Open Air | A Summer Festival of Music
Music in the Meadows
Music in the Meadows | Pop Up Performances
These unscheduled instrumental and vocal performances will feature a diversity of artists from many cultural traditions that now co-exist on these territories, including Indigenous performers, artists who are visitors to the territory, young musicians, interactive programs, and programs designed especially for families.
Short performances 10 to 35 minutes long, these free programs are open to all.
Drag Storytime
Sunday, August 1, 1:00PM – 2:00PM | Participation Program | 30 – 45 Minutes
Persi Flage, Woofie
Glamorous and bold, this is a storytime told with the flair of a poof skirt and the sparkle of a sequin dress. Join Drag King Persi Flage and Drag Queen Woofie as they read stories on the lawns of St. Ann’s, giving children positive queer role models and showing them that it’s beautiful to be themselves, whomever that may be.
The snack that attacks back, Persi Flage is part comic tragedy and tragic comedy, and all femme king!
Woofie is Victoria’s campy bearded theatre queen! Thicc and saucy, she serves up sequins, early 2000’s pop hits, power ballads and musical theatre classics.
Allison Ward | Soprano
Sunday, August 1, 12:00PM – 1:00PM & 2:00PM – 3:00PM | 10 Minute Intermittent Performances
Thrilled to be performing again in her beloved hometown, Allison Ward has returned from Europe where she was accepted into one of Paris’ most prestigious conservatories before moving to Leipzig, Germany to continue her operatic studies. She has been a member of Pacific Opera Victoria’s chorus for eight seasons and sung multiple comprimaria roles.
Alex Chen | Baritone
Sunday, August 1, 12:00PM – 1:00PM & 2:00PM – 3:00PM | 10 Minute Intermittent Performances
Alex Chen is a collaborative pianist, baritone, and vocal coach whose curiosity brings fresh perspectives on a diverse body of musical works. In the words of his mentor John Hess, he is “an immensely musical and sensitive player” with “a deeply inquisitive mind.”
Alex performs regularly both as a singer and collaborative pianist in the Victoria music community, exploring genres such as art song, opera, and choral music. Moreover, as a faculty member at the Victoria Conservatory of Music he supports a wide variety of students and young professional singers from the piano.
Threshold
Monday, August 2, 1:00PM – 2:00PM | Participation Program | 30 – 45 Minutes
Sihana Dorfsman, Melissa Irvine, Lauren Steinmann, Annalysa Tylor, Isolde Welby
Threshold is an independent collective of UVic students who create something entirely new every time they come together. Their music arises out of the act of mutual listening between individuals, approaching the present moment as the un-pin-downable space between. Listeners can be drawn into a living, constantly new soundscape, can hear familiar melodies rise up and fall away, and can even participate if they feel so moved. Annalysa Tylor, whose concept inspires the work, describes it as “an exercise in holding space, for a group of individuals with open hearts and minds”. Thresholds is mentored by Isaiah Bell.
Darren Buhr | Bass Player
Monday, August 2, 12:00PM – 1:00PM & 2:00PM – 3:00PM | 10 Minute Intermittent Performances
Darren Buhr has been a member of the Victoria Symphony for 27 years. For 25 of those, he was on the faculty of the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Born in Ottawa and growing up in Regina, he earned his Master of Music degree from Indiana University. Two formative summers were spent in the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Besides music, Darren’s passion in life is cricket – a sport in which he is an active player, coach and official.
Past Performances
Haven | Accordion, Violin, Acoustic Guitar
Saturday, July 24, 12:00PM – 1:00PM & 2:00PM – 3:00PM | 10 Minute Intermittent Performances
Rachelle Reath, David P. Smith, Jeanne Tolmie
Haven came together during the pandemic era – making music together was literally a haven for longtime friends and collaborators Rachelle Reath, David P. Smith and Jeanne Tolmie. Drawing from the deep well of folk and roots music, the instrumentation is accordion, violin, and acoustic guitar. Jeanne and Rachelle are masterful harmony singers and all three members take the lead on songs from their wide repertoire.
Poetry & Music
Saturday, July 24, 1:00PM – 2:00PM | Participation Program | 30 – 45 Minutes
Alex Chen, Zoe Dickinson, Michelle Poirier Brown
Poetry and music are two sides of the same coin, coming together in this program to connect through the shared theme of nature and land. Baritone Alex Chen and Poets Zoe Dickinson and Michelle Poirier Brown will sing music and read poetry focused on relationships with natural elements, inviting you to do the same. Write your own poetic thoughts as you listen, connecting to the performers and the land that you are on.
Poetry is a tool for training attention: a spark connecting the circuit between observer and observed. I believe that the only way for humans to live on this earth without continuing to cause irreparable harm is for each human to build a personal relationship with the ecosystems we inhabit. Poetry is my way of doing this and inviting my readers/listeners to do the same. – Zoe Dickinson, Poet
Music and Art
Sunday, July 25, 1:00PM – 2:00PM | Participation Program | 30 – 45 Minutes
Brianna Bear, Kyla Fradette
Bring auditory and visual art together in this art session with live music being performed as inspiration. Artist Brianna Bear and Soprano Kyla Fradette invite you to create with them, building a partnership between the two art forms and a collaboration between everyone involved.
Kyla Fradette | Soprano
Sunday, July 25, 3:30PM – 4:30PM & 5:00PM – 6:00PM | 10 Minute Intermittent Performances
A favoured performer regarded for her “genuine and expressive tone”, Kyla is a featured soloist in Pacific Opera Victoria’s 2020/21 Apprentice Civic Engagement Quartet, Coloratura, and Pop-Up Opera series. She has most recently performed in Pacific Opera’s film adaptation of Elizabeth Raum’s The Garden of Alice chorus, along with Victoria Baroque’s Give Peace in Our Time online concert.
Anna Shill | Soprano
Sunday, July 25, 3:30PM – 4:30PM & 5:00PM – 6:00PM | 10 Minute Intermittent Performances
“[Possessing] a lovely voice, artistry in spades, and a delightful stage presence” (Music in Victoria), soprano Anna Shill has been recognized for her work in concert and opera, performing repertoire from Bach to Boechler. Anna is a graduate of the Bachelor of Music in Opera Program at the University of British Columbia and completed her Master’s in Voice Performance at the University of Victoria.