West Coast Symphony Orchestra

A fond look back at our magical December concert:👨‍✈️All Aboard The Polar Express 🚂

Harp soloist Rita Costanzi enchanted us and @vanbachchoirs warmed our very hearts. Many thanks to our wonderful audience. Everybody got in and we are so grateful for every single one of you. 

Have a very happy new year! We will see you very soon for our next concert on Feb. 7th: 🌝Lunar New Year With Love💋

Tickets are available now! By donation.
www.eventbrite.ca/e/lunar-new-year-with-love-regis…

Shoutout to Bryan Deans & Nick Urquhart for their brilliant conducting and excellent leadership. Thank you to our violinist Kate Akhurst for helping bring Rita to the stage with us and everything you did behind the scenes to make that happen. 

#christmasconcert #harp #ritacostanzi #concertphotos

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1 week ago | [YT] | 0

West Coast Symphony Orchestra

🌠 Happy holiday rehearsals.🎄

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1 month ago | [YT] | 0

West Coast Symphony Orchestra

ALL ABOARD FOR CHRISTMAS!

We have a classic and cozy evening planned for Dec 20th!

Program:

FRANZ XAVER GRUBER: Silent Night

LAURA NOBILI: Twelfth Night Overture

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Harp Concerto in B-flat, Op. 4, No. 6*

MARCEL SAMUEL-ROUSSEAU: Variations pastorales sur un vieux Noël*

RALPH VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS: English Folk Song Suite, Third Movement: March "Folk Songs from Somerset"

SERGEI PROKOFIEV: Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op.60, Fourth Movement: "Troika"

JOHANN STRAUSS II: Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op. 214

LEROY ANDERSON: A Christmas Festival

ALAN SILVESTRI: The Polar Express Orchestral Suite**

SING-ALONG CAROLS**

*Rita Costanzi, Harp Soloist

**With singers from the Vancouver Bach Choir

Bryan Deans, Associate Conductor
Nicholas Urquhart, Associate Conductor

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
690 Burrard Street, Vancouver
Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 8:00pm
Doors open at 7:30 pm

Admission by donation.

All reserved places for this concert are now sold out.
There will be a limited number of places available at the door.
If you miss this concert, please join us for our first concert of 2026 on February 7th.

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

West Coast Symphony Orchestra

What a pleasure it was to have Barry Tan @barrytanpiano as our piano soloist for French Masterworks under the masterful baton of Maestro Bujar Llapaj.

West Coast Symphony was thrilled and honoured to present such an exciting program to our wonderfully warm audience. Thank you for being there with us.

Special shout out to our Front of House volunteers led by violinist Anita Zaenker and to George Whyte, our archival recording videographer ‪@yvrgopher‬ . It takes a lot of dedication and teamwork to make all the parts of this orchestra function.

Thank you also to Bryan Deans (our fearless leader) as always for the extra one million things you do. ‪@plasticacid‬

Gracious thanks to our longtime venue Christ Church Cathedral for the incredibly beautiful and gorgeous sounding space making every concert special.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 1

West Coast Symphony Orchestra

NEXT CONCERT: French Masterworks
Saturday, November 15 at 8 PM
Christ Church Cathedral

Join Maestro Llapaj, the orchestra, and piano soloist Barry Tan as we journey through four French masterpieces in one unforgettable evening!

Program:

Berlioz: Overture to King Lear, Op. 4, H 53
Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, M. 82*
Dukas: Fanfare pour précéder La Péri
Debussy: La Mer

Bujar Llapaj, Conductor

* @barrytanpiano Piano Soloist

Tickets: www.eventbrite.com/e/1578896123809

2 months ago | [YT] | 0

West Coast Symphony Orchestra

Our first concert this season was dedicated to Cathy Petry, a much loved member of the West Coast family.

IN MEMORIAM: CATHY PETRY

Cathy Petry was born in New Westminster, BC in 1954. She married Ken on May 26, 1985. The next day they moved onto their sailboat. Avid sailors, they lived and breathed the live-aboard life style for 34 years while living at Heather Marina in False Creek here in Vancouver. They only moved ashore when Cathy lost her leg due to complications of Type 1 diabetes, which she had had since she was fifteen.

Cathy became involved with the WCSO when Ken joined the French horn section in 2003. Although not a musician herself, she was very much a people person and really enjoyed being around all the other orchestra members and immersing herself in the orchestra family. For 14 years she was the “Front of the House” for the orchestra. She absolutely loved greeting and welcoming people attending our concerts! She only relinquished those duties when heart issues made it too difficult for her to continue, but she still continued to attend every concert and support the orchestra from her seat in the audience.

WCSO president Bryan Deans recalls having the privilege of working beside Cathy, whose dedication was unmatched: “She and Ken were always the first to arrive, setting up the coffee, tea, and snacks for our guests, and generally ensuring that every detail was taken care of. Cathy was the first person audiences met - a warm, welcoming presence who handled every challenge with grace."

Cathy and Ken celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this past May 26th. A month later, Cathy suffered a debilitating stroke and on July 18th she passed away. Our hearts go out to Ken and their many friends. Cathy will be greatly missed by so many.

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2 months ago | [YT] | 0

West Coast Symphony Orchestra

Huge THANKS for a wonderful season opener last weekend! What an absolute treat it was to play with Chloé Hurst, Soprano and Aaron Durand and the audience was so welcoming and warm. The Opera 101 Vancouver duo’s incredible voices, onstage dynamism and charisma charmed us all!

Congratulations to our assistant conductor Ethan Tong on a great job leading us through the Magic Flute Overture!

A brilliant start to a shiny and exciting season for West Coast Symphony! Thank you all for being there!

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3 months ago | [YT] | 0