About VISI
Vancouver International Song Institute Society Mandate:
The Vancouver International Song Institute’s mandate is to promote Art Song in a format that enhances its penetrative power and generates a new accessibility for a broad audience, through innovation, audience inclusion and creative programming, utilizing distinguished and emerging Canadian and International artists.
VISI plans to meet its mandate to support the promotion of Art Song by:
- The study and presentation of innovative performance formats
- In-depth interpretive training for young artists and pedagogues
- Extensive audience outreach education and performance initiatives
- Commissioning of new Canadian poetry and music
The Background
VISI is an outgrowth of Artistic Director Rena Sharon's (Professor of Collaborative Piano Studies at UBC) Song Circle, an ensemble comprised of UBC students, alumni, and established professionals that presents song recitals in new forms, merging theatre, music, and story-telling. Audience response to these projects has been overwhelmingly positive, with comments like:
“…tonight’s wonderful presentation opened the doors of comprehension.”
“…If art song is ever to gain a wider audience, this is the way to do it. What a revelation.”
The Song Circle has produced hundreds of recitals and community presentations through venues and events around Vancouver and beyond, including the International Writers Festival, the Vancouver Recital Society, CBC, Festival Vancouver, Music in the Morning, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Learning Exchange; the Seattle Chamber Music Festival the Winnipeg Virtuosi Series, and the Maple Ridge Concert Society. Many of its UBC participants have become renowned concert artists in Canada and beyond.