2008: Symphony Takes First Grammy, Eyes Juno

At the 2008 Grammy awards, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra took home the prize for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) with Orchestra, for the CBC recording of violin concertos by Walton, Korngold and Barber, performed by Canadian violinist James Ehnes and conducted by VSO Music Director Bramwell Tovey.
"We are just thrilled" said an ecstatic Maestro Tovey. "It was an amazing thing to be in the room when they read out the nominations, and I didn’t think it would be us. I dedicate this well-deserved win to all the spouses and families of the members of the orchestra, including my own wife, because they give us the emotional support to get out there and play every season. We also send our gratitude and congratulations to James Ehnes, an extraordinary Canadian artist who deserves to be recognized as one of the great violinists in the world today. And finally, our deepest gratitude and congratulations go out to CBC Records, without which this could not have happened. We are always happy to work with CBC Records, and this GRAMMY is also a recognition of the consistent quality of their recordings."
VSO Board Chair Art Willms sees the award as a culmination of a long period of hard, focused effort to raise the quality of the organization, saying "Our peers in the industry have spoken, and recognized that this orchestra belongs in the ranks of the best in the world in terms of quality and presentation, and I am just so proud of this orchestra and the entire organization. And congratulations to James Ehnes as well, what a great talent – we look forward to having him on our stage again in next season’s Brahms Festival."
With the GRAMMY sealed up, it’s on to the JUNO Awards. This same record has been nominated for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment. The JUNO Awards will take place on Sunday, April 6th in Calgary.

2007: Is There a Tenor in the House?

On October, 18, 2007, during a concert of Gerontius, star tenor, Ben Heppner was forced to leave the Orpheum at intermission with a flu-like illness that rendered him unable to perform. Tenor Peter Butterfield (pictured) who was attending the concert as an audience member, courageously jumped into the role of Gerontius for the second half of the Vancouver Symphony production.

1921: Symphony Director Skips Town With The Take

In 1921, Henry Green, musical director of an orchestra that became the genesis of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, skipped town, with the orchestra’s money, never to be heard from again.