Drums to cellos, 2020-21 seasons unveiled
ISeveral big local arts groups have unveiled their 2020-21 seasons, with everything from ukulele orchestras to star string maestros and big Broadway hits on the roster.
The Jerusalem Quartet playing all 16 of Ludwig van Beethoven’s string quartets headlines the Vancouver Recital Society’s season.
The 2020-21 lineup also includes South African cello sensation Abel Selaocoe, who works with African compositions and umngqokolo throat singing (October 18 at the Vancouver Playhouse).
Other names on the schedule include cellist Zlatomir Fung, the Omer Quartet with accordionist Hanzhi Wang, the Dover Quartet with harpist Bridget Kibbey, and the Chiaroscuro Quartet.
The season kicks off with star soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci on September 13 at the Vancouver Playhouse. The Jerusalem Quartet appears from October 1 to 8 at the Telus Studio Theatre at the Chan Centre. And the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain visits here as part of the VRS offerings on April 20, 2021, at the Playhouse.
Meanwhile, Beethoven meets the Police in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s wide-ranging 2020-21 season—the company’s 102nd.
The third season with maestro Otto Tausk at the helm features classical stars like cellist Mischa Maisky, violinists Itzhak Perlman and James Ehnes, and soprano Measha Brueggergosman, alongside Stewart Copeland in an evening of music by the Police, and Paul Shaffer in Symphony.
Movies like West Side Story, Singin’ in the Rain, Rocketman, Back to the Future, and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi will see their scores brought to life in special screenings.
The season kicks off September 18 and 19 with violin king James Ehnes performing Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, while Tausk leads German composer Richard Strauss’s Hero’s Life, and debuts a work from Odawa First Nation composer Barbara Croall.
October 2 to 3, legendary drummer Stewart Copeland brings his Police Deranged to the orchestra here.
String master Itzhak Perlman takes on Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto January 14, 2021, and February 5 to 14, MahlerFest pays tribute to the composer.
And in the realm of musical theatre, for its 80th anniversary, Theatre Under the Stars has just announced two big Broadway hits that will rotate on the Malkin Bowl Stage this summer.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Hello, Dolly! will run on alternate evenings from July 4 to August 29 under the trees in Stanley Park.
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