A creative community
A creative community Welcome to week two of The Connector, your weekly listing of news, resources, activities and other shareable content from the Faculty of Fine Arts, specifically compiled for distribution during the current health crisis. One thing...
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The show can go on
The show can go on When the Phoenix Theatre’s season-ending production of The Children’s Hour closed on its March 12 opening night due to the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic, it signalled the swift cancellation of all public programming in the Faculty...
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Fine Arts events cancelled in response to COVID-19
In response to the ongoing and global spread of the COVID-19 virus and the advice of the Provincial Health Officer, the University of Victoria is following provincial guidelines regarding large gatherings. These actions have been taken in consideration of the recent...
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All-Steinway School celebrations continue
The School of Music’s 12th anniversary celebration as an all-Steinway school continues through March with a special series of concerts and events. UVic became Canada’s very first all-Steinway school in 2008 when we acquired 63 new Steinway pianos—and our students,...
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Fine Arts shines at Ideafest
From issues in contemporary Indigenous arts to plastic waste, fake news and comic books about very serious topics, UVic’s annual Ideafest always offers one of the most fascinating weeks of the year! Running March 2-7 at locations both on- and off-campus, Ideafest 2020...
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Explore UVic—and Fine Arts—on Feb 1
Know a high school student who's thinking about a future in Fine Arts? Don't miss Explore UVic on Saturday, February 1—your chance to find out more about our departments of Writing, Visual Arts, Theatre, Art History & Visual Studies and School of Music. Whether...
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Piano stars celebrate Steinway anniversary
Beginning January 19, the School of Music is celebrating its 12-year anniversary as an All-Steinway School with a series of concerts showcasing the Steinway concert grand pianos, as well as guest talks and unique Steinway experiences. Critically acclaimed pianist,...
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Grad student call for Ocean Networks Canada Artist-in-Residence program
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) at the University of Victoria are sponsoring an Artist-in-Residence program. The concept strengthens connections between art and science to broaden and cross-fertilize perspectives and critical discourse on...
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2019 in review: part two
From our amazing alumni and stellar students to new creative spaces, a $1 million-plus donation and the passing of a literary legend, here are the final five top Fine Arts stories of 2019. Active alumni It was a good year for Fine Arts alumni, with School of Music...
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2019 in review: part one
2019 was another exciting year in Fine Arts, with the spotlight turned on our faculty, students and alumni locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. Here are just a few of the top stories from the year that's gone by. Orontes Quartet completes their...
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Seasonal concerts a holiday highlight
As the semester winds up and temperatures begin to drop, it's only natural that thoughts turn to . . . holiday music. Nothing capture the season quite like a community concert, and the School of Music has a number of winter highlights coming up in the days ahead....
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Lifelong supporter of liberal arts donates $1.6 million to UVic
The late Roger J. Bishop — local scholar, avid book collector and lifetime supporter of the arts, humanities and library at UVic —believed so strongly in the power of a liberal arts education and the importance of reference archives that he frequently shipped boxes of...
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Artists discuss the radical influence of Buddhism on contemporary art
The public is invited to attend two special presentations, as part of the research convening, In the Present Moment: Buddhism, Contemporary Art and Social Practice, running Oct 25-27 at UVic. These events are organized by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in...
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REACH Awards honour 2 professors
Two Fine Arts professors were honoured at UVic's 2019 REACH Awards on October 10. The third annual awards celebrate UVic scholars for their extraordinary contributions in research and teaching, showcasing how recipients lead the way in dynamic learning and make a...
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Syrian guitar quartet completes UVic fellowship
When the Orontes Guitar Quartet were welcomed as Visiting Artists to UVic last November, it was a momentous occasion not only for the Syrian musicians themselves but also the international guitar community. Now, the Orontes are celebrating their time in Canada with a...
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Free concert tackles Mysterious Barricades
Imagine a day when the barricades erected around the subjects of suicide and mental illness start to come down. Imagine a day when hundreds of Canada’s finest musicians across the country join together to offer music of healing and hope to those in jeopardy, and to...
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New music gets a dash of SALT
Eager to hear something new in music? Look no further than the 8th annual SALT New Music Festival. Running August 22 to 25, the 2019 SALT festival and symposium brings together world-renowned Canadian and international composers and performers with students of...
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Acoustic ecologist Kaitie Sly explores unheard world of ambient sound
We’ve all heard the old proverb: “What we don’t know can’t hurt us.” But, as the research of emerging acoustic ecologist Kaitie Sly shows, what we can’t hear might indeed be hurting us. Graduating in June with a master’s in music and a specialization in music...
