The Venue
All concerts are at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium, 32315 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford.
Concerts start at 3:00pm: Doors open at 2:30pm.
Festival seating is in effect.
Parking is available off South Fraser Way and Trethewey Street.
Fraser Valley Symphony concerts are scent free. Thank you for your cooperation.
Welcome to the 2024 - 2025 Concert Season
Somewhere in Time
featuring Henry-Paul Sicsic, Piano
Sunday, November 17, 2024
Rossini: The Thieving Magpie Overture
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (in A major, Op. 92)
Guest Conductor
Nicholas Urquhart
Nicholas Urquhart is a vibrant conductor who holds multiple positions as music director,
conductor, and associate conductor across the lower mainland. He brings a joyful verve and
vitality to his music making. He is the Principal Conductor of the Harmonia Ensemble as well as
Associate Conductor of the West Coast Symphony, Ambleside Orchestra and New Westminster
Symphony. He was Assistant Conductor with the Vancouver Philharmonic from 2011-2013.
Nicholas holds a master’s degree from Acadia University, and degrees ‘with distinction’ from
both the University of Victoria and the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Along the way he has
been mentored by Yariv Aloni, Janos Sandor, Dale Lonis, Kenneth Friedman, Ken Hsieh and
Jin Zhang. Nicholas’ blend of artistry and joy have earned him many return engagements and a
reputation of excellence.
Nicholas is also a passionate and creative music educator directing the youth orchestra in West
Vancouver (WVYB) as well as leading a thriving orchestra program at Killarney Secondary.
Nicholas also works as a guest clinician with various ensembles, camps and festivals and is
known for bringing out the best in the ensembles he works with.
Nicholas is a strong believer in a holistic approach to music. There is not only an artistic force,
but also a social power to music making as an ensemble. This realization can have positive
effects and sensations on both the musicians and audience that ripple outwards to the
community. Nicholas strives to connect music to the cognitive, physical and emotional
capacities of the groups he works with, and he actively endeavours to make music accessible to
audiences of every kind.
When Nicholas is not conducting, he performs as a double bassist. He also sits on the board of
IBB (Instruments Beyond Borders), a foundation dedicated to putting instruments in the hands
of under serviced youth both in Vancouver and worldwide (most notably in Paraguay).
Nicholas is thrilled to a guest artist with the Fraser Valley Symphony!
Henri-Paul Sicsic
Pianist Henri-Paul Sicsic devotes his passion for music through performance, to serve the
composers, their vision, their language, but also through teaching, to pass on his knowledge
and love of music to younger generations. As a result of his pedagogical research,
dedication and accomplishments, Sicsic became the first member of the music performance
faculty at the University of British Columbia to be awarded the Killam Teaching Prize, one
of Canada’s highest academic honours.
In France, Henri-Paul Sicsic was raised in a musical and cultural environment of teachers,
composers, and performing artists in the direct teacher-student lineage of Chopin, Fauré,
Poulenc and Ravel. Having been the beneficiary of such a musical and cultural environment,
Henri-Paul Sicsic grew to become a pedagogue with a tremendous following. His strong
commitment to teaching and his capacity to train and inspire young musicians is legendary. His
students have distinguished themselves at the national and international levels, earning
prestigious grants, awards, and teaching appointments at various institutions.
A concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, Henri-Paul Sicsic has appeared
with orchestras in Europe, Canada and the US.
Sicsic taught at Rice University from 1986 to 1992 as the associate of eminent artist teacher
John Perry. He was a member of the piano faculty at the University of British
Columbia School of Music in Vancouver for thirteen years (1994-2007). He was then
appointed to the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto where he taught until 2014.
Now in Vancouver, Henri-Paul Sicsic is happy to make again his contribution to teaching
and performing in the province’s wonderful music community. Sicsic is a proponent of the
Alexander Technique and practices Tai Chi Chuan. He enjoys French cuisine, researching a
healthy approach to nutrition and healing, and is a marathon runner.
