New Westminster chamber music concert goes virtual

The Vancouver Chamber Music Society is returning to the Anvil Centre Theatre to offer up a virtual concert.

The society has cancelled the remainder of its 2020/21 live performance season in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s not letting the virus stop the music altogether. Instead, it has pivoted to the world of virtual performance, and its next concert is coming up April 28.

The String Sextets features the Sextet from Richard Strauss’ opera Capriccio, paired with Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence in a program performed by six of Vancouver’s best chamber artists: Timothy Steeves and Jenny Lim on violin, Jacob van der Sloot and Katrina Chitty on viola, and Jonathan Lo and Luke Kim on cello.

The program is being recorded at the Anvil Centre Theatre and then streamed to allow people to view safely from home without losing the intimacy and quality of a live performance.

A press release notes that after a previous virtual concert, an audience member said, “It almost feels like a live performance.”

“The cameras and audio quality invite audience members to share the space with the artists across the screens when they cannot do so in person,” says the release.

The society notes that it wants to continue to provide a space for artists and audiences to stay connected through the arts.

“The arts are a powerful agent for emotional and mental healing and strength for many,” the release says. “We are responding to the desire of audience members, and many were grateful for the virtual performance we did in December.”

Tickets for the concert are $18, plus $2 service charge, and will provide access to the virtual concert between April 28 at 12 a.m. and April 30 at 11:59 p.m.

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