We kick off the season with the lively overture from The Barber of Seville. Next, the romantic second Chopin piano concerto with soloist Madison Brecht followed by Grieg’s tuneful folk dances.

Conductor: Yariv Aloni

ROSSINI: The Barber of Seville: Overture

CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op.21

Soloist: Madison Brecht, winner of Jenny & Norman Nelson Concerto Competition

GRIEG: Symphonic Dances, Op.64

The Sooke Philharmonic kicks off the new season with concerts on October 31st and November 1st.

The October 31st performance is at the United Commons in Victoria (former First Metropolitan United Church), Quadra at Balmoral. The November 1st concert is in our usual venue, the Sooke Community Hall. Both are at 2:30 PM.

Madison Brecht, winner of the 2026 Concerto Competition, will play Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with Yariv Aloni conducting. Madison, who hails from Chilliwack B.C., is a music student at UVic and says about her upcoming performance:

My passion for collaborative performance is a profound reason for my excitement to perform with the esteemed musicians and conductor of the Sooke Philharmonic.

Chopin’s second concerto has always felt especially meaningful to me because of its combination of technically interesting writing and emotional depth.

The concerts open with Rossini’s rousing Overture to the Barber of Seville. The program also includes Grieg’s Symphonic Dances — four Norwegian folk dances full of lively rhythms and melodies that make full use of the winds and percussion.

The Jenny and Norman Nelson Concerto Competition, held annually, is open to musicians aged 25 and younger who are studying on Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands. This year’s second place winner, Kara Gill, will perform at the annual Tea and Symphony concert in February 2027.