Welcome to Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra’s ninth performance season. We are excited to present to you our line-up of concerts for 2011-2012, as each new season provides members of the VMO the opportunity to showcase works that inspire, entertain and achieve greater heights of artistic excellence. The music selection for this season will stay true to VMO’s roots, with music primarily from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods, spiced with a number of contemporary pieces.

Opening the season is the Annual Chamber Orchestra Concert featuring Maestro Ken Hsieh with Canadian Soprano, Shannon Chan-Kent. Shannon and the orchestra will be performing works by Haydn, Mayrand, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Verdi.

On November 13, the VMO is excited to host its first String Orchestra Concert of the VMO Chamber Orchestra Concert series featuring Maestro Ken Hsieh, assistant conductor Kemuel Wong and piano soloist Qiao Wang. The performance will take place at the Magee Auditorium, Magee Secondary School in Vancouver. The orchestra is slated to perform a selection of music by Handel, Walton, Gluck, Mozart, Bach and Copland. We will also pay tribute in this concert to our past chairman, Louis Royce Liu, who passed away suddenly last season. In keeping with its annual tradition, the VMO is proud to present the Okabe Kinen Concert in March. To celebrate the legacy of the late Maestro Morihiro Okabe and to welcome the spring season, the orchestra will perform works by classical music legends Beethoven, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Schumann.

The VMO will be back at the Magee Auditorium for its second String Orchestra Concert in May with Maestro Ken Hsieh and assistant conductor Christopher Lee. The orchestra will play a tribute to Britten, CPE Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi during the performance.

Our season concludes with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra Festival Concerto Competition, where Maestro Ken Hsieh will have the pleasure of conducting the orchestra, joined by the winners from the 2012 VMO Festival Concerto Competition.

In every performance, we celebrate the past, present and future of Vancouver’s music talent in collaboration with internationally renowned musicians. As the VMO continues to make an impact on the arts and cultural foundation of the community with its 2011-2012 season, we invite you to participate in this community endeavor as attendees, musicians and supporters.

Kenneth Hsieh
Music Director
Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra