Live classical music is back big-time in Vancouver this spring with a wide range of in-person performances presented by companies like the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Chor Leoni, Vancouver Pro Musica, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Music on Main, the UBC School of Music, the Friends of Chamber Music, and the Vancouver Recital Society.

MARCH 1: Benewitz Quartet at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Friends of Chamber Music present a program of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (String Quartet No. 4 in C major, KV157), Felix Mendelssohn (Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Opus 13), and Antonín Dvořák (String Quartet No.13 in G major, Opus 106).

MARCH 2: Aljoša Jurinić at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Croatian classical pianist performs works by Ludwig van Beethoven (Sonata No. 21 in C major “Waldstein”) and Frédéric Chopin (Ballade in F major, Op. 38; Nocturne in D flat major, Op. 27, No. 2; and Ballade in G minor, Op. 23).

MARCH 3: VSO/Peer Gynt at the Orpheum Theatre. Conductor Anna Rakitina and host Christopher Gaze join the Vancouver Symphony in Edvard Grieg’s charming suite from the Ibsen play.

MARCH 4: VSO/Prokofiev & Grieg at the Orpheum Theatre. Conductor Anna Rakitina and violinist Blake Pouliot join the Vancouver Symphony in Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 and Grieg's Peer Gynt: Incidental Music (selections).

MARCH 4: Women of Note at Christ Church Cathedral. Director Alexander Weimann and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra perform musical gems by women composers.

MARCH 6: Music on the Point: Stephen Chatman 70th Birthday Celebration at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. The Canadian Music Centre, Vancouver Chamber Choir, and the UBC School of Music present performances by the Vancouver Chamber Choir, under conductor Kari Turunen, and Vetta Chamber Music.

MARCH 6: Isata Kenneh-Mason at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Vancouver Recital Society presents British pianist in a program of works by Mozart (Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457), Beethoven (Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1), and Rachmaninov (Excerpts from Études-Tableaux, Op. 39).

MARCH 8-10: Digital Salons online at musiconmain.ca. Music on Main presents three nights of free music and conversation featuring composers Keiko Devaux, Alfredo Santa Ana, and Sabrina Schroeder; flutist Mark Takeshi McGregor, and violin/electronics duo Sapphire Haze (Cindy Kao and Aysha Dulong).

MARCH 9: musica intima at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Vancouver vocal ensemble presents a selection of choral works by Kathleen Allan, Andrew Balfour, Lane Price, and Leslie Uyeda.

MARCH 11: Bach and Martines at Heritage Hall. Symphony 21 presents Paul Hung performing CPE Bach's Flute Concerto No. 2, along with the Canadian premiere of Marianna Martines' Sinfonia in C.

MARCH 11-13: Sonic Boom at the Orpheum Annex and Pyatt Hall. Vancouver Pro Musica presents its annual festival of new works by B.C. composers, performed by B.C. musicians.

MARCH 12: Vivaldi Chamber Choir celebrates life and loss with soul-healing music, and the world première of David Millard’s Requiem, at Pacific Spirit United Church.

MARCH 12-13: Stephen Page with the VSO at the Orpheum Theatre. Canadian singer-songwriter Steven Page joins the Vancouver Symphony for a performance of his solo works and hits from his Barenaked Ladies days.

MARCH 12-13: UBC Opera: Shadow Catch at the UBC Old Auditorium. The UBC School of Music presents a chamber opera in four acts, directed by Nancy Hermiston.

MARCH 13: Music on the Point: Trio Canada at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Violinist David Gillham, cellist Eric Wilson, and pianist Chiharu Iiluma perform works by Antonin Dvořák (Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op 90 Dumky) and Dmitri Shostakovich (Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op 67).

MARCH 13: Pavel Haas Quartet at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Friends of Chamber Music present Czech string quartet in a program of works by Franz Joseph Haydn (Quartet in G major, Opus 76, No.1), Bohuslav Martinů (Quartet No.7, “Concerto da Camera”, H. 314), and Franz Schubert (String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D887).

MARCH 15: Canadian Guitar Quartet: On a Different Note at the Kay Meek Arts Centre. A collection of new works for guitar quartet, including a triptych homage to composers Chopin, Piazzolla, and Bach by Canadian composer Patrick Roux.

MARCH 16: Chatman, Chopin & Schumann at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Pianist and UBC faculty member Patricia Hoy performs a program of music by Stephen Chatman (Etudes Book 1), Frédéric Chopin (Four Mazurkas, Op. 24), and Robert Schumann (Carnaval, Op. 9).

MARCH 18: UBC Symphony Orchestra at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Conductor Jonathan Girard leads the orchestra in a program of works by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1) and Jean Sibelius (Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43).

MARCH 18-19: VSO/Rocketman Live in Concert at the Orpheum Theatre. Screening of the 2019 film Rocketman, about the life and music of Elton John, with the Vancouver Symphony performing the score live.

MARCH 19: UBC Choirs: Colour & Light at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Performances by the University Singers under conductor Graeme Langager and the Choral Union under conductor Caroni Young.

MARCH 20: Dixit Dominus at the Orpheum Theatre. The Vancouver Chamber Choir presents performances of Bach and Handel’s early choral works.

MARCH 20: Jakub Józef Orliński at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Vancouver Recital Society presents Polish countertenor in a program of works by Purcell, Schubert, Handel, Naginski, and Copland.

MARCH 22: Esmé Quartet at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Friends of Chamber Music present young Korean quartet performing works by Soo Yeon Lyuh (Yessori, A Fantasia for Haegeum), Claude Debussy (String Quartet in G minor, Opus 10), and Ludwig van Beethoven (String Quartet No.8 in E minor, Opus 59, No.2 “Razumovsky”).

MARCH 24: VSO/The Magic Toyshop at the Orpheum Theatre. Vancouver Symphony associate conductor Andrew Crust and host Christopher Gaze join the VSO in the ballet score by Ottorino Respighi, inspired by a set of Rossini piano pieces.

MARCH 25-26: VSO/The Celtic Tenors at the Orpheum Theatre. The Celtic Tenors join associate conductor Andrew Crust and the Vancouver Symphony in a program of Celtic songs, classics, a capellas, and popular contemporary songs.

MARCH 27: VSO/The Composer is Here at the Orpheum Theatre. Vancouver Symphony principal percussionist Vern Griffiths returns as conductor and host for a kids' concert exploring composers who aren’t dead.

MARCH 27: Stephen Waarts and Gabriele Carcano at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Vancouver Recital Society presents violinist Waarts and pianist Carcana in a program of works by Debussy (Sonata for violin and piano in G minor, L. 140), Schumann (Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Op. 121), Sibelius (Four Humoresques, Op. 89, complete), and Enescu (Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25).

MARCH 30: Leslie Dala: Philip Glass Etudes for Piano at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Pianist Leslie Dala perform selections from the 20 Glass etudes that he recorded on the Redshift Label during the pandemic.

MARCH 30: Yuja Wang at the Orpheum Theatre. The Vancouver Recital Society presents a performance by Chinese classical pianist.