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Vancouver Summer Festival (Formerly Called the Vancouver Bach Festival)

Pacific Baroque Orchestra

The Vancouver Bach Festival used to feature live concerts with traditional music. The festival still happens, but under its new EMV: Summer Festival name.

Renamed the Vancouver Summer Festival in 2023, the festival features music by a variety of composers.

This article provides information about the Vancouver Bach Festival’s season in 2022. To learn about the newly renamed festival that takes place in July and August, see our article about the Early Music Vancouver Summer Festival.

For even more information about the organization and its performance schedule, see our article about Early Music Vancouver Concerts or visit the earlymusic.bc.ca website.

 

Vancouver Summer Festival

Presented by Early Music Vancouver, the Vancouver Summer Festival is an exploration of traditional music. The festival has a different theme each year. In 2022 it was “Scottish Baroque and Other Traditions”. In 2023 the theme is “Women in Sight”.

Celebrating its 6th year in 2022, the festival ran from July 26th until August 6th. Performances featured a fusion of traditional Scottish music and Baroque masters.

 

2022 Schedule of Events

The schedule for the 2022 Vancouver Bach Festival is listed below. Afternoon concerts ran for about an hour. Evening concerts, meanwhile, ran for up to about two hours. Exact times and details, however, may have varied.

 

Tuesday, July 26th, 2022

  • Rondeau – EMV’s 2022 fundraising event took place at the Sage Bistro at the University of British Columbia. The formal event began at 6:00 pm and featured a dinner, performance and live auction hosted by former CBC host Bill Richardson. Regular admission cost $275 per person and reserving a table for 8 people cost about $1800.

 

Wednesday, July 27th, 2022

  • Ebb and Flow – the festival’s opening concert was held at 7:30 pm at the Chan Centre which is located at 6265 Crescent Road in Vancouver. The event featured Alexander Weimann, Fiona T. Lam, David McGuinness and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra. This evening’s performances celebrated water. Early-bird tickets ranged from about $21 to $63.

 

David Greenberg & David McGuiness
David Greenberg & David McGuinness *

 

Thursday, July 28th, 2022

  • Resounding Hildegard: Echoes of the Abbess in the Present Day – an Ensemble Arkora performance with special guest Lan Tung. The concert started at 7:30 pm at Christ Church Cathedral and offered new and old works with an emphasis on Hildegard von Bingen. Tickets cost between about $18 and $60.
  • A Curious Collection of Tunes – a concert with traditional music from Scotland, Europe and Scandinavia as well as current folk compositions. Featured artists included David Greenberg, Kirsty Money and David McGuinness. The show took place at 1:00 pm at Christ Church Cathedral located at 690 Burrard Street. General admission cost up to about $24.

 

David McGuinness & David Greenberg
D. McGuinness & D. Greenberg (photo by Mark Mushet)

 

Friday, July 29th, 2022

  • The Last Rose of Summer – an inspiring performance of Beethoven and both Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn’s works by Pierre-Antoine Tremblay and Alexander Weimann. This show was held at the Christ Church Cathedral at 690 Burrard Street. The concert began at 1:00 in the afternoon and early bird tickets cost up to $24.
  • Les Nations – taking place at Christ Church Cathedral, this concert was a show by Contrasto Armonico and Marco Vitale. The performance started at 7:30 pm and featured the L’Impériale and L’Espagnole instrumental works. Admission cost between about $18 and $60.

 

Vincent Lauzer & Sylvain Bergerson
Vincent Lauzer & Sylvain Bergeron *

 

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022

  • From The Court of Louis XIV to Shippagan – contrasting performances of Acadian folk songs and ‘airs de cour’ from France, performed by Suzie LeBlanc, Vincent Lauzer, Marie Nadeau-Tremblay and Sylvain Bergeron. The concert began at 1:00 in the afternoon at Christ Church Cathedral at 690 Burrard Street. General admission cost up to about $24 each.
  • Armonico Tributo – the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme performed the Georg Muffat piece with hints of French, Italian and Scottish sounds. The concert took place at Christ Church Cathedral starting at 7:30 pm. Admission cost between about $18 and $60.

 

Suzie LeBlanc, Christina Mahler & Marco Vitale
Suzie LeBlanc, Christina Mahler & Marco Vitale *

 

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022

  • The Next Generation: Baroque Innovations – a concert by Ellen Torrie, Marie Nadeau-Tremblay and Sylvain Bergeron at Pyatt Hall which is located at 843 Seymour Street. This concert showcased emerging musicians as they paid tribute to classic pieces by Francesca Caccini, Barbara Strozzi, Henry Purcell and J.H. Schmelzer. The show started at 1:00 pm and tickets cost up to about $24.
  • Fiddle & Figs Pub Night – a fun night at The Wolf & Hound pub which is located at 3167 West Broadway. The event started at 7:00 pm and featured food, drinks and live music from Scotland, Sweden and other regions.

 

Thursday, August 4th, 2022

  • Bach & Tunes – Multiple Voices for One – a concert featuring solo violin and folk-style performances by David Greenberg. The music began at 1:00 in the afternoon at Christ Church Cathedral at 690 Burrard Street. General admission cost up to about $24 per person.
  • Out of the Deep – the second show at Christ Church Cathedral started at 7:30 pm. This concert was directed by Jonathan Adams and Chloe Kim and featured ‘fantastical style’ music from a dark time in Italy. Tickets cost between about $18 and $60.

 

Friday, August 5th, 2022

  • Bach: Four Sonatas and a Concerto – a program full of Bach’s pieces performed by Chloe Kim, Christina Mahler and Avi Stein. The concert took place at Christ Church Cathedral and began at 1:00 pm. General admission cost up to about $24 per person.
  • Bach Kaleidoscope/Reimaginations – a concert featuring Bach’s adaptations of other composers through performances by Alexander Weimann, Christina Hutten, David McGuinness, Marco Vitale, Chloe Myers and David Greenberg. The event was held at the Chan Centre at 6265 Crescent Road in Vancouver. Tickets cost between $21 and $63.

 

Chloe Meyers at the Vancouver Bach Festival
Chloe Meyers (Photo by Mark Mushet)

 

Saturday, August 6th, 2022

  • Tea-Table Miscellany – a special event held at noon at VanDusen Botanical Garden. It featured Scottish songs performed by Ellen Torrie, Isaiah Bell and more. It was directed by David McGuinness. General admission cost up to about $40 per person.

 

EMV Christmas and Other Concerts

Early Music Vancouver hosts other concerts in addition to those with the Vancouver Bach Festival.

Concerts with Early Music Vancouver in the fall of 2022 included The Art of the Lute with Thomas Dunford on November 25th and The Odyssey of Krystof Harant on December 1st. Both of these concerts were at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver. Also in December was Festive Cantatas: J.S. Bach Magnificat & Cantata BWV 110. It took place at the Kay Meek Centre in West Vancouver on December 17th and at UBC’s Chan Centre on December 18th.

 

Other Information

For more information about the festival and to buy tickets now, visit the Early Music Vancouver website.

Other articles that may be of interest include the following:

(*) Photo Credits – The above photos of musicians are by the following photographers: David Greenberg (by JB Millot), David McGuinness (by Alex Woodward), Christina Mahler (by Sian Richards), Vincent Lauzer (by Julien Faug), Marco Vitale (by Mike Van Santvoord), Suzie LeBlanc (by Mark Mushet), and Sylvain Bergeron (by Guillaume D. Cyr)