenrior and exterior for 80 years. It is quite diffrent from Korea because in Korea, they always change the design and think new one is the best.

Tour flow was main lobby > WCEH> Granville St entrance > 4th floor > 3th floor

Orpheum theatre was built in 1927 as a Vaudeville Theatre and VSO gave its first performance at the Orpheum Theatre in 1930. The program featured Beethoven’s fifth symphony but it garnered horrible reviews.

Following renovations, the Orpheum was reopened in 1977 and has been the permanent home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra ever since. During the renovations, the VSO moved to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in 1960 and then moved back to the newly-renovated theatre.

Allard De Ridder was the VSO’s first music director. In addition to conducting all concerts, he selected the repertoire, guest soloists, and musicians. The musicians were no longer just the ones in town or available, they were VSO members.

Bramwell Tovey became music director in 2000. He oversaw the expansion of the VSO to include more than 150 concerts each season. Tovey led the VSO to break the world record for the largest orchestra performance in an outdoor venue when he led over 6000 musicians in a performance of Beethoven’s ninth Symphony.

In 2008, the VSO took a tour to China and Korea, the first such tour by a Canadian Orchestr in over 30 years.

Orpheum Theatre is named after Orpheus who was legendry musician and poet in ancient greek religion and myth. It also contains meaning ” a place dedicated to Orpheus”.

It cost $1.25 million (whici is around 16 million in today’s money) to build the Orpheum and it was all finaced by a man named Joseph Francis Langer. The theatre is a “hodge-podge” of architecture styles, which makes the theatre really over the top. The theatre was designed to look lavish but not cost a lot because this was just prior to the Depression.

In addition, it was the biggest theatre in Canada when it opened .

*Basic Time Line for the Orpheum :

1920s – Vaudeville Theatre

1930s – Movie Theatre owned by Famous players (also had live concerts)

1973 – Famous players wanted to get inside to build multi-plex theatre – City outcry & “Save the Orpheum” rallies

1974- City bought the Orpheum for $7.1 million($3.1million City money + $3.0 million from Provincial/Federal Governmnet + Donors)

1975 –  Closed for renovations

1983 – Expanded the foyer, added Smithe Entrance

2006 onwards – renovations

2009 – Olympic funded renovations

Committed to supporting the next generation of orchestral musicians by giving students an opportunity to perform alongside professional musicians, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra collaborates with youth bands and orchestras in the lower mainland.
Each year, the VSO performs joint concerts with the North Vancouver School District Honour band and Honour String Orchestras at the Centennial theatre. In the 2011/2012 season the VSO will be performing with the North Vancouver School District High School Honour Band and Honour String Orchestra on Wednesday, April 11th, 2012.
Biennially, the VSO invites the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra to perform a joint concert in the Orpheum Theatre.

Today was the first day of working in concert hall. Centennial theatre was located in North Vancouver. After arriving, I started to help Joanne, who is my superviser and in between times, i watched their rehearsal. It was really interesting because I’ve never seen in Korea that professional musicians perform a concert with students. I think it is good opportunitiy for student. I thought students had practiced a lot for this concert when I was watching their concert and I was impressed by Pierre Simard, who was the conductor of this concert because his conducting was really active and powerful. And his short explanation of music was so humorous. It was my first work related to concert but toatlly satisfing and helpful to me.

I compared between Korean orchestra and Canadian orchestra.

I don’t know exactly because I have only worked in amateur orchestra.

However, after getting infomation from internet and what others told to me, then I could show those things in this venn diagram.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra   VS   Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

Similarities

Both of companies are not for profit and they provide high quality of educational programs for citizens. In the case of VSO, they offer music lessons and opportunity to go behind the scenes of VSO(this is my work! helping them!)

In addition, both of citizens are not much interested in classical music and symphony.