THE IMPACT OF COVID ON THE TRANSPACIFIC CONNECTION

Every performing arts organization globally has been deeply impacted by this year’s disruption due to the pandemic, and its future will be shaped by how public health approaches large gatherings of people in close proximity — something that every performance hall and audience arena will have to overcome.

Each VAM member also had individual reflections on the impact of the pandemic on local and international plans. There has been a call to reschedule VAMSO’s premier cultural exchange to China in 2020. The signature ensemble was to embark on a China Tour in July of 2020 to perform in Beijing, Shenyang, Tangshan, Weifang,

Zibo, Suzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai. Ian was to lead this international expansion.

Ian hopes to continue to have several concerts with tremendous programs and to complete the tour to the concert halls of the 8 aforementioned cities in China.

He is optimistic about the future: “Whether some of our performances will be virtual or partially virtual remains to be seen. Every adjustment will be made to continue delivering the wonderful gift of music to our community.”

Gloria has taken this time for introspective reflection as plans have halted for the transpacific projects that she is involved in. She is full of admiration for those in essential services who make everyday lives for many citizens possible. Gloria still looks forward to the China Tour in 2021 where Canadian musicians can continue to touch souls abroad.

Joseph believes that people will crave interactive cultural experiences at the end of the pandemic. And VAM has a vital role to play as an institution that delivers over 100 concerts a year to over 10,000 patrons. In particular, he feels compelled to take action for the community to respond with innovative cross-generational encounters for both the young and old as the crisis of elderly care was exposed during this time. Of course, he looks forward to rescheduling the concert tour in China and advancing the opportunities through their sister school in Hong Kong. In this moment, he also sees that while he has shifted his energy from performance to educational pursuits, the future was always speaking to him: “It is a privilege to impart some of the experiences and lessons learned from my former self to VAM students as I retrace those previous steps as if for the first time.” And so the stories of these three key figures of the Vancouver Academy of Music echo the belief that the future calls and speaks into our lives, forming desires within us, to fulfill our legacies as part of a larger universal song.