Mission
With a mission “to inspire, educate, and captivate our community through the transformative power of music,” the Victoria Symphony (VS) is one of British Columbia’s largest performing arts organizations. At the core of VS operations is our commitment to our orchestra: 44 outstanding professional musicians who share their expertise not only on stage with our audiences, but in the community as teachers at the University of Victoria, the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and in private studios. Over 95% of our expenses go to paying local employees, artists, and businesses. The success of VS is tightly connected to our ongoing and valued collaborations with other major artistic partners in the local arts community. Our mutually beneficial relationships with groups like Pacific Opera Victoria, Ballet Victoria, Dance Victoria, Vox Humana Chamber Choir, The Victoria Children’s Choir, the Victoria Philharmonic Choir, the Victoria Choral Society, and the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra put us at the very centre of Victoria’s cultural community.
Music Director
Maestro Christian Kluxen
Christian Kluxen is now in his tenth season as Music Director of the Victoria Symphony in Canada, following a five-year tenure as Chief Conductor of the Arctic Philharmonic in Norway.
Kluxen has been described in the press as “a dynamic, charismatic figure” who “forms the music with an impressive vertical power of emotion and a focus on the grand form”, conducting “with exemplary clarity and a heavenly warmth”. He is recognized for his sincere and transparent leadership, innovative programming, and his bold, imaginative, and energetic interpretations, showcased both in his MD and guest work.
Alongside his many and varied commitments with the Victoria Symphony, recent and forthcoming guest engagements include Turku Philharmonic (where he was Principal Guest Conductor for three seasons) Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Pacific Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Odense Symphony, Aalborg Symphony and Norrköping Symphony. A fruitful and inspiring relationship with the Arctic Philharmonic, whom Kluxen led for five years as Chief Conductor, resulted in numerous exhilarating performances of a wide variety of repertoire, as well as several acclaimed recordings.
Principal Pops Conductor
Sean O’Loughlin
Sean O’Loughlin (b.1972) is the Principal Pops Conductor of the Victoria Symphony and the Principal Pops Conductor of the Syracuse Orchestra. His diverse background includes collaborations with some of the leading symphonies and popular artists of today. As a conductor, he has led performances with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony and the San Diego Symphony amongst others. He has served as conductor for symphony tours with Josh Groban, Sarah McLachlan, The Decemberists and the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration. He has appeared on Good Morning America and the PBS Special “Stages” with Josh Groban in addition to NBC’s “A Very Pentatonix Christmas.”
Recent collaborations include such artists as Alicia Keys, Josh Groban, Journey, a-ha, Jason Mraz, The Beach Boys, Sarah McLachlan, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Pentatonix, Kelly Clarkson, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Blue Man Group, Janelle Monáe, Audra McDonald, Hall and Oates, the Indigo Girls, The Go-Go’s, Bonnie Raitt, Pink Martini, Brandi Carlile, Weird Al Yankovic, Melissa Etheridge and others. Through his growing number of commissioned and published works, Sean is excited to continue contributing to the rich history of orchestral and wind band literature. His music is published by Excelcia Music, Hal Leonard and Carl Fischer. An annual ASCAP Special Awards winner, Sean was a composition fellow at the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, and holds composition degrees from New England Conservatory and Syracuse University.
Composer-Mentor in Residence
Christine Donkin
Christine Donkin is a Canadian composer of choral, orchestral, chamber, and solo piano works. Her compositions are frequently performed by ensembles across North America, including Symphony New Brunswick, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Guitar Quartet, the DaCapo Chamber Choir, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and the Capital Chamber Choir. She has initiated various collaborations, commissioning several Canadian poets and composers, and working with Peterborough-based Indigenous vocal-percussion ensemble Unity in two projects commissioned by the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra. She is currently collaborating with her sister, pianist Catherine Donkin, to make professional recordings of many of her solo piano compositions. Christine owes a debt of gratitude to the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Ottawa, and the SOCAN Foundation for the funding to make these projects possible.
As an educator, Christine is constantly witness to the process through which musicians must go in order to acquire the skills that they need as professionals, and for this reason, she also prioritizes the creation of music for students of all levels. Her pedagogical compositions and arrangements for piano, violin, and other instruments are featured in the publications of several music exam organizations, including the largest in Canada (the Royal Conservatory of Music) as well as two of the largest in the world (the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and Trinity College London); and as such are used by music students and teachers in many countries. The 2021 RCM violin syllabus includes 36 of her compositions and arrangements (23 of which appear in the printed books); and the 2022 RCM piano syllabus includes 32 of her compositions (with 10 of those in the printed books), making Christine one of the best represented composers in both series.
As well as composing, Christine works with student composers in private lessons and as a clinician and adjudicator in collaboration with various music organizations, which have included Contemporary Showcase festivals, regional and provincial music festivals, the Victoria Conservatory of Music, VIMA (Vancouver Island Music Academy), YES Chamber Music Camp, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Ottawa Summer Music Academy, the Prince George Conservatory of Music, and Summer Sizzle. She also teaches theory and composition at the Victoria Conservatory.
Musicians of the Victoria Symphony
The Victoria Symphony is made up of a diverse group of Canadian and international musicians.