2022/2023
Hello loyal Township Classics fans!
I’m excited to send you news about the upcoming TC season at the Wardroom starting very soon- September 11!
There are 5 chamber music concerts for you to attend - each one featuring prominent members of the performing arts scene on the Island and Lower Mainland. I’ve sought to curate a wonderful variety of music and combinations of instruments and voices that will provide enjoyment as you enjoy a beverage in the beautiful surroundings of the Wardroom on CFB Esquimalt. Township Classics proceeds continue to provide the majority of funding for the Youth Mentorship Program.
September 11 - Odyssey String Quartet plays Mendelssohn: String Quartet, op 44, no 1, and three selections from Dvorak: Cypresses, B.152
October 30 - Joanna Hood, Amy Laing and Christi Meyers play Beethoven’s delightful and substantial String Trio, op 3.
November 20 - TC founder Gwen Thompson-Robinow returns with her dear colleagues, Lee Duckles and Robert Holliston, to play Brahms: Piano Trio no. 2, op 87 and Schubert’s youthful Sonata in B flat for Piano, Violin and Cello.
January 29 - Victoria Baroque returns with guest harpsichordist, Marco Vitale to play a gorgeous program of Bach and Handel Trio Sonatas, and Telemann’s lush Paris Quartet in e minor.
March 12 - Anna and Jan van der Hooft are joined by pianist Kimberley Bartczak, from Pacific Opera, for an evening of romantic arias by Lehar, Kalman and Strauss. Christi Meyers will join Kimberley in some delightful pieces by Dvorak and Kreisler.
All concerts are Sunday evenings at 7pm, doors open at 6:30. Bar is open!
N.B. At this time, the Wardroom requires all visitors to wear masks when entering and moving about the venue.
Tickets are $20 (cash or cheque) at The Sharkz Store (#110-525 Head St.) or online at eventbrite.ca (township community arts council).
Wardroom address: 1586 Esquimalt Rd. Lots of free parking available.
Concert link for Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/d/canada--victoria/township-community-arts-council/
Hope to see you!
Christi Meyers, Artistic Director
Hello loyal Township Classics fans!
I’m excited to send you news about the upcoming TC season at the Wardroom starting very soon- September 11!
There are 5 chamber music concerts for you to attend - each one featuring prominent members of the performing arts scene on the Island and Lower Mainland. I’ve sought to curate a wonderful variety of music and combinations of instruments and voices that will provide enjoyment as you enjoy a beverage in the beautiful surroundings of the Wardroom on CFB Esquimalt. Township Classics proceeds continue to provide the majority of funding for the Youth Mentorship Program.
September 11 - Odyssey String Quartet plays Mendelssohn: String Quartet, op 44, no 1, and three selections from Dvorak: Cypresses, B.152
October 30 - Joanna Hood, Amy Laing and Christi Meyers play Beethoven’s delightful and substantial String Trio, op 3.
November 20 - TC founder Gwen Thompson-Robinow returns with her dear colleagues, Lee Duckles and Robert Holliston, to play Brahms: Piano Trio no. 2, op 87 and Schubert’s youthful Sonata in B flat for Piano, Violin and Cello.
January 29 - Victoria Baroque returns with guest harpsichordist, Marco Vitale to play a gorgeous program of Bach and Handel Trio Sonatas, and Telemann’s lush Paris Quartet in e minor.
March 12 - Anna and Jan van der Hooft are joined by pianist Kimberley Bartczak, from Pacific Opera, for an evening of romantic arias by Lehar, Kalman and Strauss. Christi Meyers will join Kimberley in some delightful pieces by Dvorak and Kreisler.
All concerts are Sunday evenings at 7pm, doors open at 6:30. Bar is open!
N.B. At this time, the Wardroom requires all visitors to wear masks when entering and moving about the venue.
Tickets are $20 (cash or cheque) at The Sharkz Store (#110-525 Head St.) or online at eventbrite.ca (township community arts council).
Wardroom address: 1586 Esquimalt Rd. Lots of free parking available.
Concert link for Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/d/canada--victoria/township-community-arts-council/
Hope to see you!
