Beethoven Celebration at the Orpheum Theatre

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      You could call the Vancouver Academy of Music’s Beethoven Celebration its own outsize ode to joy. Not only does the evening light into Ludwig’s greatest works—heard of Symphony No. 9?—but it brings hundreds of musicians, singers, and all-round rising young stars to the Orpheum stage on Sunday night (November 18). Along with the 110-plus players with the VAM, the show is powered by the voices of the 150-strong Vancouver Bach Choir. It also features the return of academy alumni like pianist Naomi Woo (from Yale University), violinist Jonathan Chan (from London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama), and cellist Jonathan Lo (from the Juilliard School). The concert is also a chance to check out the talent being honed in Vancouver Opera’s first group to go through the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program: soprano Rachel Fenlon, mezzo-soprano Sylvia Szadovszki, tenor Martin Sadd, and baritone Aaron Durand. They’re all under the baton of Leslie Dala (shown here), a man who helms the academy orchestra and also serves as associate conductor of the Vancouver Opera and, yes, music director of the Bach choir. In other words, this impressive confluence is probably not totally by coincidence.

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