Victoria Choral Society

Victoria, BC — The Victoria Choral Society, under Music Director Brian Wismath, will present The Houses Stand Not Far Apart by John Estacio and Golden Harvest by Larysa Kuzmenko at UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium at 2:30 pm on Sunday, May 19th, 2024.

This beautiful choral program features soloists soprano Betty Waynne Allison and baritone Nathan McDonald, with accompaniment by members of the Victoria Symphony. Tickets are available in person at the UVic Ticket Centre, by phone at 250-721-8480, or online at tickets.uvic.ca.

In 2008 in the midst of world conflicts, Edmonton composer John Estacio together with Canadian playwright John Murrell, OC, drew inspiration for a new cantata. Its message is a powerful plea for understanding and harmony. The cantata tells of two identical houses side by side but separated by a river. In each house, families of three generations celebrate life with dancing and love. Yet there is no neighbourly feeling, no understanding between the families, only hatred and pride dividing them just as the river separates them. This 3-movement piece ends with the words: “Let doubt, resentment and anger cease, And may you find yourselves at last in peace.”

Golden Harvest was commissioned in 2016 by conductor Laurence Ewashko to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. Ukrainian-Canadian composer Larysa Kuzmenko was chosen for her heritage and depth of knowledge of Ukrainian culture, and for her “lyrical and accessible” musical style. Librettist Talia Zajac created an unusual Ukrainian/ French/English text which conveys the story and challenges of this early twentieth-century immigration to Canada. It’s a set of experiences that “speaks to any new Canadian who had to survive in the wilderness (literal or otherwise) to help build our nation.”