Soprano Laura Whalen

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has much to celebrate as it closes the season: a successful Asia-Pacific tour in October, during which it became the first Canadian orchestra in 30 years to perform in China; and a critically acclaimed Eastern Canada tour in May, which included a sold-out concert in Ottawa as part of BC Scene. So you can hardly blame maestro Bramwell Tovey for wanting to wrap up 2008-09 with a bang. Saturday (June 13) and Monday (June 15), the orchestra joins the Vancouver Bach Choir and Vancouver Bach Children’s Chorus—along with soprano Laura Whalen, tenor Colin Ainsworth, and baritone Hugh Russell—in a performance of Carl Orff’s shamelessly dramatic Carmina Burana. The epic cantata has served as the soundtrack to ads for everything from Old Spice aftershave to Carlton Draught beer yet somehow managed to retain its dignity.