Victoria Symphony

Christmas Pops with the Victoria Symphony (West Shore Concert)
2024-12-18 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Vancouver) | Dogwood Auditorium, Royal Roads University, 2005 Sooke Rd, Victoria, V9C 3E9, Canada
Maestro Giuseppe Pietraroia and your Victoria Symphony are returning to the West Shore with music for The Most Wonderful Time of the Year! From holiday classics to spirited renditions of favourite carols, join your Victoria Symphony for a festive celebration This Christmas.

Home Alone in Concert
2024-12-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
A true holiday favourite, this beloved comedy classic features renowned composer John Williams’ charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Victoria Symphony. Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old boy who’s accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves. Hilarious and heart-warming, Home Alone is holiday fun for the entire family!
© 1990 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
Not included in subscription purchase discount.

Concert underwritten by Linda Pendray
Sean O’Loughlin underwritten by Lynda Farmer O.B.C. & Murray Farmer O.B.C.

Home Alone in Concert
2024-12-22 14:30 - 16:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
A true holiday favourite, this beloved comedy classic features renowned composer John Williams’ charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Victoria Symphony. Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old boy who’s accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves. Hilarious and heart-warming, Home Alone is holiday fun for the entire family!
© 1990 Twentieth Century FoxFilm Corporation. All rights reserved.
Not included in subscription purchase discount.

Concert underwritten by Linda Pendray
Sean O’Loughlin underwritten by Lynda Farmer O.B.C. & Murray Farmer O.B.C.
Concert underwritten by Linda Pendray
Sean O’Loughlin underwritten by Lynda Farmer O.B.C. & Murray Farmer O.B.C.

Home Alone in Concert - JUST ADDED!
2024-12-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
A true holiday favourite, this beloved comedy classic features renowned composer John Williams’ charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Victoria Symphony. Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old boy who’s accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves. Hilarious and heart-warming, Home Alone is holiday fun for the entire family!
© 1990 Twentieth Century FoxFilm Corporation. All rights reserved.

Concert underwritten by Linda Pendray
Sean O’Loughlin underwritten by Lynda Farmer O.B.C. & Murray Farmer O.B.C.
Concert underwritten by Linda Pendray
Sean O’Loughlin underwritten by Lynda Farmer O.B.C. & Murray Farmer O.B.C.

A New Year's Day Celebration
2025-01-01 14:30 - 16:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
Victoria’s favourite New Year’s tradition! Effervescent soprano Tracy Dahl hits the high notes as VS breaks out the bubbly. Revel in a musical banquet of much-loved arias, choruses, glamorous dances, and toe-tapping instrumentals from favourite operas and operettas. Treat yourself, family, and friends to this musical toast as we ring in the New Year. Cheers!
Ahead of this concert Soprano Tracy Dahl’s This Is My Music program will be broadcast on CBC Music, December 28 from 10am – 12noon. Save the date & tune in!

Giuseppe Pietraroia underwritten by Terry Scandrett & Angela Bassage
Tracy Dahl underwritten by Carol Bellringer & Greg Doyle
Ballet Victoria underwritten by Tom & Terri Siemens

Tony DeSare – Rhapsody & Blue Eyes
2025-01-25 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-01-26 14:30 - 16:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
From the timeless songs of Ol’ Blue Eyes, to George Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue, triple-threat singer/songwriter/ pianist, Tony DeSare, tackles two musical mavericks in one outstanding concert. Whether in jazz clubs, Carnegie Hall, or headlining with major orchestras, Tony delivers a fresh take on old school class. He returns to Victoria to chart some of Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits—Come Fly with Me, It Was A Very Good Year, New York, New York—and more!

Pops at the Royal Series underwritten by Sandra Lackenbauer
Concert underwritten by John & Gabrielle Goudy
Sean O’Loughlin underwritten by Lynda Farmer O.B.C. & Murray Farmer O.B.C.

