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CLASSICS SERIES

MAJESTIC MOZART

MARCH 14, 2026 | 7:30 PM

PRE-CONCERT TALK: 6:30 PM

SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE JUNE 2

What to wear? Be comfortable. Dress in a way that works for you. If you feel like dressing up, do it and you won’t be the only one, we promise. If you prefer to be more casual you will fit right in as well.

Beverages served prior to concert and during intermission. You can pre-order your beverage before the concert.


Mobile phones are allowed to be on but must be set to silent.


We welcome you to clap when you like what you hear.

CLASSICS SERIES SPONSORS

VIS Orchestra

Join the Vancouver Island Symphony for an exhilarating evening as they unveil the world premiere of Dorothy Chang's newest work which showcases the virtuosic playing for our own principal musicians. The program intensifies with "Sepulchre," crafted by celebrated Canadian composer Nicole Lizée, renowned for her breathtakingly inventive style. Concluding the dynamic lineup is Mozart's illustrious Symphony No. 41, ensuring a captivating musical experience throughout.

CONDUCTOR: Cosette Justo Valdés
GUEST ARTISTS: Paolo Bortolussi , flute; Hannah Addario-Berry , cello; Lani Krantz , harp; Christopher Lee , clarinet

PROGRAMME

Dorothy CHANG: New Commission, Premiere

Nicole LIZZÉ: Piano Concerto in G Major

W. A. MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C Major (Jupiter)

CLASSICS SERIES

GOODYEAR PLAYS RAVEL

OCTOBER 18, 2025 | 7:30 PM

 

SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE JUNE 9

PRE-CONCERT TALK: 6:30 PM
CONCERT: 7:30 PM

Immerse yourself in an evening of vibrant and lively orchestral masterpieces that promise to captivate and delight. Experience the playful spirit of Rossini’s “L’italiana in Algeri Overture,” where humour and energy take centre stage. Revel in Ravel’s “Piano Concerto,” a dazzling blend of jazz influences and lyrical beauty that showcases his innovative style. Finally, let the cheerful and uplifting melodies of Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 8” transport you to a world rich with Bohemian folk influences and natural splendor. This concert is a celebration of rhythm and colour, offering a dynamic journey through the unique voices of these master composers.

CONDUCTOR: Cosette Justo Valdés
GUEST ARTISTS: Paolo Bortolussi , flute; Hannah Addario-Berry , cello; Lani Krantz , harp; Christopher Lee , clarinet

PROGRAMME

Dorothy CHANG: New Commission, Premiere

Nicole LIZZÉ: Piano Concerto in G Major

W. A. MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C Major (Jupiter)

What to wear? Be comfortable. Dress in a way that works for you. If you feel like dressing up, do it and you won’t be the only one, we promise. If you prefer to be more casual you will fit right in as well.

Beverages served prior to concert and during intermission. You can pre-order your beverage before the concert.


Mobile phones are allowed to be on but must be set to silent.


We welcome you to clap when you like what you hear.

CLASSICS SERIES SPONSORS

 

VIS Orchestra

Send Every Grade 4 Student to a VIS Concert
Help transform young lives through the power of music

Your donation can be the catalyst for transforming lives through the power of music.
Help us send every Grade 4 student to a VIS concert designed specifically for them.
The VIS Music Education program builds music appreciation and participation in
over 2,500 nine and  ten year old children each year.
Let’s welcome the symphony audiences of the future together!

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Paolo Bortolussi
Principal Flute

Flutist Paolo Bortolussi is a soloist, chamber artist, educator, and new music pioneer. Dedicated to championing music by living composers, he has premiered over 400 works for flute, including concerti written for him by Dorothy Chang, Jocelyn Morlock, Jian Ping Tang, Ramsey Sadaka and Aaron Gervais. Paolo is co-artistic director of the Nu:BC Collective, a new music ensemble in residence at the University of British Columbia. His work with Nu:BC as well as other organizations in the new music community have led to performances and masterclasses at festivals across Canada, the US and Asia. Recent projects include the commission and premiere of celebrated composer Alexina Louie’s first composition for solo flute Quasi Cadenza, as well as Dorothy Chang’s duo Automata for two flutes. His discography includes Beyond Shadows, Nu:BC’s debut CD, as well as the solo flute album Israfel, both released on the Redshift label and recipients of multiple nominations at the Western Canadian Music Awards.