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Congratulations, Class of 2019!
June 14 is convocation day and the Faculty of Fine Arts is very excited to welcome 224 new graduates to our alumni family! Here is a quick glimpse into our diverse group of graduates: 24 Department of Art History & Visual Studies 44 Department of Theatre...
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Diving deep: meet the alumni driving Hakai Magazine’s sea change
Whether it’s jellyfish in space, sloths in the water, hidden Hawaiian birds’ nests, shell money in Papua New Guinea, or a catch-and-release community aquarium on Vancouver Island, the world of water conjured up by Hakai Magazine is rich, complex and highly readable....
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The Art & Science of Listening
Whether it’s Queen recording their iconic title track in Bohemian Rhapsody or Will Ferrell’s hilarious “More Cowbell” sketch on Saturday Night Live, what happens in the recording studio has long been mythologized in popular culture. It's also at the core of Kirk...
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Trumpet great joins Wind Symphony season finale
The UVic Wind Symphony is joined by special guests for their season finale concert on March 29. Featuring solos by trumpet legend Jens Lindemann and School of Music trumpet professor Merrie Klazek, the evening finale—a concerto for wind symphony and jazz quartet—will...
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Explore the world of Ideafest 2019
It’s neither a surprise nor an exaggeration when UVic describes Ideafest as being about “ideas that can change everything.” This eighth-annual, week-long festival of research, art and innovation runs March 4-9, both on- and off-campus, and offers more than 40 public events designed to inform and engage with thought-provoking and culturally engaging events. And Fine Arts is participating in eight different events this year.
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Latest Music concerts both big and intimate
It’s another busy weekend for the School of Music, with two headlining concerts filling their stages with talent.
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UVic Orchestra explores New World
The UVic Orchestra concert on February 1 takes its inspiration from Dvorák’s From the New World Symphony “by turning towards the future in presenting new and recently discovered musical ‘worlds’ and landscapes,” says conductor and School of Music professor Ajtony Csaba.
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Fine Arts is full-on during Alumni Week 2019
UVic celebrates graduates old and new with our annual Alumni Week, running Feb 1- 8 across campus. From film screenings and fascinating talks to concerts, a curling bonspiel, Vikes basketball and the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards night, there will be over a dozen special events to check out. Better still, most are free, although you may have to register in advance. And Fine Arts is a big part of Alumni Week this year, as we participate in five different events showcasing the talents of a number of our alumni.
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Faculty concert series a January highlight
2019 is off to a harmonious start, thanks to a stellar series of faculty concerts at the School of Music. But while all of these performances feature current teaching faculty, there are also a number of concerts and recitals featuring current students and alumni. Be...
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Top 10 Fine Arts stories of 2018
There was certainly no shortage of Fine Arts news in 2018, given that we tracked nearly 300 local, national and international media stories about the creative activities of our faculty, alumni, students and staff . . . and those are just the stories we know about....
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Syrian quartet escapes ravages of war for fellowship at UVic
The dramatic story of a Syrian guitar quartet escaping the ongoing destruction of the Syrian civil war for a fellowship at the University of Victoria offers a remarkable message about the power of music, hope and determination. Alexander Dunn, an internationally renowned guitarist and instructor with UVic’s School of Music for nearly three decades, played a vital role in bringing the Orontes Guitar Quartet to the university as recipients of a prestigious Artist Protection Fund Fellowship grant.
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TubaChristmas a “sonic hug” for the city
For 40 years now, tuba and euphonium players from all across Vancouver Island and beyond have been gathering at Market Square in downtown Victoria for one of the city’s most anticipated holiday traditions. TubaChristmas returns to once again raise money for the Times Colonist Christmas Fund, a charity that assists the people most in need in the Greater-Victoria community.
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Leader in Art Song performance receives honourary degree
One of the world’s great interpreters of the German art song tradition known as Lieder and one of the most frequently recorded lieder singers of modern times, Mitsuko Shirai is acclaimed worldwide for her extraordinary performances and recordings of songs by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, and others.
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Jazz ensemble offers new soundtrack for silent classic
How do you improve on one of the greatest films ever made? If you’re the UVIc Jazz Ensemble, you “comprovise” a new score to be played alongside a screening of the 1925 Russian silent classic Battleship Potemkin. For jazz ensemble leader and School of Music professor...
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