The Strathcona Symphony Orchestra Closes the Concert Season with Magic for Comox Valley and Campbell River Audiences

Strathcona Symphony Orchestra (SSO) audiences will experience the power of storytelling by way of music and a commanding performance from Terence Tam, a world-renowned violin soloist and concertmaster of the Victoria Symphony.

Kenji Fusé has been warmly greeted by the community and orchestra members during his first year as the SSO Music Director, and he has chosen the title, The Magic of Music, to wrap up the 2025/26 season. Concerts are Saturday, May 2 @ 7pm (Filberg Centre, Courtenay) and Sunday, May 3 @ 3pm (Campbell River Baptist Church). Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under and will be available for purchase mid-March on the SSO website, https://strathcona-symphony-orchestra.tickit.ca/.

Tam’s career includes solo performances with leading orchestras in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. He has been a top prizewinner of multiple international and national competitions as well as the recipient of numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and Chalmers Foundation of the Ontario Arts Council. He is well-known as a recitalist, chamber musician, educator, and familiar face on the Vancouver Island classical music scene.

Audiences will get to enjoy Tam perform the first movement (Allegro molto appassionato) of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, accompanied by the SSO musicians.

Many of the compositions for the May concert are based on extraordinary fairy tales (Mozart’s Magic Flute, Kodály’s Háry János and Stravinsky’s The Firebird) or feelings of a nostalgic and magical beauty (Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz).

The SSO hopes that audiences attending the May event will feel moved by the music and feel the power of the compositions. The music is very challenging, and the orchestra can’t wait to entertain and delight their audiences with such an incredible program to end the season.