The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra
proudly presents
25th Anniversary Concert
September 25, 2026 at 8:00 pm
West Vancouver United Church (2062 Esquimalt Ave.)
Admission: $25
The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) celebrates its first quarter-century with a joyful concert that brings together ensemble members past and present, and showcases the VICO’s signature fusion of Canadian contemporary classical and world music.
The ensemble that would eventually become the VICO was originally formed in 2000 by composer Moshe Denburg, to perform his piece Rapprochements (Reconciliations) for Intercultural Orchestra. This work, commissioned by the Westcoast Sacred Arts Society, was scored for a mixed choir and an ensemble of 28 instrumentalists from a variety of musical and cultural backgrounds, and it premiered at the inaugural Vancouver Sacred Music Festival in November 2000.
It was clear from these earliest days that Moshe’s dream of a new kind of orchestra, one designed to perform new intercultural classical music on a grand scale, had found fertile ground in Vancouver’s dynamic contemporary classical and world music scenes. Our city boasts a deep talent pool of master musicians from all over the globe, and the VICO project quickly accumulated a growing network of performers and composers who were inspired by the opportunity to learn from each other and work together to create music that transcends borders and breaks down barriers. The VICO was officially founded as a BC non-profit society on September 25, 2001.
This 25th Anniversary Concert celebrates the ensemble’s first quarter-century, and looks towards a bright future, bringing together VICO roster members past and present to perform an exciting and varied programme. On the bill: compositions by all three of the VICO’s past and current Artistic Directors (Moshe Denburg, Mark Armanini, and Farshid Samandari), other Canadian works featuring various VICO chamber ensembles, and a big group finale performance of Terry Riley’s In C. This piece can be performed by any number of musicians on any instrument(s); the score directs the players to repeat a series of 53 melodic fragments in a guided improvisation. By its nature, no performance of In C is like any other – but the VICO’s unique and ground-breaking instrumentation – which includes Western strings and winds (violin, viola, cello, contrabass, flute, clarinet) alongside Chinese erhu, zheng, and sheng/suona; Persian santour and tar; and percussion from many world music traditions – will certainly add extra magic to the experience.
We hope you will join us for this joyous moment!
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The VICO respectfully acknowledges that this concert takes place on the traditional, unceded territories of the Coast Salish people, in particular the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tseil-Waututh First Nations.
We also extend grateful thanks to the following funders, whose support is crucial to this project:
- The Canada Council for the Arts
- The Province of BC (Community Gaming)
- The City of Vancouver (Cultural Services)
- District of West Vancouver
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