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Mozart Violin Concerto No. 1 & Dvořák Czech Suite

August 1 @ 7:30 pm

An evening of summer serenity fills Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral under the baton of Andrei Feher. Weiner’s Serenade for Small Orchestra blends Romantic elegance and Hungarian-inflected melodies, while VS Principal 2nd Violin Kimberly Durflinger takes the spotlight in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1, a youthful work that holds an important place in the violin repertoire. The sunny disposition and pastoral charm of Dvořák’s Czech Suite evoke rolling landscapes and serene nights, bringing the program to a warm close on a summer evening in August.

Tickets for all Symphony in the Summer Festival tickets on sale June 2.

 

 

Andrei Feher, conductor

Canadian-Romanian conductor Andrei Feher has earned a reputation for his musical maturity and integrity, natural authority on the podium, and an imaginative and intelligent approach to programming. He is hailed for his “ability to connect with his players, using their skills as if they were the piano and he the pianist” (The Record).

Feher regularly appears with top Canadian and European orchestras. His noteworthy 2019 debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, performing Stravinsky’s Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss, was recorded and airs on BBC Radio 3. Subscription appearances include Symphony Nova Scotia, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta sinfónica RTVE Madrid, and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Additional highlights include appearances as guest conductor with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Les Violons du Roy, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre National d’Ile de France, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal and Romanian Radio National Orchestra.

In 2018, at age 26, Feher was appointed Music Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, making him one of the youngest to lead a major Canadian orchestra. During his five-year tenure as Music Director, Feher is credited with seeing the Orchestra through pandemic closures with 12 full-orchestra online programs and transforming the symphony’s relationship with French speakers in the region and beyond. Performance highlights under his artistic direction include Carmen, La Traviata, and Mahler’s Second Symphony, with numerous sold-out shows held at the Raffi Armenian Theatre within the Centre In The Square, a concert hall seating over 2,000.

Born in Romania into a family of musicians, Feher began his musical education as a violinist in his hometown Satu-Mare with Nagy Margareta before continuing his studies in Montréal at age 13 when his family immigrated to Canada. An accomplished violinist, he studied at Joseph-François-Perrault and at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Johanne Arel and Raffi Armenian. Feher is based in Montréal with his wife and two young sons.

Kimberly Durflinger, violin

Originally from San Diego, California, violinist Kimberly Durflinger is currently Principal 2nd Violin of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra in British Columbia, Canada. She also subs with several major North American orchestras, performs in the rock band Vaerisa, is a session musician with the company Musiversal, and teaches a select number of students privately. She lives in Victoria, BC with her Pembroke Welsh Corgi Maple. In her spare time, she can be found dancing Argentine Tango, baking pies, or catching shiny Pokémon.

An avid orchestral musician, Kimberly began playing professionally with the Thunder Bay Symphony from 2021-2023 as a tenured section violinist. After that, she joined the Victoria Symphony in 2023 as a tenured section violinist, and has continued to perform there. Additionally, she has subbed with many major North American orchestras such as the San Diego Symphony, National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, I Musici Orchestre Chambre de Montréal, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra.

Kimberly has a versatile skill set, due to her passion towards genres of music outside the realm of classical music. In 2025, she joined the roster of musicians at Musiversal – a company that connects session musicians with clients all around the world. In one year alone, she has already been booked and recorded for over 700 sessions. Additionally, she is a member of the Toronto-based rock band Vaerisa, which was formed in 2018. Vaerisa has toured the east coast of Canada, and has taken part in festivals and events such as Toronto’s Indie Week, and been featured in Stencil Magazine UK.

In addition to Vaerisa, Kimberly enjoys taking on projects from a variety of sources, including premieres of contemporary composers, performing live tango music to Argentine Tango dancers at a Tango festival, playing punk-rock music at the House of Blues in San Diego, and recording the theme song to the video game Renaine on the Nintendo Switch.

Classically trained, she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in 2018 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music in 2016. She has been coached and guided by wonderful musicians and people such as Andrew Wan, Jonathan Crow, Leah Roseman, Alexander Read, Lynn Blakeslee, Jing Yan Bowcott, Alexandra ‘Olga’ Keegan, and Morgan Wheeler.

Leó Weiner (1885—1960)
Serenade, Op. 3

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756—1791)
Violin Concerto No. 1

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Czech Suite

Details

Venue

Victoria Symphony respectfully acknowledges and offers gratitude to the lək̓ʷəŋən people, known today as the Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations, whose unceded lands we live, work, and perform on. We honour their stewardship, care, and leadership — past, present, and future.