World renowned chamber musicians will gather in Victoria from July 24 to Aug. 9, for the Victoria Summer Music Festival’s 30th anniversary.
Photo by Robert Dettling.
Despite a year of heartbreaking festival cancellations — including Rifflandia, which has no plans to return, and FernFest, which only managed a reduced one-day event after receiving last-minute funding — one local tradition has persisted. The Victoria Summer Music Festival (VSMF) is still going strong, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
The festival will run from July 24 to Aug. 9, bringing award-winning and renowned chamber musicians to the city. UVic has partnered with the VSMF, bringing all concerts to the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall. The VSMF also offers 10 free tickets for students per concert (first come, first served) and $15 student tickets after all the free tickets have been given out.
Although the festival is still going strong, organizing it is no small task. Ron Cox, president of the VSMF, told the Martlet that planning for the festival begins a year in advance.
“We meet year-round, every month. There’s a lot of planning to do. So as soon as the festival ends this year … we’ll start meeting again in September,” Cox said, noting that the first meeting in September will reflect on the lessons learned from this year’s event.
Cox, who has worked with the festival for a decade and has been president for the last three years, told the Martlet his favourite part of the festival is the sense of accomplishment he gets from pulling it off, and seeing the community’s response.
“We’re a firm believer that [festivals] are a very important source of bringing people together,” he said. “The feedback we get is just heartwarming…. People that love [classical] music can come together and enjoy music together and experience world-class music. I think it’s critical.”
Cox said the VSMF started 30 years ago as a community response after the Victoria International Festival, another classical music festival, came to an end.
While the VSMF brings established musicians to Victoria, it also supports young artists, through what Cox called “outreach concerts” — free concerts held in retirement homes, or places like the Christ Church Cathedral, that give up-and-coming artists performance opportunities and a way to make a bit of money.
“One of the things that we really believe strongly in is supporting young artists,” Cox said. “It’s going to be one of the focuses for our strategy session this fall.”
Arthur Rowe, the festival’s artistic director and a professor of piano and collaborative piano at UVic, said in a statement, “[The VSMF] has always been delighted and grateful to be able to engage some of the fabulous musicians who live in our Victoria community.”
Rowe, who has worked with the festival since 2003, and became the artistic director in 2008, talked about the importance of having strong relationships in the music scene, which has helped bring talented musicians to Victoria. He also served as the artistic director for Jeffery Concerts in London, Ontario, for 39 years, and maintains a strong relationship with the Banff International String Quartet competition, which he described as a “world-renowned competition.”
The festival will showcase the Poiesis Quartet, the first prize winners of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet competition, as well as celebrated artists Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt and James Ehnes, amongst others.
In addition to serving as the artistic director, Rowe will also be performing at the festival. “[I’m] looking forward very much to playing with Milena, who is the former violist of really one of the best string quartets in the world, the Dover String Quartet,” Rowe said.
Rowe said the Poiesis Quartet plays more “new music” than fans of the festival have experienced before and that he is excited for them to perform. “They are an interesting group, keen to present new music…. So that’s going to be an exciting couple of concerts.”
At the time of publication, three concerts have already taken place. However, those interested in experiencing world-class chamber music can still see James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong perform on Aug. 1, Élisabeth Pion on Aug. 5, and David Lakirovich, Desmond Hoebig, and Rowe on Aug. 9.
