The first time Karl Hirzer stepped onto the Massey Theatre stage, it was as a Herbert Spencer Elementary School student for the Christmas pageant.
When he returns to the theatre this weekend, it will be with baton in hand to conduct the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in its Traditional Christmas concert.
“It’s super exciting to be coming home,” said Hirzer.
Hirzer is now based in Alberta, where he’s the associate conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. The two orchestras are trading associate conductors for special holiday concerts; while Hirzer is in Vancouver, his VSO counterpart, Andrew Crust (who also happens to be a good friend), will be in Calgary.
“It’s cool to be sharing the podiums that we usually occupy,” Hirzer said.
Hirzer will be at the helm for the VSO’s entire Traditional Christmas run, which launches Dec. 1 at North Vancouver’s Centennial Theatre and winds up with three performances at the Orpheum on Dec. 18 and 19.
“The VSO has had a place close to my heart since I was a kid,” Hirzer said. “I’ve seen so many incredible artists perform at the Orpheum and many, many great VSO concerts, so it’s pretty thrilling.”
His list of favourite Orpheum performances is wide-ranging; he names jazz artists such as Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins and Pat Metheny – not to mention metal shows by Mastodon and Opeth during his high school years.
“It’s going to be pretty cool to perform on that stage,” Hirzer said.
But, when it comes to sheer nostalgia, the experience of performing at the Massey may just win out.
NWSS music program lit the spark for professional career
Hirzer is a 2007 grad from New Westminster Secondary School. He credits the NWSS music program and its teachers – Steve Clements and Kelly Proznick earn special mention – for laying the foundation for his career.
“In many ways, I credit my love for music and playing in ensembles to what a great music program there was at that school,” he said.
“It’s very special to be coming back to the same venue where we performed.
“The music department at NDub was just a very special part of the school because I think everybody who was in band or took part in any of the ensembles or music programs really felt that it was our own special thing. … It was just a very memorable part of high school for me.”
For Hirzer, jazz band and band class opened the doors to the world of ensemble playing.
He began life as a musician at age five, when he started taking piano lessons with local teacher Anne Unger – who, since that start more than 25 years ago, has become a good friend.
“She introduced me to the composers whose music I love and am immersed in today and gave me a great set of skills to engage with music in a meaningful and personal way,” Hirzer said.
Hirzer also took up guitar but, he admits, never played an orchestral instrument growing up.
“When I was in high school, I was much more focused on learning Iron Maiden albums in their entirety,” he said with a laugh.
But he kept practising piano diligently, and, once he hit his music studies at the University of Victoria, he found himself increasingly drawn to the classical world. He then went on to do his master’s at McGill University.
“As a pianist, I was always playing alone,” he said. “I was playing absolutely incredible music by amazing composers, but I didn’t know the orchestral world at all.”
Once he started to discover the works of greats such as Mahler and Beethoven, he found himself called to that hitherto undiscovered terrain. And, he laughs, since he couldn’t play an orchestral instrument, he decided he’d just have to become a conductor instead.
“The collaborative aspect I find continually inspiring,” he said. “It’s really incredible to be working with extremely talented people all the time. … To see orchestral musicians working together, listening to each other, playing together, feeling phrases together, and experiencing the journey of going through a piece of music together – I find that to be really powerful and compelling.”
Plus, Hirzer noted, there’s the added layer of performing in front of a live audience.
“The feeling of performing to an audience that is also collectively present in that performance is a super powerful thing. I often feel that the audience is, in some ways, a part of the ensemble. When we’re onstage, we feel the energy and responsiveness that every member of the audience is bringing,” he said.
VSO Traditional Christmas will be 'heartfelt and warm'
Hirzer hopes people of all ages will turn out this weekend for a program he describes as “very heartfelt and warm.”
Christopher Gaze, of Bard on the Beach fame, joins the orchestra as host and will recite a series of texts woven throughout the program. He’ll be joined by soprano soloist Rachel Buttress – and, Hirzer noted, by the audience with some carol-singing.
It will be an extra-special concert for Hirzer, whose parents – who still live in New West – will be able to come and see him live.
“I definitely hope to see some familiar faces at the concert,” Hirzer said.
“To have the opportunity to perform with the VSO is a huge, huge honour. I’m extremely grateful to be able to perform with the VSO, and to be able to do it in my hometown will be very special indeed.”
Buy tickets now
Traditional Christmas is onstage at the Massey Theatre, 735 Eighth Ave., on Saturday, Dec. 4, with shows at 4 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are limited; buy now online.
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, [email protected].