Paolo is principal flutist and New Music Advisor for the Vancouver Island Symphony where he was the driving force behind the Canadian Concerto Project, which commissioned, premiered, and recorded five new concerti by Canadian composers for principal players of the orchestra. Over the past decade, the Vancouver Island Symphony has earned a national reputation for its ambitious commissioning and recording program, as well as innovative programming. The album A Quinary includes the world premiere recording of Jocelyn Morlock’s flute concerto Ornithomancy, and was nominated for 4 Western Canadian Music Awards. Paolo was also the soloist for the premiere recording of Dorothy Chang’s flute concerto Flight on the Soaring Spirits  CD with the UBC Symphony Orchestra. The recording of Flight earned Dorothy Chang a Juno nomination for composition of the year and won the Western Canadian Award in the same category.

Raised in Halifax, Dr. Bortolussi is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He is Lecturer of flute, chamber music, and directs the Contemporary Players Ensemble at the University of British Columbia School of Music. Paolo and has presented masterclasses across North America as well as in Korea and Taiwan, and is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator.

Hannah Addario-Berry
Cello

Canadian cellist Hannah Addario-Berry has been delighting music lovers around the world for over a decade. Specializing in chamber music and solo repertoire, Hannah is passionately committed to performing music by living composers. Along with her exquisite cello playing, Hannah’s warmth and engaging presentation style enable listeners to forge a deeper connection with music. Hannah is Principal Cellist with the Vancouver Island Symphony, and performs regularly with many ensembles in Vancouver and San Francisco. She has been invited to play at festivals such as Other Minds and Switchboard Music in San Francisco, Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival in northern California, and Music By The Sea in Bamfield, British Columbia. From 2006-2010 Hannah was cellist with the renowned Del Sol String Quartet, during which time the quartet performed more than 50 world premieres and recorded two highly acclaimed albums, Ring of Fire: Music from the Pacific Rim and First Life: String Quartets of Marc Blitzstein. In 2015, Hannah created Scordatura, an innovative project combining Zoltán Kodály’s monumental Sonata for Solo Cello with a series of newly commissioned works, all of which share a unique altered tuning of the cello. Scordatura celebrated the centenary of Kodály’s Sonata and explored anew sound space for solo cello. Hannah performed the program in 25 cities around the US and Canada and recorded Scordatura in early 2016. Her previous album, Lady in the East, features music for solo cello by the Canadian composer Stephen Brown and was reviewed by Gramophone Magazine in October 2014. Hannah’s love of chamber music began early and acquired momentum when she was invited to join McGill University’s prestigious Lloyd Carr-Harris String Quartet, with whom she performed in France and Italy, including at Casalmaggiore Music Festival. For her graduate work, she chose San Francisco Conservatory’s Masters in Chamber Music, where she collaborated with artists such as Menahem Pressler, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Ian Swensen, and Jodi Levitz. Hannah lives with her partner and their two children in North Vancouver, Canada, where she enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, and woodworking.www.addarioberry.com

Lani Krantz
Principal Harp

Lani Krantz is a graduate of the University of British Columbia music performance program. A 3rd generation professional freelancer, Lani performs across British Columbia for events, chamber music performances and in solo concerts that focus on many genres from Classical to Celtic to Jazz.

As part of her orchestral harp education, Lani toured with the National Youth Orchestra and studied at the Aspen School of Music. She has been Principal Harpist with the Vancouver Island Symphony since 2005 and plays regularly as an extra with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and local orchestras in British Columbia. She has performed in support ensembles for artists such as; Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Johnny Mathis and more, and her playing can be heard on soundtracks with the Vancouver Film Orchestra and for the National Film Board of Canada. As an orchestra soloist, Lani has performed the Mozart Concerto with flutist, Carol Dymond and William Alwyn’s beautiful Lyra Angelica for harp and string orchestra with the Vancouver Island Symphony.

