Special Event
Our next concert is part of a week-long arts and education exhibition within the 2026 Celebrating Gaia series sponsored by the Gail O'Riordan Climate & the Arts Legacy Fund through the Victoria Foundation.
The Seasons
by Joseph Haydn
Saturday June 6, 2026
7.30 pm Christ Church Cathedral
6:50 pm Pre-concert talk: Robert Holliston
The Victoria Philharmonic Choir, conducted by Peter Butterfield, presents Joseph Haydn's magnificent and rarely-performed secular oratorio, The Seasons. This work, first performed in 1801, paints musical pictures of the joys and sorrows of human endeavours, and of nature itself, in the colours of our planet's natural cycles. (Listen for the sounds of croaking frogs and an approaching thunderstorm!).
Along with an orchestra, there are three soloists who represent archetypal country folk: soprano Jennifer Turner (Jane/Hanne), tenor Isaiah Bell (Lucas), and bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus (Simon).
Tickets are $36 regular & $11 student, plus fees, and free for children under 13, from vpchoir.tickit.ca
On concert night, be sure to check out the Fire and Ice exhibition of photography by Sam Baardman, in the main entrance of Christ Church Cathedral.
FOR THE SEASONS
a visual arts exhibition by Siobhán Humston
Siobhán Humston's art installation, inspired by The Seasons, will be open to the public from May 30 - June 7 in the Chapel of the New Jerusalem (upstairs) at Christ Church Cathedral. The week's events will include artist workshops & talks, and conversations with Rick Kool (Naturehood Victoria), Patrick Lucey (Aqua-Tex Scientific Consulting Ltd), and Andrea Careless (South Island Climate Action Network), who will be interacting with Siobhán's artwork in creative ways. For more about Siobhán Humston visit siobhanhumstonart.com
Tickets are available at vpchoir.tickit.ca
Entry to all the art exhibit events is free, but we encourage you to book a time slot for viewing as space is limited. Registration/ticket to Siobhan's art workshops/talks on Saturday May 30 (1 - 2 pm) and Sunday June 7 (1 - 2 pm) is REQUIRED - there is a maximum of 10 participants.
More info on these events will be posted over the next few weeks at climateandthearts.org
For more about Siobhán Humston visit siobhanhumstonart.com
Comments from VPC’s November 2018 performance of Rutter Requiem and the Lauridsen Lux Aeterna:
“What a wonderful concert! I will become a regular at your choir’s performances.”
“The Requiem was lovely, and haunting, but my favourites were the last two movements of Lux Aeterna when the voices of the singers were let loose and the joy they shared was palpable. A wonderful experience!”
“Thank you for the wonderful treat! You performed difficult music with considerable
panache and great feeling.”
“It was a wonderful concert to perform. When we feel prepared to the point that we can look up from the book and really ‘be’ with Peter in the music, and follow him wherever he decides to go, it’s the best feeling in the world. Requiems are often a bit personal, since many of us are remembering someone we lost. The orchestra was wonderful, from harp to horns and this concert was downright magical in places, with many audience members listening with closed eyes, seemingly quite transfixed!”