BMO Day of Music fills the city with 70 free concerts all day long, May 24
Wurlitzer organ, Azerbaijani folk music, rousing chorales, and more culminate in a Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performance at the Orpheum
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra presents BMO Day of Music on May 24 from 10 am to 10 pm on various stages
THINK STRINGS, SOLO piano, open rehearsals, and field regiment bands as 70 concerts—count ’em!—mark this year’s BMO Day of Music on May 24, presented by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Stages come alive with music around town, starting with the historic Orpheum, which will feature concerts from morning to night. The free daytime programming kicks off there with an open VSO rehearsal with conductor Otto Tausk, as he works with Jimmy Lee—the rising pianist who will perform Grieg’s exhilarating Piano Concerto in A minor the same evening. Another highlight of the day’s programming at that venue is at 2 pm, when organ sensations Michael Dirk and Koos van Nieuwkoop perform Saturday Morning Cartoons music, from the likes of Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse, on the Orpheum’s historic Mighty Wurlitzer. The Band of the 15th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, performs at 5 pm.
Nearby, the Westcoast Energy Hall is filled with music from 11:45 am onward, with everything from a sax quartet to Azerbaijani folk music to an accordion and clarinet duo.
It seems like every space in the VSO School of Music, just up the street, will be vibrating with sound all day long, serving up every genre from Iranian folk tunes to tango performances. In the same venue’s smaller rooms, you’ll find a whack of hands-on workshops too, from intros to the Chinese pipa to wider instrument explorations.
Songs get swinging at Christ Church Cathedral starting at 3 pm with the Enchor Choir, and continuing with concerts by the likes of Cellissimo and Azalea Chinese Music Ensemble.
Follow the sound to the outdoor stage at Helmcken Plaza (338 Helmcken Street), where flamenco, taiko drums, and more are on offer.
Downtown, the Telus Garden, Deloitte, and the Vancouver Public Library all host programming as well.
Across False Creek at Arts Umbrella on Granville Island, Broadway fans can hear concerts by Advanced Musical Theatre Troupe Cabarets from 1 to 5:30 pm.
Wrap the day with the big, free VSO community concert at the Orpheum Saturday night, where Lee’s performance will be joined by the symphony’s rousing renditions of excerpts from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony No. 8, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”, and Badelt’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
And find the full day's detailed schedule here.
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