Kluxen & Pouliot – Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
2025-02-02 14:30 - 16:30 | Farquhar at UVic, University Farquhar Auditorium, Ring Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada
“Oh, how difficult it is to make anyone see and feel in music what we see and feel ourselves.” Early, temperamental reactions to his Violin Concerto must have stung Tchaikovsky, but it’s now a firm favourite of countless violinists, including Canada’s Blake Pouliot. A set of comic portraits of personality types, or temperaments, triggered Nielsen to recreate them in musical form, from the introverted (melancholic and phlegmatic) to the extroverted (choleric and sanguine). Composer Missy Mazzoli’s mesmeric Sinfonia is music ‘in the shape of the solar system,’ weaving and coiling itself in a sequence of pulsing loops.

Sundays at the Farquhar Series underwritten by Julie & Harry Swain
Concert underwritten by Natexa Verbrugge
Christian Kluxen underwritten by Sandra Lackenbauer
Blake Pouliot underwritten by George Lovick

Dvořák's New World Symphony
2025-02-09 14:30 - 16:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
In advance of Valentine’s Day, we share three heart-felt musical depictions of love: the tragedy of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers from the pen of Tchaikovsky; Saint-Saëns’ romantic, poetic musings in an inspired dialogue between two soloists; and the nostalgic longing for home experienced by Dvořák. Korean-Canadian conductor Earl Lee serves as Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

Sundays at the Royal Series underwritten by Jill Gibson and Sandra Lackenbauer
Concert underwritten by Sara Neely
Terence Tam’s performance underwritten by Sandra Lackenbauer
Brian Yoon’s performance underwritten by Helen Stuart & Bob Hoogendoorn** Mozart Fund

Platypus Theatre's Charlotte and the Music-Maker
2025-02-22 15:00 - 16:00 | Farquhar at UVic, University Farquhar Auditorium, Ring Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada
Lost in a blizzard, Charlotte finds herself whisked on a journey through the Magical Monarchy of Musical Magnificence, exploring the sounds and colours of the orchestra and leading her to an unexpected discovery, not only about music, but about herself. The concert features enchanting illustrations by Graham Ross and a stunning original score by Alain Trudel, with selections from Handel, Grieg, and upbeat arrangements of well-known popular tunes.
Commissioned by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

Join us at 2:00 pm in the lobby for our Instrument Petting Zoo! The Instrument Petting Zoo gives children of all ages the opportunity to try a musical instrument. It’s a relaxing and fun way to spark a child’s interest in music and gives them a firsthand try at many different instruments.
Concert runtime: 60 minutes

Kids at the Farquhar Series underwritten by JAYMAC

A Night at the Oscars (Qualicum Beach Concert)
2025-03-07 19:30 - 21:30 | Qualicum Beach Civic Centre, 747 Jones St, Qualicum Beach, BC, V9K 1S7, Canada
“The envelope please…” VS rolls out the red carpet to welcome you to an evening of glitz, glamour, and movie music! From spine-tingling thrillers, heart-pounding action films, triumphant moments, and poignant goodbyes, we celebrate scores that earned Academy Award recognition. From The Wizard of Oz and E.T: The Extraterrestrial to Chinatown and Chariots of Fire, relive some of cinema’s most magical musical moments.
Tickets are on sale at the Mulberry Bush Bookstore in Qualicum Beach (130 Second Ave.). $45, general admission.

Concert underwritten by Linda Pendray
Sean O’Loughlin underwritten by Lynda Farmer O.B.C. & Murray Farmer O.B.C.

A Night at the Oscars
2025-03-08 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-03-09 14:30 - 16:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
“The envelope please…” VS rolls out the red carpet to welcome you to an evening of glitz, glamour, and movie music! From spine-tingling thrillers, heart-pounding action films, triumphant moments, and poignant goodbyes, we celebrate scores that earned Academy Award recognition. From The Wizard of Oz and E.T: The Extraterrestrial to Chinatown and Chariots of Fire, relive some of cinema’s most magical musical moments.

Pops at the Royal Series underwritten by Sandra Lackenbauer
Concert underwritten by Linda Pendray
Sean O’Loughlin underwritten by Lynda Farmer O.B.C. & Murray Farmer O.B.C.

