Join us on Saturday August 9 for the choral highlight of the summer – the grand final concert of the 5th Annual SING THE NORTH Summer Choral Festival directed by Canadian choral legend Howard Dyck!
Host of CBC's Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and Choral Concert for many years, and longtime conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Grand Philharmonic Choir as well as numerous choirs and orchestras around the world, Howard Dyck returns to Victoria to lead a thrilling concert centred on the choral music of J. S. Bach.
An innovative program, including a Canadian Bach premiere
Audiences will hear Bach’s hugely uplifting Magnificat in D and the Cantata 137 Lobe den Herren, plus what we believe to be the Canadian premiere of the newly reconstructed “original” version of Bach’s famous Sanctus – come and hear the 3rd soprano part that was eventually edited out when the piece was added to the later B-minor Mass.
In this very special concert curated by Festival Artistic Director, Kathryn Whitney, listeners will have the rare chance to hear Bach’s great works alongside the wonderfully lively and skilful music by Bach’s female contemporaries: composers Francesca Caccini, Isabella Leonarda, and Vittoria Aleotti.
Beautiful music of similar depth and focus will round out the program: the great piece Crux fidelis by Victoria-born Sarah MacDonald, a Cree Lullaby (the original tune thought to predate Bach by centuries) by Cree-Dene composer Sherryl Sewepagaham, and three wonderful pieces by our 2025 Feature Composer, Canadian-born Seattle-based singer and composer Joy Decoursey-Porter.
World-class soloists from Vienna and Canada
Howard has assembled a stellar team of world-class soloists: tenor Michael Schade (travelling from his home in Vienna to sing at our Festival); Canada’s most prolific recording artist, Daniel Taylor, countertenor; and James Westman, bass, a hugely expressive performer who has sung across the world.
Returning for her second-ever appearance in British Columbia is the exceptional young Toronto-based Polish-Canadian soprano Karoline Podolak – a wonderful chance to hear this voice of a generation only now just spreading her wings internationally.
Howard Dyck conducts the 110-voice Sing the North Summer Festival Chorus and Festival Orchestra, sharing our three Festival Chamber Choirs with festival director, Kathryn Whitney. Concertmaster Simon MacDonald leads the Festival Orchestra, with the cathedral's Assistant Director of Music, Mark McDonald, on organ.
Tickets: $30 (general Admission), $15 (students)
