Dear friends and supporters,
Nearly 90 years ago, the first rehearsals of the Vancouver Bach Choir were held. Led by Herbert Drost, the choir of 104 singers prepared for a Christmas concert at the New Orpheum Theatre in support of the Province Santa Claus Fund. Flash forward, and we are looking at an anniversary season that is nothing like what we expected. But if we made it through the past 9 decades, we will certainly carry on with innovation and excellence. We wish our supporters the very best and we can’t wait to sing for you again in person. In the meantime, we look forward to presenting some exciting new and virtual programming in the coming months that we hope you will join us for! Please read on for a message from Music Director Leslie Dala about what is to come.
Nina Horvath, Executive Director
Dear Friends of the Vancouver Bach Choir,
We hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy in these very uncertain times. We at the Vancouver Bach Choir have been grappling with the challenges presented by COVID-19 as we look forward to the upcoming season. The 2020-21 season is, in fact the choir’s 90th anniversary season and we had put together a thrilling series of concerts including Beethoven’s monumental Missa Solemnis which would have also marked the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth; our namesake Bach’s towering masterpiece, the B minor Mass, as well as the Westcoast premiere of Canadian Odawa First Nations composer Barbara Croall’s Miziwe which premiered in Toronto in 2019.
Sadly, it is clear to us that based on all of the safety restrictions in place, we will not be able to go ahead with our former plans. Rather than cancelling the season, we have decided to postpone the 90th anniversary celebratory concerts until 2021-22 when we hope that we will be able to return to gathering together to perform great works of the choral orchestral repertoire. In the meantime, we will be using this opportunity as a challenge to continue with regular rehearsals throughout the upcoming year (largely on a virtual platform) and we will be releasing some content during the Christmas season. If some of the restrictions are to be lifted in the new year, we have some exciting smaller scale projects in mind that we hope we will be able to present to you later in the season.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the VBC and we wish you all a safe and enjoyable summer!
Sincerely Yours,
Leslie Dala
VBC Music Director
