Epic masterpieces to brand-new music, Vancouver Chamber Choir announces 2024-25 season

Highlights include Figure humaine by Francis Poulenc as well as world premieres

Artistic director Kari Turunen (centre) with the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Photo by Diamond’s Edge Photography

VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR has just announced programming for the 2024-25 season, the organization’s 54th.

Kicking things off is Figure humaine, a rarely performed masterpiece by Francis Poulenc, on September 27 at Pacific Spirit United Church. It was written during the German occupation of France in 1943. “The way Poulenc balances beauty and ugliness, despair and hope in the music is nothing short of a miracle,” VCC artistic director Kari Turunen says in a release, adding that the piece’s physical demands on the artists are “akin to running a marathon”. The season opener also includes music by the choir’s new composer-in-residence, Laura Hawley, a passionate advocate of Canadian choral art.

A Choral Feast 3 returns to the Orpheum on October 19 featuring VCC and four local guest choirs. An annual event, it has become an audience favourite and features each choir performing a solo set before combining into one mega choir for the grand finale.

Path of Miracles takes place on November 8 at Pacific Spirit United Church. Last heard in 2022, this musical pilgrimage along Spain’s Camino de Santiago returns to the stage with the addition of two dancers from Belle Spirale Dance Projects.

Sounds of Finland, on November 29, is a love letter to Turunen’s homeland, while Palestrina 500 on April 11, 2025 is a 500th-birthday celebration for the famous Renaissance composer.

Other highlights include Into Light, a homecoming concert on March 7 following a two-week tour of Ontario; and Fresh Ink, a celebration of music commissioned and premiered by Turunen and the choir on May 9. The latter concert also kicks off VCC’s first self-produced recording project since Turunen’s tenure began in 2019. There are also the ever-popular Christmas by Candlelight concerts on December 12 and 13; East / West 동과서 with guest conductor and UBC faculty member Hyejung Jun on January 25; Isn’t it Romantic? on February 15; and Sonnets by the Sea on June 6 with Christopher Gaze.

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Gail Johnson

Gail Johnson is cofounder of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.

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