Kluxen – Haydn's The Creation
2025-03-16 14:30 - 16:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
“In the beginning…” Drawing on biblical texts from Genesis and the Psalms, as well as John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, Haydn moulded his gloriously tuneful and optimistic oratorio The Creation. Out of the chaos of darkness emerges light, heaven and earth, plants, animals, and humankind. Sung in English by a stellar cast of soloists and choristers, this milestone musical work from the Age of Enlightenment continues to enthral audiences, as joyful and life-affirming as a walk in a garden.

Sundays at the Royal Series underwritten by Jill Gibson and Sandra Lackenbauer
Concert underwritten by Jade Gan
Christian Kluxen underwritten by Sandra Lackenbauer
Amanda Forsythe underwritten by Dr. M. Nickason
Vox Humana underwritten by Julie & Harry Swain

Kluxen – Brahms Symphony No. 3
2025-03-23 14:30 - 16:30 | Farquhar at UVic, University Farquhar Auditorium, Ring Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada
The product of a summer’s holiday in 1883, Brahms’s Third Symphony has been described as being “…artistically the most perfect.” A single movement from Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 was the inspiration for Britten to present a musical posy: What the Wildflowers Tell Me. The poetry of Pablo Neruda moved Peter Lieberson to create a song cycle for his wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, “one of the most extraordinarily affecting artistic gifts ever created by one lover to another.”

Sundays at the Farquhar Series underwritten by Julie & Harry Swain
Concert and Allyson McHardy underwritten by Dr. Fritz & Dora Boehm
Christian Kluxen underwritten by Sandra Lackenbauer

The Princess Bride in Concert
2025-03-29 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-30 14:30 - 16:30, 2025-03-30 19:00 - 21:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles… Experience one of the most beloved films of all time at the Royal Theatre as the Victoria Symphony performs Mark Knopfler’s unforgettable score live to picture! Missing this cinematic concert would be “Inconceivable!”
© The Princess Bride Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Not included in subscription purchase discount.

Concert underwritten by John & Gabrielle Goudy
Giuseppe Pietraroia underwritten by Terry Scandrett & Angela Bassage

Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (Science and Symphony Concert)
2025-04-06 14:30 - 16:30 | Farquhar at UVic, University Farquhar Auditorium, Ring Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada
THIS CONCERT IS SOLD OUT.
We share some views of our beautiful blue planet, blending live music with Science & Symphony’s high-definition films alongside Dr. José Francisco Salgado’s explorations of oceans, tides, and water. The scene is completed with some equally dramatic scores of the Cornish coast and the pastoral countryside.

Sundays at the Farquhar Series underwritten by Julie & Harry Swain
Concert underwritten by Jan & Johanna GrootWassink
Kalena Bovell is underwritten by Julie & Harry Swain
José Francisco Salgado underwritten by Jim & Betty Hesser
This concert is dedicated in memory of Tom de Faye

Angela Hewitt Plays Mozart
2025-04-13 14:30 - 16:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
THIS CONCERT IS SOLD OUT.
The return of Angela Hewitt is a not-to-be-missed event. Mozart’s Concert-Rondo was a “new and improved” ending for a much earlier concerto, designed to please the audiences in Vienna. Between 1784 and 1786, Mozart completed a remarkable twelve concertos, including the sublime C major (latterly nicknamed the Elvira Madigan) and the earthshattering C minor—one of only two that the legendary composer wrote in a minor key. Finzi’s Eclogue is a dialogue between piano and strings, a nostalgic and quintessentially British work worth discovering.