Lani is a member of the acclaimed, Winter Harp and in 2021 added the role of producing and managing the ensemble. Lani’s collaboration with Erhu player, Rong Jun and composer, Jin Zhang has been showcased in many events; most notably, the Sound of Dragon Festival and the World Harp Congress.

Lani is passionate about education and community engagement. She is currently studying Early Years Education at the University of British Columbia focusing her learning on early years music. She is a harp instructor at the Vancouver Academy of Music, the VSO School of Music and Douglas College. Lani sits on the board of the WCHS, the BC Chapter of the American Harp Society. She also holds ‘Mom’ on her list of titles and is happily joining her son as he travels on his own education journey.

Christopher Lee
Principal Clarinet

Clarinetist and conductor Christopher Lee completed his Master’s degree at Juilliard School where he also received Bachelor’s degree on Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship and Eve Lyndlemarch Scholarship (Full Scholarship recipient). Mr. Lee has won the first and grand prizes at many competitions such as The Korean Clarinet Competition, Vancouver Burnaby Clef Society Competition, Bjorn & Jori Hareid Winds/Brass Competition, The Korean Young Artist Competition and more. He was invited to perform and received the certificate at the 5th Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition in Denmark.

He has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras including Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, Pilgrim Orchestra, Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and The Korean Clarinet Orchestra.

In 2010, Christopher had been appointed as an executive/artistic director of “First Steps Benefit Concert Series” in Vancouver in 2009-2011 benefiting the children in North Korea. He continues to organize and direct such benefit concert series every year with Jireh Clarinet Ensemble and Vancouver Concerto Orchestra to fundraise for the charity societies in Metro Vancouver area.

Christopher is currently the principal clarinet of Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra since 2014 and the principal clarinet of Vancouver Opera since 2024. He also plays as the principal clarinet of Surrey City Orchestra as well as Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra. Occasionally, he performs with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and more. Mr. Lee is a very active chamber music player that he became the member of Vancouver Chamber Players, Vancouver Chamber Society and Cascadia Reed Quintet. He is devoted to teaching and conducting. He has given many clarinet masterclasses in different places including University of British Columbia and he has served as one of the woodwind juries for AMMC International Music Competition 2023 and North Shore Music Festival 2018. Christopher joined the clarinet faculty of Vancouver Academy of Music (S.K Lee College) since 2014 and he is the conductor of Vancouver Concerto Orchestra and The Philadelphia church of Vancouver.

Dorothy Chang

Dorothy Chang (born 1970) is an American-born composer and a professor of music at the University of British Columbia.

Chang was born in Winfield, Illinois. Her parents’ families had fled to Taiwan from China during the Chinese Civil War, before immigrating to the United States. She graduated from the University of Michigan and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2000 with degrees in composition. She married Canadian flutist Paolo Bortolussi, and the pair moved to British Columbia.

In 2003, Chang joined the music faculty at the University of British Columbia.

Chang composed a number of works for solo flute, including “Mirage II” and “Wrath”.

In 2007, Chang was the composer-in-residence of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Her work “Strange Air” was performed at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in 2008.

Chang was one of several Canadian composers commissioned by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017 to create the orchestra and dance piece True North: Symphonic Ballet, to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. Chang composed the fourth movement, “Northern Star”. The complete work was performed at Calgary’s True North Festival, and “Northern Star” was later performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and at the Orpheum in Vancouver.

Chang wrote the first concerto for the combination of piano, erhu, and orchestra ever written, Gateways, in 2017-18. The work was commissioned for PEP (Piano and Erhu Project) by the Henan-Canada Friendship Association, Philharmonia Northwest, and PEP (Piano and Erhu Project). The world premiere of the chamber orchestra version of Gateways was given by PEP (Piano and Eru Project) and members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Vancouver in April 2018; the world premiere of the full orchestral version of Gateways was given by PEP (Piano and Eru Project) and Philharmonia Northwest in Seattle in March 2019.

 
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
composer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era.

Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his early death at the age of 35. The circumstances of his death have been much mythologized.

He composed more than 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, and his influence is profound on subsequent Western art music. Ludwig van Beethoven composed his own early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote: “posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years”.

 

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