Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor
Giuseppe Pietraroia is Associate Conductor of the Victoria Symphony and newly appointed Principal Conductor of Pacific Opera Victoria. As a guest conductor he has been engaged by l’Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestra London, Vancouver Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic, Okanagan Symphony, Regina Symphony, Kingston Symphony and Thunder Bay Symphony.
His extensive opera engagements with Pacific Opera include productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, La traviata, La bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, Norma, Rigoletto, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, La Cenerentola, Tosca, and Let’s Make an Opera/The Little Sweep. In addition, he has conducted productions for l’Opéra de Montréal, l’Opéra de Québec, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Edmonton Opera, Opera New Brunswick, Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Program, and l’Institut Canadien d’Art Vocal.
With Victoria Choral Society, where he was Music Director for seven seasons, Maestro Pietraroia conducted performances of Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the Victoria Symphony, a choreographed production of Orff’s Carmina Burana in collaboration with Ballet Victoria, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, David Fanshawe’s African Sanctus, and the Duruflé and Fauré Requiems.
Maestro Pietraroia has recorded a CD with soprano Marie-Josée Lord and l’Orchestre Métropolitain for the ATMA label, which won a Felix award granted by l’ADISQ and was also nominated for a JUNO award.
Giuseppe Pietraroia is the recipient of the George and Jane Heffelfinger Pacific Opera Victoria Artist of the Year Award and the Canada Council’s Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestral Conducting.
Jennifer Taverner, soprano
Soprano Jennifer Taverner has been described as “resplendent and captivating” (Ottawa Life) and is in high demand as a soloist with orchestras and opera companies across Canada, in works ranging from baroque to contemporary.
As Armida with Pacific Opera Victoria in Handel’s Rinaldo, she “brought great menace to the role… innovative in her cadenzas with an incredibly pure tone and brilliant precision” (Schmopera). In Tapestry Opera’s Bandits in the Valley, Now Magazine wrote “Taverner is ravishing as the diva – what a treat to hear her creamy soprano up close”.
Jennifer sang the role of Elizabeth in Kamouraska (Wilson) with Toronto’s Voicebox:Opera in Concert, and starred as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte in her debut with Edmonton Opera. Jennifer looks forward to her return to Pacific Opera Victoria as Siegrune in Wagner’s Die Walküre in 2023.
Concert performances in 2023/24 include Messiah with Ontario Philharmonic/Amadeus Choir and Chorus Niagara. Recent performances include Messiah with Victoria Symphony, Mozart’s Laudate Dominum and Beethoven’s Mass in C with Bach Elgar Choir, and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with Niagara Symphony, and Mandle Philharmonic.
Jennifer performed in Vivier’s Kopernikus with Against the Grain Theatre at Banff Centre, and in Soundstreams Canada and Signal Theatre’s doublebill of Two Odysseys: Pimooteewin/Gállábártnit (Hui/Byström), two operas sung in Cree and Sàmi, rooted in traditional tales from Canada and Nordic cultures.
Jennifer is featured in several OperaBreaks cinematic videos, directed by François Racine and produced during the pandemic by Domoney Artists.
Emma Parkinson, alto
Chinese-Canadian mezzo-soprano Emma Parkinson has performed across Canada and internationally, she has been hailed as “an outstanding voice” (La Scena Musicale). Recently, she was seen as Third Lady in The Magic Flute with Vancouver Opera and as Flora in La Traviata with Opéra de Massy in France. She has also performed roles with Pacific Opera Victoria, Opéra de Montreal, City Opera Vancouver, Burnaby Lyric Opera among others. Emma created the role of Anna in the world premiere of the opera Chinatown in 2022, as well as performing in several Canadian premieres of new operas including Into the Little Hill by George Benjamin in 2023. She has been a soloist with Early Music Vancouver, Vancouver Bach Choir, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Baroque, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
James Reese, tenor
A “shining tenor” (New York Classical Review), James Reese is a frequently sought tenor soloist with orchestras and ensembles throughout North America. He has relationships with several leading Canadian orchestras, including Tafelmusik, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Calgary Philharmonic. He looks forward to his British Columbia debut with the Victoria Symphony and Early Music Vancouver. This season in his native US, James will sing with the Mobile Symphony (Alabama), the American Bach Soloists, Opera Lafayette, and the Boston Early Music Festival.
