Christ Church Cathedral
Music for the Little Ice Age
Artists: Pacific Baroque Orchestra; members the Vancouver Chamber Choir; and Soressa Gardner, electronics; directed by Alexander Weimann
Pre-concert Chat: TBA
Runtime: TBA
The Little Ice Age was a period of temperature instability that brought storms, war, and famine, but also shaped art, culture, and political reform.
This programme features the premiere of Snow Skills, a newly commissioned work by composer Peter Hannan that blends humans with electronics, and the past with the present. Stories unfold through Renaissance letters and speech set against contemporary digital transmissions, performed by a small vocal ensemble, with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra on period instruments and electronic tracks.
Paired with works by Buxtehude, Eimwag, Schein and Scheidt that echo themes of upheaval and renewal, this evening invites reflection on the fragility and resilience of human life across time, and reminds us that climate change is not only a scientific or political issue but a profoundly human story.
PROGRAMME
Peter Hannan (1953 – )
Snow Skills
Works by Buxtehude, Eimwag, Schein and Scheidt
Complete programme TBA
Pacific Baroque Orchestra
The ‘house band’ of Early Music Vancouver, The Pacific Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is recognized as one of Canada’s most exciting and innovative ensembles performing “early music for modern ears.” Formed in 1990, the orchestra quickly established itself as a force in Vancouver’s burgeoning music scene with the ongoing support of Early Music Vancouver. In 2009, PBO welcomed Alexander Weimann as Director. His imaginative programming, creativity and engaging musicianship have carved out a unique and vital place in the cultural landscape of Vancouver.
PBO regularly joins forces with internationally-celebrated Canadian guest artists, providing performance opportunities for Canadian musicians while exposing West Coast audiences to a spectacular variety of talent. The Orchestra has also toured throughout BC, the northern United States, and across Canada. Their 2019 East Coast Canadian tour with Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin culminated in a critically acclaimed album, Nuit Blanches, released by Atma Classique.
Vancouver Chamber Choir
Artistic Director Kari Turunen began leading the Vancouver Chamber Choir (VCC), one of Canada’s premier professional choral ensembles, in September 2019. Founded by Jon Washburn in 1971 the VCC has enjoyed amazing success -, ranking with the handful of North America’s best professional choruses and noted for its diverse repertoire and performing excellence. In addition to concerts at home in Vancouver and across Canada, international excursions have taken them to the USA, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Finland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.
VCC has performed countless concerts and broadcasts, released 36 recordings and received numerous awards including the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence by Chorus America. Foremost supporters of Canadian music, they are responsible for commissions and premieres of nearly 400 choral works by 150 composers and arrangers, most of whom are Canadian. Over the years the choir has sung over 4,000 performances of works by Canadian composers, in addition to their extensive international repertoire. The choir’s award-winning educational programs include the Conductors’ Symposium for advanced choral conductors, Interplay interactive workshops for choral composers, Focus professional development program for student singers, OnSite visitations for school choirs, the biennial Young Composers’ Competition, and many on-tour workshops and residencies.
Soressa Gardner, Electronics
Soressa Gardner is vocalist, laptop composer/improvisor, and sometimes songwriter. Her keen sense of mood, colour, humour and gravitas are expressed through extended vocals enhanced by electronic manipulations and sound-worlds carefully crafted from a variety of audio processing techniques. She performs with VEE (Vancouver Electronic Ensemble) and is a member of Frame Drag Trio (with Ross Birdwise and Joe Rzemieniak) and DB Boyco’s Voice Over Mind improvising choir.
Soressa’s recent live performances include Victoria’s Wonderment Festival (2020), Vancouver New Music Festival: Resonances (2019, The Annex) and CoexistDance: Western Edition #2 (2019, ScotiaDance Centre). Her electronic compositions have garnered international recognition and airplay. Commissions include Co-op Radio’s Media Arts Committee annual Audio Art CD and the video poem Little Black Strap, featuring Canada’s first poet laureate George Bowering.
A Vancouverite by birth, Soressa holds a music degree from Vancouver Community College and currently resides in Victoria, BC, Canada.
Alexander Weimann | Sponsored by Bruce Munro Wright, O.B.C., Director
The internationally renowned keyboard artist Alexander Weimann has spent his life enveloped by the therapeutic power and beauty of making music. Alex grew up in Munich. At age three he became fascinated by the intense magic of the church organ. He started piano at six, formal organ lessons at 12 and harpsichord at university (along with theatre theory, medieval Latin and jazz piano.) He is in huge demand as a director, soloist and chamber player, traveling the world with leading North American and European ensembles. He is Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and teaches at the University of British Columbia where he directs the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme.
Alex has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including the Juno-award-winning album “Prima Donna” with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque orchestra. His latest album series “The Art of Improvisation” (Volume 1: A Prayer for Peace; Volume 2: Ad libitum; and Volume 3: Canavian Variations, released on Redshift, 2024) unites his passions for both baroque music and improvisation on organ, harpsichord, and piano.
Peter Hannan, Composer
Peter Hannan has completed about 70 commissions, involving both acoustic and electronic media for widely diverse musical situations, including operas for National Arts Centre; Modern Baroque Opera; Vancouver New Music as well as works for Vancouver Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Hard Rubber Orchestra, Icebreaker London and the Stratford Festival.
His most recent recording Rethink Forever, won “Best Classical Recording” at the 2011 Western Canada Music Awards . Also has many other CD releases with positive Canadian and international press and web reviews, and numerous radio recordings – CBC Radio; BBC Radio; WDR Koln; Radio Bremen; Radio France; NOS Radio, Holland.