Sundays at the Royal Series underwritten by Jill Gibson and Sandra Lackenbauer
Concert underwritten by Sheridan Scott & David Zussman
Angela Hewitt underwritten by Natexa Verbrugge, Marc & Patricia Lortie, and Millingtons: Trustees of the Lou Williamson Scholarship Fund

The Spirit Horse Returns
2025-04-26 15:00 - 16:00 | Farquhar at UVic, University Farquhar Auditorium, Ring Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada
The Spirit Horse Returns is a captivating concert for all ages that blends traditional North American Indigenous teachings, stunning visual art, and a rich orchestral score to tell powerful stories and legends of the Ojibwe Horses. A collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous co-creators, it takes audiences on a journey through time, exploring the history of the Ojibwe horses as helpers and spirit guides for First Nations and Métis people, and how they were affected by the arrival of settlers, the Gold Rush, and Pony Express. The show has an inspired and uplifting message, as groups come together to rescue the last of the Ojibwe horses, giving them new life and hope.
Parental guidance notice: the concert involves mention of the death of horses and residential schools and may bring up emotions.
Complimentary Tickets for Indigenous peoples: Complimentary tickets are available for all people self-identifying as Indigenous. To redeem the offer, individuals must call or visit the UVic Ticket Centre at 250.721.8480. The Ticket Centre is open Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 4:00pm, and one hour prior to the concert.
Not included in subscription purchase discount.
Join us at 2:00 pm in the lobby for our Instrument Petting Zoo! The Instrument Petting Zoo gives children of all ages the opportunity to try a musical instrument. It’s a relaxing and fun way to spark a child’s interest in music and gives them a firsthand try at many different instruments.

Kids at the Farquhar Series underwritten by JAYMAC

Yo-Yo Ma in Concert
2025-05-04 19:30 - 21:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
THIS CONCERT IS SOLD OUT.
The extraordinary cellist, globe-trotting teacher, and humanitarian Yo-Yo Ma returns to the Royal Theatre to perform with your Victoria Symphony. As the peak of our 2024/25 Season, Maestro Kluxen will welcome the award-winning cellist to perform Elgar’s moving Cello Concerto, a monumental work of universal appeal. The opening work, by Jennifer Butler, was premiered by VS in 2011 and evokes a transition from darkness to a space of unity, peace and healing. Sibelius himself thought of his Symphony No. 2 as “a struggle between death and salvation” and “a confession of the soul.”
Concert underwritten by Jill Gibson, Jim & Betty Hesser, Marc & Patricia Lortie, and Christine & Shane O’Leary
Christian Kluxen underwritten by Sandra Lackenbauer

Dancing Queen – The Music of ABBA
2025-05-10 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-05-11 14:30 - 16:30 | Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St
Mamma Mia! A night of ABBA’s music may be the ultimate “guilty pleasure” for us all. Fifty years after they first formed and with millions of albums sold, the music of ABBA is still welcomed everywhere. VS rocks along with four amazing vocalists and the Jeans ’n Classics band to perform the iconic songs of ABBA in all their pop, rock, dance, and ballad glory, including Take a Chance on Me, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Waterloo, and more!

Pops at the Royal Series underwritten by Sandra Lackenbauer
Concert underwritten by Sara Neely
Giuseppe Pietraroia underwritten by Terry Scandrett & Angela Bassage
This concert is dedicated in memory of Ann Piercy

Gryphon Trio – ECHO: Memories of the World
2025-05-29 19:30 - 21:30 | McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Square, Victoria, BC, V8W 1P5, Canada
Imagined within this multimedia project is an exploration of the many efforts around the world to bring voice to submerged histories. ECHO: Memories of the World highlights these important efforts through a unique fusion of music, video, spoken word, soundscape, and other artistic media. With a core team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous creators, this project not only tackles, but engages in the process of establishing and maintaining mutually respectful relationships between artistic genres, timeframes, spaces, histories, and peoples.
A tapestry of music by Andrew Balfour, Eliot Britton, Ian Cusson, Ry Moran, Kelly-Marie Murphy, Marion Newman, Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and contemporary Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, interwoven with poignant storytelling, digital audio, evocative imagery, and film, ECHO: Memories of the World unveils resilient visions of the future, drawing inspiration from three diverse corners of the world: the lands now known as Canada, Norway, and Ukraine.
Developed with the support of the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.
A Celebrating Gaia Series Event sponsored by the Gail O’Riordan Climate and the Arts Legacy Fund/Victoria Foundation.
Presented in partnership with the Victoria Native Friendship Centre.