Christi Meyers, Artistic Director
Finnish-born Soile Stratkauskas moved to Victoria, BC, in 2010 and has since established herself as the leading baroque flutist on the Canadian West Coast. She is a member of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and regularly performs in Early Music Vancouver's concerts. Soile completed her undergraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and gained her Master's degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK, where she studied early flutes with Lisa Beznosiuk. Soile has performed with many prominent period instrument orchestras in the UK, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Gabrieli Consort and Players, and has toured in Europe with these groups. Soile is the founder and artistic director of the Victoria Baroque, which, in addition to maintaining its own series, has given guest performances for Early Music Vancouver, Early Music Society of the Islands, ArtSpring, and the Cowichan Symphony Society. Soile teaches baroque flute at the University of British Columbia as part of Early Music Vancouver's Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme and is the artistic director of the Summer Baroque Intensive Programme at the Victoria Conservatory of Music supported by Early Music Vancouver and Victoria Baroque.
"[Possessing] a lovely voice, artistry in spades and a delightful stage presence"(Music in Victoria), soprano Anna van der Hooft has been recognized for her work in musical theatre, concert and opera, performing repertoire from Bach to Boechler. Anna is a graduate of the UBC Opera Bachelors of Music Program, completing her Masters at UVic in Voice Performance. She is also a GVPAF Rosebowl Winner and an alumni of Opera Nuova where she met her husband, Tenor - Jan van der Hooft.
Anna is a versatile performer, with singing, acting and dancing credits in a wide range of productions. Some past roles include Hero (Beatrice and Benedict), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Papagena (The Magic Flute), Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Naomi (Cendrillon), Tracey (Blisskrieg), Belle (Beauty’s Beast) and Lucy (The Telephone). Most recently Anna sang the role of Jane Doe in Ride the Cyclone with Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. Her performance was reviewed as being "...dispatched with clarion brio and a needle-sharp sense of pitch."
Anna is also a passionate advocate for music education, a music festival adjudicator and sits on The Youth Mentorship Committee, the volunteer run organization that provides free lessons and mentorship for auditioned students proudly supported by the Township Classics.
Anna is on faculty at Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People where she teaches voice performance. When not singing Anna can be found enjoying her work as the administrative assistant for the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets.
Anna is a versatile performer, with singing, acting and dancing credits in a wide range of productions. Some past roles include Hero (Beatrice and Benedict), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Papagena (The Magic Flute), Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Naomi (Cendrillon), Tracey (Blisskrieg), Belle (Beauty’s Beast) and Lucy (The Telephone). Most recently Anna sang the role of Jane Doe in Ride the Cyclone with Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. Her performance was reviewed as being "...dispatched with clarion brio and a needle-sharp sense of pitch."
Anna is also a passionate advocate for music education, a music festival adjudicator and sits on The Youth Mentorship Committee, the volunteer run organization that provides free lessons and mentorship for auditioned students proudly supported by the Township Classics.
Anna is on faculty at Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People where she teaches voice performance. When not singing Anna can be found enjoying her work as the administrative assistant for the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets.
Marco Vitale was born in Palermo, Italy. After finishing studies in his hometown, he attended the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where he studied harpsichord with Ton Koopman and organ with Jos van der Kooy, graduating with a master’s degree in Early Music. Throughout his career Marco has performed at the most prestigious venues and festivals throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, South America, the Middle East and Asia, such as Château de Versailles spectacles, Philharmonie de Paris, Salle Pleyel Paris, Ambronay Festival, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, L’Auditori in Barcelona, Styriarte Festival in Graz, Misteria Paschalia Kraków, National Music Forum Wroclaw, KKL Luzern, Roma Festival Barocco, Echi Lontani in Cagliari, Teatro Ristori di Verona, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, Seoul Arts Center, USACH festival in Santiago de Chile, Gran Teatro Nacional de Lima (Peru), Teatro Metropolitano José Gutiérrez Gómez in Medellin (Colombia), Teatro Mayor “Julio Mario” de Bogotà (Colombia).
From 2008-2011 Marco Vitale worked at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, Syria, where he taught early music performance practice and performed concerts together with Syrian musicians.
