The Victoria Philharmonic Choir’s 2026-2027 season celebrates great composers of the Baroque and Romantic periods – and the world premiere of a brand new choral work that looks to our present, and future.
In November, Peter Butterfield conducts the choir, orchestra and soloists in one of JS Bach’s Lutheran Masses. For this Missa Brevis in A, Bach borrows liberally from his own earlier cantatas, but refines and deepens them into a brilliant short work that balances grand choruses with intimate arias.
Also on the program is GF Handel’s triumphal Dettingen Te Deum.
Handel, as “Composer of the Musick to the Chapel Royal,” was commissioned to write a multi-part extravaganza to celebrate the victory of Britain, under King George II, over the French in the 1743 Battle of Dettingen. It features some delightful trumpet and oboe parts and a powerful fugue to close the work.
Still in Handelian mode, Peter Butterfield takes members of the choir, a chamber orchestra and soloists to Saturna Island (December 5) and Denman Island (December 12) to present Messiah in those communities.
On December 22, the music of the VPC’s annual family Christmas Carol Sing-along in December is enriched by special guests, the Ukrainian women’s choir Kalyna.
March 2027 features the works of two Romantic titans. Beethoven’s Mass in C major was commissioned in 1807 by the composer’s patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy II. The composer breaks new musical ground in the colour and drama supporting the sacred text, hinting at ideas he explored later in his much larger Missa Brevis.
Beethoven also admired Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem, composed earlier in the 19th century and lauded as a significant contribution to the repertoire of Requiems. It was played at Beethoven’s funeral in 1827.
The season’s special event on June 5th explores the wonder and vastness of our oceans, through music and texts from across millennia and cultures. The VPC has commissioned this new piece by Victoria-based composer Tobin Stokes, whose works have been performed across Canada and internationally.
Visit vpchoir.ca for details, tickets, and information on this year’s upcoming season subscription discount (does not include Christmas or Gulf Islands Messiah performances).
