Vetta Chamber Music’s 2026-27 season blends tradition with a focus on the future
In his first season as the ensemble’s artistic director, violist Hung-Wei Huang is bringing back a few familiar faces and tapping into the creativity of kids from local schools
(Left to right) Joan Blackman, Jane Coop, Hung-Wei Huang
VETTA CHAMBER MUSIC’s 2026–27 season, its 41st, honours the ensemble’s past while looking toward the future.
In the season opener (September 25 to 28), Vetta’s incoming artistic director, violist Hung-Wei Huang, welcomes some familiar faces to the stage. In the concert, aptly titled Legacy, pianist Jane Coop and violinist Joan Blackman—Vetta’s artistic director for 19 years—join Huang to perform two of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s duos for violin and viola, plus sonatas by Leoš Janáček and Paul Hindemith.
Vetta closes the year with another appropriately titled concert, Lineage (November 13 to 16), headed up by violist Jacob van der Sloot. This one’s a family affair, with Jacob joined by his siblings Grace, Sophie, and Paul van der Sloot (on viola and cellos respectively) along with his cousin, Maria van der Sloot, and his sister-in-law, Sarah Douglass (Paul’s wife), both on violin. Together, the fam plays string sextets by Antonin Dvořák and Johannes Brahms.
Huang kicks off 2027 with his first recital as Vetta’s artistic director. Accompanied by pianist Bogdan Dulu, the violist plays pieces by Robert C. Rival, Rebecca Clark, and Brahms in a program titled Responsibility, which takes place January 22 to 25.
Privilege (March 5 to 8) showcases the expressive range of the oboe, with VSO principal oboist Joo Bin Yi joining Huang and violinist Rebecca Ruthven and cellist Cristian Márkos, to perform works by Georg Druschetzky, Astor Piazzolla, Malcolm Arnold, Benjamin Britten, and Mozart.
Season finale Value (April 30 to May 3) explores the relationship between music and visual art, pairing works inspired by celebrated paintings with artwork created by local students in response to music. The student paintings will be displayed during the performances, which feature violinists Blackman and Jenny Lim, violists Huang and Peter Ing, cellists Joseph Elworthy and Zoltan Rozsnyai, and pianist Raphael Cheng.
All concerts take place at West Point Grey United Church, West Vancouver United Church, Pyatt Hall, and ArtSpring (on Salt Spring Island). For tickets and info, visit the Vetta Chamber Music website. ![]()
John Lucas has covered music and the arts for longer than he cares to think about. He can also be found playing his guitar in dodgy rehearsal spaces and low-rent venues in and around Vancouver.
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