Stir Cheat Sheet: 18 concerts and opera performances to catch in Vancouver this spring
Mongolian traditions, Czech strings, Baroque beauties, and more on the music calendar
Pavel Haas Quartet.
Anda Union.
WHETHER WORLD MUSIC or Baroque classics are your jam, there’s a sound to suit every taste on the concert and opera calendar this season. Here’s a glance at 18 must-see shows coming to Vancouver this season.
The Lost Words: A Spell Book
March 8 and 9 at Pacific Spirit United Church
Elektra’s musical journey The Lost Words: A Spell Book is inspired by the best-selling book of the same name by writer Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris. They issued their oeuvre in response to the 2007 Oxford Junior Dictionary, which left out some 40 terms related to nature (like acorn and bluebell) in favour of tech terms (such as blog and voicemail). Featuring evocative compositions by 10 Canadian composers, the concert brings the book’s “spells” to life while its watercolours are projected onto a large screen, making for an immersive experience. Local actor Laara Sadiq reads each spell before it is performed by the soaring vocal ensemble and six instrumentalists.
Anda Union
March 14 at Massey Theatre
Caravan World Rhythms presents Anda Union, a nine-person band that blends tribal-music traditions from across Inner Mongolia. It’s a rare chance to connect with a group that’s part of a passionate movement to revive old and forgotten songs and take them in new directions.
Pavel Haas Quartet
March 16 at the Vancouver Playhouse
Friends of Chamber Music hosts this acclaimed Czech quartet, which BBC Music Magazine described as “stylistically powerful and richly sonorous, [and] known for its passionate and fearless performances.” Made up of violinists Veronika Jarůšková and Marek Zwiebel, violist Šimon Truszka, and cellist Peter Jarůšek, the ensemble will perform Bohuslav Martinů’s String Quartet No. 3; Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26; and Antonín Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 11 in C major, Op. 61.
Manon
At the UBC Old Auditorium on March 28 and 30
Opera West Society and UBC School of Music join forces to present Jules Massenet’s Manon, a timeless French Romantic masterpiece. Star soprano Emily Pogorelc plays the title role alongside celebrated tenor Frédéric Antoun as Chevalier des Grieux, with Vancouver Opera’s Jacques Lacombe conducting and Nancy Hermiston directing.
Silkroad Ensemble.
Silkroad Ensemble: Uplifted Voices
March 30 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
The Grammy Award–winning Silkroad Ensemble—founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 2000 and known for its cross-cultural collaborations—brings together voices from around the globe for this uplifting concert. Japanese percussionist and marimbist Haruka Fujii has become known worldwide for her interpretations of modern music. Singer-songwriter and activist Pura Fé, who hails from North Carolina’s Tuscarora Nation, combines traditional sounds with contemporary Americana. Musician and composer Maeve Gilchrist takes the harp into new sonic realms as she blends jazz and folk while staying true to her Celtic roots. An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, collaborator, and composer, cellist Karen Ouzounian was a founding member of the Aizuri Quartet for 11 years, during which time the ensemble was awarded major chamber-music prizes on three continents. Lebanese violinist and composer Layale Chaker combines jazz and contemporary classical music with Arabic Maqam. And violinist and composer Mazz Swift merges classic African American music with electronica and improvisation.
Le Ren
April 3 and 4 at the Kay Meek Arts Centre
The Canadian folk singer known for crystal-clear vocals brings songs from her debut album Leftovers to the West Coast. Think heartbreak, nostalgia, and sublime lyricism.
Britten War Requiem
April 5 at the Orpheum
First performed in 1962, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem draws its text from the work of English war poet Wilfrid Owen, and blends this with the Latin Mass for the dead. Soloists Melody Courage, Asitha Tennekoon, and Tyler Duncan join the collected power of the Vancouver Bach Symphonic Choir, Vancouver Bach Children’s Chorus, and the West Coast Symphony, all under the baton of Leslie Dala.
Cantare Super Orchestram.
Bach’s Passions
April 4 at St. Mary’s in Chilliwack and April 5 at Holy Rosary Cathedral
Cantare Super Orchestram (CSO) presents selections from St. John Passion, BWV 245 and St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244, alongside 17th-century Italian composer Orazio Benevoli’s serene Missa Tu es Petrus for 16 voices. Paula DeWit conducts this blend of scripture, poetry, and hymns, with special appearances by Baroque instruments.