Czech-Mate
featuring Melanie Krueger, Soprano
Sunday, February 2, 2025
Smetana: The Moldau from “My Country”
Dvorak: Song to the Moon from “Rusalka” (Melanie Krueger, soprano)
Other Czech and love-inspired arias (not yet determined)
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
Guest Conductor
Gregory Douglas Johnson
Dividing his time between the Vancouver Pops Orchestra and Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra, Gregory Douglas Johnson continues to be in demand among top conductors in the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley region. Renowned for his innovative and thoughtful programming, audiences are quick to respond to his welcoming manner and nimble wit. His performances have been described as containing “great feeling and nuance" (Ukrainian Canadian Herald). Born and raised in the Fraser Valley, his conducting pursuits have taken him as far as the Czech Republic. He has had the opportunity to work with esteemed conductors such as Larry Rachleff, Gustav Meier, Kirk Trevor, and Dr. Dale Lonis. During his orchestral conducting training in Winnipeg, he had the rare opportunity to conduct the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the St. John's Chamber Orchestra, in addition to his work with the University Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. Maestro Johnson is equally at home in choral and wind ensemble conducting. He spent ten seasons as Music Director of the Fraser Valley Community Winds, an ensemble dedicated to community outreach and collaboration. He also maintains an award-winning choir, recorder group and marimba ensemble at Woodward Hill Elementary in Surrey. He has worked with musicians of all ages, holding concurrent flute instructor posts at Trinity Western University and the Langley Community Music School. His family of two irrepressible children, Gabriel and Josephine, and his wife Jacqueline, provide him with constant inspiration, if sometimes the motivation to get out of the house.
Melanie Kreuger
Recognized for her expressive, lyric tone, and thrilling high notes, Canadian soprano Melanie Krueger embraces an extraordinarily wide range of repertoire, from Britten and Berg to Mozart and Monteverdi.
Melanie maintains a thriving performance schedule, which has taken her from Canada to Europe. This season, Melanie will be joining the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Bach Choir in Handel’s Messiah as well as Mahler’s Symphony #8. Operatic engagements this season include the role of the Handmaiden in Vancouver Opera’s production of Turandot. Highlights from her career include: Stravinsky’s Les Noces with Maestro Les Dala, Lillian, in John Estacios’ Lillian Alling at the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts, Abigail Williams in the Czech premier of Ward’s “The Crucible”, Fortuna in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno D’Ulisse in Patria at Teatro Massimo’s Festival Scarlatti, Sandrina in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera at the Prague Estate Theatre, Atalanta in Handel’s Xerxes with the Prague Chamber Opera, Musetta in Puccini’s La Boheme and The Vixen in Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen with the Usti nad Labem Opera House.
Past operatic roles with the Vancouver opera include Eliza from Muhly’s Dark Sisters, Miss Wordsworth from Britten’s Albert Herring, “The Celestial Voice” from Verdi’s Don Carlos, the Valedictorian in the world premier of Weisensel’s Stickboy, Anina in Verdi’s La Traviata, directed by Sir Jonathan Miller as well as Isabel in the company’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.
Highlights of Melanie’s stage and concert career include the role of Sharon in The Art’s Club’s production of Terrance McNalley’s Masterclass. Viennese pops concerts have also been a staple of Melanie’s concert career. She has worked with some of Canada’s leading conductors and orchestras including Bramwel Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony, the Victoria Symphony, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Newfoundland Symphony. Oratorio engagements include Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bach’s B minor Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion.
Melanie holds a masters degree in voice performance from the University of British Columbia, a bachelor of music degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Bachelor of Education degree from Memorial University.
New and Timeless
featuring Dr. Julia Nolan, Saxophone
Sunday, April 6, 2025
Verdi: La Forza del Destino Overture
David Stern: Lyrical Concerto for Soprano Sax (Julia Nolan, soloist)
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 4 in D minor, opus 120.
Guest Conductor
Maestro Bujar Llapaj
Maestro Llapaj is internationally renowned. Born and raised in Albania, he studied at the Academy of Arts in Tirana, Albania, and the Conservatoire National de Rueil-Malmaison in Paris.
He has won multiple awards and remains a prominent figure in the Balkan classical music scene. He has conducted concerts throughout Europe, and frequently travels abroad as a guest conductor.
After immigrating to Canada in 2002, Maestro Llapaj became principal conductor with the West Coast Symphony Orchestra, a position he still holds.