Concert underwritten by Barbara Winters

VS and Pacific Opera Victoria at The Butchart Gardens
2025-07-24 20:00 - 22:00 | The Butchart Gardens, 800 Benvenuto Ave, Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, V8M 1J8, Canada
A signature musical event of the summer! Led by Maestro Giuseppe Pietraroia, Principal Conductor of Pacific Opera Victoria, the Victoria Symphony performs at The Butchart Gardens alongside soprano Lauren Margison, tenor Adam Luther, young piano soloist Patrick Cao, and members of the Pacific Opera Victoria Chorus.
This concert is included in the price of admission to The Butchart Gardens. Admission can be purchased in advance or upon arrival at the venue.

VS at Christ Church Cathedral
2025-07-25 19:30 - 21:30 | Christ Church Cathedral, 930 Burdett Ave
Join us for an evening of classical charm and lyrical beauty at Victoria’s majestic Christ Church Cathedral!
Led by Maestro Giuseppe Pietraroia, the evening opens with Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, a brilliant prelude to one of his final and most beloved operas. VS Principal Trumpet Ryan Cole takes the spotlight in Neruda’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major, a favorite in the trumpet repertoire for its expressive warmth. The program concludes with the pastoral spirit of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 5 in F-major.
Tickets on sale June 17!

VS at Qualicum Beach
2025-07-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Qualicum Beach Civic Centre, 747 Jones St, Qualicum Beach, BC, V9K 1S7, Canada
VS returns to Qualicum Beach for an evening of classical charm and lyrical beauty!
Led by Maestro Giuseppe Pietraroia, the evening opens with Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, a brilliant prelude to one of his final and most beloved operas. VS Principal Trumpet Ryan Cole takes the spotlight in Neruda’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major, a favorite in the trumpet repertoire for its expressive warmth. The program concludes with the pastoral spirit of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 5 in F-major.
Tickets on sale at the Mulberry Bush Book Store (130 W. 2nd Ave).

The National Youth Orchestra of Canada (Christ Church Cathedral)
2025-08-01 19:30 - 21:30 | Christ Church Cathedral, 930 Burdett Ave
Celebrate 65 incredible years of music with NYO Canada!
Led by acclaimed Music Director Naomi Woo, this one-night only anniversary performance transforms Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral into a space of sound, and transformation—experience a powerful program that doesn’t shy away from darkness—but insists on beauty, meaning, and hope. The evening opens with Across the Vaulted Night, a work commissioned by the SOCAN Foundation NYO Canada and composed by NYO Canada cello alum Nicholas Denton Protsack. Next, 2025 Michael Measures First Prize winner Justin Saulnier takes center stage in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2—a work of shifting moods, flickering between solitude and spectacle, and concluding in a blaze of rhythm and colour. After intermission, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 offers a searing portrait of survival under totalitarianism, where even silence carries weight.
Featuring 91 of Canada’s most talented young musicians — including local Victoria talent!
One cathedral. One unforgettable summer night. The next generation of Canadian orchestral music starts here.
Tickets on sale June 17!

Celeigh Cardinal & Shawnee Kish with The National Youth Orchestra of Canada
2025-08-02 15:30 - 16:30 | Victoria Inner Harbour, Inner Harbour, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3M6, Canada
Two powerhouse voices. One unforgettable afternoon by the water.
JUNO-nominated singer-songwriters Celeigh Cardinal and Shawnee Kish join forces with The National Youth Orchestra of Canada for a genre-defying celebration of strength, identity, and transformation—set against the stunning backdrop of Victoria’s Inner Harbour.
From the anthemic energy of “Wild Women” and “I Surrender” to the evocative storytelling of “Wandering River” and “There Are Some Things We Will Never Do,” this concert showcases two of Canada’s most vital contemporary Indigenous artists alongside 91 of the country’s most gifted young orchestral musicians, led by NYO Canada Music Director Naomi Woo.
The set also features iconic favourites like “Live and Let Die”, “At Last”, and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, arranged for full symphony orchestra!
Symphony SPLASH! is a free public event. Interested in reserved seating? Limited Grandstand tickets are available to purchase from $5 – $68.