One Night Stand: Alfredo Santa Ana
April 8 at the Fox Cabaret
Mexican-Canadian composer Alfredo Santa Ana’s diverse repertoire ranges from chamber music to avant-garde soundscapes, and has been performed by such esteemed organizations as Standing Wave and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. This Music on Main presentation features performances by countertenor Daniel Cabena, violinists Parmela Attariwala and Cassandra Bequary, violist Andrew Brown, cellist Olivia Blander, flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor, and pianist Miranda Wong. The program includes two world premieres as well as two recent collaborations with poet Colin Browne, who will join the ensemble to read the spoken texts built into the music.
Vancouver Chamber Choir.
Palestrina 500
April 11 at Christ Church Cathedral
Vancouver Chamber Choir celebrates the 500th birthday of Renaissance master Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The Italian composer wrote more than 105 Masses and 250 motets and specialized in contrapuntal composition. The choir’s voices will rise in the acoustically magnificent Christ Church Cathedral.
Ndidi O
April 12 at Massey Theatre
Blessed with an impressive, soulful vocal range, the two-time Juno-nominated and WCMA Blues Artist of the Year brings her unique blend to the historic Massey. The artist describes her sound as a mix of “rootsy blues with a tinge of soul and country,” but you’ll hear shades of trip-hop, gospel, and even surf music in her songs.
The Living World
April 12 at the Annex
Nature, landscape, and mythical creatures inspire this immersive music and media performance by the culture-fusing Sound of Dragon Ensemble. Expect premieres of original compositions combining Chinese and Western instruments—including Chihchun Chi-sun Lee’s “Taiwanese Dragon Legends”—all against a backdrop of animated visuals created by Li Tung. Taiwanese conductor Chih Sheng Chen takes the podium for this program that tours to Asia in the fall.
Evgeny Kissin.
Evgeny Kissin
April 16 at 7:30 pm at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
Russian-born Evgeny Kissin was a child prodigy who began to play by ear and improvise on the piano at the age of two. Having studied at a school for gifted children, he catapulted to international acclaim in 1984 when, at age 12, he performed Chopin’s Piano Concertos 1 and 2 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow State Philharmonic. The concert was recorded live by Melodia, and a two-LP album was released the following year to astonishing success. Since then, he has performed all over the globe, bringing people to their feet wherever he goes. The Vancouver Recital Society hosts the genius, who will perform a mixed program of music by Bach, Chopin, and Shostakovich.
Stefano Maiorana.
Stefano Maiorana: Secret Pages for Theorbo
April 26 at 8 pm at Pacific Spirit United Church
Early Music Vancouver and Vancouver New Music team up to present the virtuoso theorbo player, who will perform toccatas, arias, dances, and more. Brief “sound pieces” will evoke the rich musical heritage of Venice through works by Hieronymus Kapsberger and contemporary composer Claudio Ambrosini.
Madama Butterfly
April 26 and 27, May 1, 3 and 4 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
One of the world’s most beloved operas closes out the Vancouver Opera season, with Jacques Lacombe conducting. The double cast features such big names as Tokyo-born soprano Yasko Sato, making her Canadian debut as Cio-Cio-San after receiving praise in the iconic part throughout Europe, the U.S., and Japan.
Dobet Gnahoré.
Dobet Gnahoré
May 11 at the BlueShore at CapU
A 2010 Grammy Award winner, Dobet Gnahoré is known for taking the Afro-pop sounds of her native Côte d’Ivoire in bold new directions. Deeply influenced by her father, renowned master percussionist Boni Gnahoré, the artist has expanded beyond the acoustic music of her early career to explore modern African music with electronic beats and danceable moves. Through her hopeful and positive songs, Gnahoré is inspiring a new generation of strong and independent African women.
A Whole New World Tour
May 25 to June 20 at various Metro Vancouver venues
Sound the Alarm offers up this new concert production in celebration of some of Hollywood’s legendary songs from movie musicals. Think Disney hits like those from Pinocchio, The Aristocats, Mary Poppins, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, and more, followed by tunes from The Sound of Music, Les Misérables, Grease, Mamma Mia, La La Land, Moulin Rouge, The Greatest Showman, Wicked, and then some.
Bruce Liu.
Bruce Liu Plays Prokofiev
May 30 to June 1 at the Orpheum
Born in Paris to Chinese parents and raised in Montreal, pianist Bruce Liu is a rising star in the classical-music world, having catapulted to global acclaim following his win of the 18th annual International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2021. He has performed at such major venues as Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and beyond. He joins Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s magnificent Piano Concerto No. 3. Also on the program are Cassandra Miller’s Swim and Richard Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony. 
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