James is a noted interpreter of Baroque music, giving performances both “splendid” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “captivating” (Broad Street Review.) He is also an active recitalist and collaborates often with pianist Daniel Overly. They made their Philadelphia Chamber Music Society debut in 2022 with a recital of song. Together, they will present Schubert’s Die Schöne Mullerin at the historic Hill-Physick House in Philadelphia in 2025.
James is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and holds a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music. In 2023, he won a GRAMMY® Award as a soloist singing the music of Edie Hill on the record Born, released by The Crossing. He lives in Philadelphia.
Philippe Sly, bass-baritone
French-Canadian bass-baritone Philippe Sly has gained international recognition for his “beautiful, blooming tone and magnetic stage presence” (San Francisco Chronicle). In the 23/24 season, Mr. Sly will return to Opéra national de Paris for a new Calixto Bieito production of Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel (Russel) and the Wiener Staatsoper for the title role in Le nozze di Figaro. On the concert stage he will appear with The Orchestre Métropolitain for performances of Handel’s Messiah and The Orchestre symphonique de Québec for Mozart’s Mass in C Minor.
Last season he debuted at Opernhaus Zürich for Lakmé (Nilakantha) and the Bayeriche Staatsoper for Semele (Cadmus) and returned to the Wiener Staatsoper for Don Giovanni (Leporello). On the concert stage he sang with the New York Philharmonic for St. Matthew Passion and National Arts Centre (Canada) for Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C Minor.
Victoria Children’s Choir
Founded in 2001 by Madeleine Humer, The Victoria Children’s Choir is a leader in choral music on Canada’s West Coast. Under the direction of Artistic Director, David Stratkauskas and an outstanding team, our choristers are exposed to the highest standards of music education, encompassing vocal technique, musicianship and performance opportunities, for a full immersion in the transformative world of choral music.
In a unique and supportive environment, 150 choristers aged 7–20 from throughout Greater Victoria study and perform an array of contemporary and classical repertoire from around the world. The choir tours internationally, and has long enjoyed collaborative relationships with renowned musicians, including the Victoria Symphony, Pacific Opera Victoria, Victoria Jazz Society, and Victoria Baroque.
Christ Church Young Choristers
For 150 years, Christ Church Cathedral has been a centre of sacred choral and instrumental music, ranking among Victoria’s most important musical institutions. The Young Chorister Program, founded in 2017 through a partnership between Christ Church Cathedral and The Cathedral School, is the only school-based, fully immersive Anglican Cathedral Chorister program of its kind in Canada.
The Young Choristers regularly sing with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and the Victoria Symphony in addition to their regular round of weekly services. The singers, all of whom receive a scholarship to attend the Cathedral School, rehearse four mornings a week during school term. Choristers begin their journey in grade 4 and develop through the program until graduation in grade 8. This immersive program is made possible through the generosity of NRS Fund and the St Cecilia Fund at the Victoria Foundation, the Christ Church Cathedral Music Endowment Fund (Victoria Foundation), and the support of many individual donors.
In 2023, they were honoured to sing in Westminster Abbey, London and St George’s Chapel, Windsor. They are currently looking forward to a tour to San Francisco (summer 2025) and further international tours.
Vox Humana Chamber Choir & Friends
Vox Humana (Latin for human voice) was founded by organist and choral conductor Sarah MacDonald, now a Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Director of Music of the choir there. Starting as a project choir in the 1990s, Vox Humana has developed under the subsequent leadership of Garth MacPhee, Wendy McMillan, Brian Wismath, and David Stratkauskas, who was appointed Artistic Director in February 2022.
Vox Humana has gone from a relatively small group of no more than sixteen voices singing a cappella repertoire to a group of approximately twenty-four singers that frequently collaborates with soloists, small instrumental ensembles, other choirs, and orchestras; since 2004 they have been frequent guests of the Victoria Symphony. New music has taken a central place in Vox’s repertoire, with frequent commissions and an emphasis on Canadian composers, as well as works not yet heard in Canada.
Currently, Vox produces several programmes per season; two of these have become popular annual traditions. Vox in the Stars takes place in the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Saanich, BC. The other is a dramatic reading of Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales, in a concert of seasonal music, along with new carols and arrangements from local composers.