Maestro Llapaj is known for his pursuit of excellence in both music and music education. As artistic director of the Albanian National Theater of Opera and Ballet, he showcased music by famous composers as well as world premières of works by upcoming Albanian composers.
He was the founding conductor and artistic director for the New Philharmonic Orchestra, a nonprofit group of Tirana’s best musicians whose first concert memorialized the victims of the September 11th attacks in New York.
He also chaired the department of conducting and singing at the Academy of Arts in Tirana, developing new programs in conducting and pedagogy.
Founded in 1992, the Ambleside Orchestra is a talented, multigenerational community orchestra of amateur musicians with an enthusiastic audience. Maestro Llapaj’s leadership continues to raise the orchestra’s level of musicianship and complexity of repertoire to exciting new levels.
Dr. Julia Nolan
Dr. Julia Nolan maintains an active performing schedule committed to promoting new works for saxophone. She has commissioned works by many Canadian composers including Stephen Chatman, Keith Hamel, Colin MacDonald, Robert Pritchard, Nicolas Scherzinger, Jacquie Leggatt, Hope Lee, Fred Stride, Neal Currie, Alain Mayrand, Alan Matheson, and Jeffrey Ryan.
In July 2013, Julia Nolan taught at the Taiwan International Saxophone Camp and gave master classes in Taipei.
Julia Nolan was the Head Judge at the First International Saxophone Symposium and Competition (ISSAC) in Columbus, Georgia in October 2012.
Julia Nolan premiered Jeffrey Ryan’s concerto Brazen with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (Bramwell Tovey conducting) and with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra (Bernhard Gueller conducting) in April 2012.
In July, 2012 Julia Nolan performed Jan Freidlin’s Broceliande Concerto, premiered a Polys Tonos by Colin MacDonald, and gave a lecture based on her PhD thesis: Fostering Artistry and Pedagogy: Conversations with Artist-teachers Frederick Hemke, Eugene Rousseau, and Donald Sinta at the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Julia Nolan was a guest artist at the Hong Kong International Saxophone Symposium in July 2011.
In November 2010, Nolan was an international judge at the 5th Adolphe Sax International Saxophone Competition, in Dinant, Belgium.
Echoes Across Time
featuring Karl Stobbe, Violin
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Beethoven - Violin Concerto in D major, opus 61 (Karl Stobbe soloist)
Borodin - Symphony No. 2 in B minor
Guest Conductor
Joel Stobbe
Joel Stobbe, born in Prince George, BC, is a distinguished cellist and conductor. He earned an Artistic Diploma of Music Performance from the Augsburg Conservatory of Music in Germany, performing across Europe. From 2006 to 2014, Joel was Principal Cellist of the Vancouver Island Symphony and artistic director of its Noteworthy Kids program.
Currently, he teaches at the Langley Community Music School, where he conducts the senior Orchestra, coordinates advanced programs and has a large class of private students. In 2014, he became the Artistic Director and conductor of the Surrey Youth Orchestra. Joel also adjudicates, teaches masterclasses, and participates in summer music programs.
He lives in Langley, BC, with his wife and their 12 year old son who he hopes to pass down his love Automotive restoration.
Karl Stobbe
Karl Stobbe, Violinist Karl Stobbe is recognized as one of Canada’s most accomplished and diverse violinists, noted for his generous, rich sound, and long, poignant phrasing. As an orchestra director, concertmaster, soloist, or chamber musician, he has been an audience favorite in small settings and large venues. Avie Records’ recording of Karl performing Ysaÿe’s Solo Violin Sonatas was nominated for a JUNO Award, and received worldwide attention, including London’s Sunday Times who called Karl “a master soloist, recalling the golden age of violin playing... producing a breathtaking range of tone colours.” Pursuing his life-long love of the music for solo violin, Karl has recently created an online concert series featuring all the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by J.S. Bach. He has performed in North America’s most famous concert halls, including New York’s Carnegie Hall and Boston’s Jordan Hall, and has shared the stage with some of the most important and eclectic violinists of our day, from James Ehnes to Mark O’Connor. www.karlstobbe.com