VSO Day of Music

The Day of Music is a free day of concerts hosted by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Some of the concerts are with the VSO, but many are with other groups.

Free Concerts at Vancouver’s Day of Music

In 2019 the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra marked the 100th anniversary of its first concert with the Day of Music, a series of free shows featuring hundreds of performers. The event was a big success and so it has continued as an annual event ever since.

This past year the Day of Music happened on Saturday, May 24th. Dozens of shows took place at multiple venues from 10:00 am until 10:00 pm. On top of concerts, there were also a series of both in-person and online workshops to check out.

One of the best parts of the Day of Music is that it’s entirely free. You can go see as many of the shows as you’d like for no charge and there isn’t any need to reserve tickets in advance. All of the performances are first-come, first-served in terms of seating.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Day of Music

2025’s Day of Music was on May 24th. The date for next year’s event is to be confirmed. Free performances took place at a number of different venues in Vancouver and Richmond.

In addition to the performances on the main day, there were a couple on the days leading up to the 24th. At 1:00 pm on Wednesday, May 21st, there was a performance by Itamar Erez at the BMO Yaletown Branch. Then there was one by the Yo Yo Duo at the BMO Main Vancouver Office at 1:00 pm on Thursday, May 22nd.

Below is what the schedule looked like for each location on the main Day of Music this past year.

VSO School of Music

The VSO School of Music building is located at 843 Seymour Street in Vancouver. This venue hosted the most shows including open rehearsals and workshops.

Pyatt Hall (in 2025)

9:15 am – Open Rehearsal
12:15 pm – Sarod in the Afternoon with Hriday Buddhdev
1:15 pm – Ava Shadmani, Mehrdad Gholami, and Kiandokht Nouri
2:15 pm – Quartetto Vivo
3:15 pm – Trilogy Jazz Trio
4:15 pm – Daniel Hershog Jazz Quartet
5:15 pm – Itamar Erez
6:15 pm – Vocal Ensemble Ne Zhdali
7:15 pm – Stingers of the VSO School of Music
8:30 pm – Mohamed Assani Trio

Willms Salon (in 2025)

10:30 am – Guardia Nueva
11:30 am – Coast to Coast Piano Duet
12:30 pm – Tom Lee Music Steinway Young Artist Club Celebration Concert
1:30 pm – The Daycrawlers
2:30 pm – Undecided Platypus
3:30 pm – Roan Shankaruk
4:30 pm – Jae-wong Bang and Sunny She
5:30 pm – Kaleidoscope Guitar/Violin Duo

Workshop Rooms (in 2025)

10:00 am – Instrument Exploration Play Zone
10:00 am – VSO SoM Mini Music Makers Mini-classes
11:00 am – Digital Learning Lab
12:30 pm – Silk Road Music
1:30 pm – Learning Jazz for adults with Miles Black
3:30 pm – Introduction to Indian Music with Mohamed Assani
3:30 pm – Royal Canadian College of Organists OrgelKidsCAN: Build and Play a Mini Pipe Organ
5:00 pm – Echoes Across Borders: Piano and Soprano
5:00 pm – Eclipse Duo: Piano and Violin

The Orpheum

The Orpheum Theatre is one of Vancouver’s most well-known music venues. It’s located at 601 Smithe Street. Below is what happened when and where.

Orpheum Stage (in 2025)

10:00 am – VSO Open Rehearsal
2:00 pm – Michael Dirk: Saturday Morning Cartoons
3:00 pm – Langley Fine Arts School Orchestra
4:00 pm – VSO SoM Big Band
5:00 pm – The Band of the 15th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
8:00 pm – Vancouver Symphony Orchestra: Conductor Otto Tausk with special guest Jimmy Lee

Westcoast Energy Hall (in 2025)

11:45 am – Saxophilia Saxophone Quartet
12:45 pm – Alderwood Ensemble
1:45 pm – Garmon Journey by Asal Ahadi
3:15 pm – Amir Eslami
4:00 pm – The VSO Clarinet Trio
4:45 pm – Vostok: A Journey East
5:30 pm – Teapot in the Tuba
6:15 pm – Blackthorn Blossoms Celtic Roots

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral is one of the most prominent places of worship in Vancouver. It’s located at 690 Burrard Street. Below is what you could see on May 24th in 2025.

3:00 pm – EnChor Choir in Concert
4:00 pm – St. Thomas More Collegiate Jazz “A”
5:00 pm – Cellissimo
6:30 pm – Will Clements’ COMPASS
7:30 pm – Pacific Chamber Ensemble
8:30 pm – Azalea Chinese Music Ensemble

Helmcken Plaza

A park in Yaletown, Helmcken Plaza is located at 338 Helmcken Street. Below is what you could see in the plaza in 2025.

12:30 pm – GO Taiko drumming
2:00 pm – Flamenco Dim Sum
3:30 pm – Kristin Fung
5:00 pm – MNGWA
6:30 pm – Cooking with Brass Street Party

TELUS Garden

The headquarters of the TELUS corporation, located at 510 West Georgia Street. Below is who you could see and when on May 24th in 2025.

12:00 pm – 2023 and 2024 VIMC/VIMF Winners: Piano and Harp Solo Performances
12:45 pm – Duo AllegretTA
1:30 pm – The Melodious Duo
2:15 pm – Music Friends: Pastoral Moods
3:00 pm – Patricia Faith Trio
3:45 pm – Sakka Music: Discover the Unknown

Deloitte Summit

Deloitte Summit is a uniquely designed high-rise office tower in downtown Vancouver. It’s located at 410 West Georgia Street. Below is what you could see on May 24th in 2025.

12:00 pm – Hot Moose Trio (Piano Trio), Yo Yo Duo (Cello Duo)
12:45 pm – PianoKage
1:30 pm – Wayne Weng
2:15 pm – The Vancouver Chopin Society
3:00 pm – Rachel Wei
3:45 pm – Estelle Copéry

Other Performances

There were a couple other performances that took place elsewhere on May 24th, 2025. On Granville Island, the Advanced Musical Theatre Troupe Cabarets performed famous musical theatre songs from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. There was also the Orchid Ensemble, part of the Vancouver Public Library’s Staircase Sounds Series, at Central Branch at noon.

OTHER CONCERTS IN MAY 2025

Other (unrelated) musical events in May included the following:

Chor Leoni Concert – the choir put on The Big Roar collaborative concert at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on May 3rd.
Vancouver Chamber Choir – their Fresh Ink concert happened at Pacific Spirit United Church on May 9th.
United Voices Choir – the choir had a concert in Vancouver at Pacific Spirit United Church on May 31st.

About the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

The VSO is one of the biggest and most famous orchestras in the country. The orchestra has won both Grammy and JUNO Awards, and performs hundreds of concerts. The main orchestra has up to around 80 members.

In addition to the Day of Music, the VSO runs other special events. They include Symphony in the Park, A Traditional Christmas, Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert and more.

Check out our article about the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to learn more about the organization.