He is the co-founder and musical director of Contrasto Armonico , an ensemble specializing in Baroque operas and the performance of music in the Italian style, using period instruments and historically informed performance practices. In 2012 he founded his own record label “ayros”, which features recordings by Contrasto Armonico and other artists. In a collaboration with ayros, Marco is currently involved in recording the Complete Italian Cantatas by Handel, a thrilling project that will bring to light many undiscovered jewels of Handel’s which have yet to be either edited or recorded. Marco has appeared on several radio and TV broadcasts, including the specialized music channel Mezzo.tv. In addition to “ayros”, he has recorded for Alia Vox, Naïve, and Brilliant Classics.
Mr. Vitale appeared as a guest conductor of the Warsaw Chamber Opera between 2015 and 2017, performing a variety of repertoire from Monteverdi madrigals to Mozart symphonies. In 2016-2017 he revived the opera Semiramide riconosciuta by Leonardo Vinci, conducting from the harpsichord at the Baroque Opera festival in Warsaw. This was the first time in three centuries that this opera had been performed.
In 2018 he composed Il ratto di Helena, an opera in 17th century style based on a libretto written by Virgilio Puccitelli (1636). The opera was commissioned by the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, and performed in Vilnius in celebration of 100 years of Lithuanian independence.
He is the artistic director of the Arcadia Early Music Academy workshop in Poland and teaches at La Pellegrina summer school in the Czech Republic. He has given masterclasses, lectures and workshops at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Fondazione Paolo Grassi in Martina Franca (Italy), ESMUC in Barcelona, the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Since 2017 Marco has been the music director of the Denman Baroque Workshop & Festival organized by Andrew Fyson and Robert Newton, which takes place every spring on Denman Island, British Columbia.
Marco regularly performs with Jordi Savall’s ensembles Le Concert des Nations & Hespèrion XXI .
Marco moved to Victoria in September 2021 where he works as music director of St. Barnabas church and Capriccio vocal ensemble.
From 2008-2011 Marco Vitale worked at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, Syria, where he taught early music performance practice and performed concerts together with Syrian musicians.
He is the co-founder and musical director of Contrasto Armonico , an ensemble specializing in Baroque operas and the performance of music in the Italian style, using period instruments and historically informed performance practices. In 2012 he founded his own record label “ayros”, which features recordings by Contrasto Armonico and other artists. In a collaboration with ayros, Marco is currently involved in recording the Complete Italian Cantatas by Handel, a thrilling project that will bring to light many undiscovered jewels of Handel’s which have yet to be either edited or recorded. Marco has appeared on several radio and TV broadcasts, including the specialized music channel Mezzo.tv. In addition to “ayros”, he has recorded for Alia Vox, Naïve, and Brilliant Classics.
Mr. Vitale appeared as a guest conductor of the Warsaw Chamber Opera between 2015 and 2017, performing a variety of repertoire from Monteverdi madrigals to Mozart symphonies. In 2016-2017 he revived the opera Semiramide riconosciuta by Leonardo Vinci, conducting from the harpsichord at the Baroque Opera festival in Warsaw. This was the first time in three centuries that this opera had been performed.
In 2018 he composed Il ratto di Helena, an opera in 17th century style based on a libretto written by Virgilio Puccitelli (1636). The opera was commissioned by the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, and performed in Vilnius in celebration of 100 years of Lithuanian independence.
He is the artistic director of the Arcadia Early Music Academy workshop in Poland and teaches at La Pellegrina summer school in the Czech Republic. He has given masterclasses, lectures and workshops at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Fondazione Paolo Grassi in Martina Franca (Italy), ESMUC in Barcelona, the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Since 2017 Marco has been the music director of the Denman Baroque Workshop & Festival organized by Andrew Fyson and Robert Newton, which takes place every spring on Denman Island, British Columbia.
Marco regularly performs with Jordi Savall’s ensembles Le Concert des Nations & Hespèrion XXI .
Marco moved to Victoria in September 2021 where he works as music director of St. Barnabas church and Capriccio vocal ensemble.
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