The Coast Recital Society is set to launch its new season on Sept. 7 at the Raven’s Cry Theatre with a concert featuring a masterpiece of classical music performed by one of the most dynamic young musicians on the international stage.
Franz Schubert’s Winterreise is a cycle of songs that traces the journey of a poet as he wanders through the countryside reflecting on life, love and loss. The 24 musical poems will be performed by UK-born Rachel Fenlon, who performs as both singer and self-accompanying pianist.
Fenlon was raised on the West Coast where she obtained her Master’s degree in opera from the University of British Columbia and studied piano at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Her career as an operatic soprano, in-demand pianist and acclaimed poet is now based in Berlin. Fenlon synthesizes these talents in a recital format that transports the music of Schubert into a uniquely expressive realm.
The Sept. 7 performance is one of six concerts planned for the upcoming season. Later this fall, the internationally acclaimed pianist Roman Rabinovich will appear in Sechelt, followed by the Vancouver chamber choir musica intima performing a midwinter-themed concert featuring Lil’wat composer and singer Russell Wallace.
“There’s something very compelling about music that comes out of the winter season and is evocative of light and darkness,” said Denise Ball, artistic director of the Coast Recital Society. “It’s an expression of change moving through a time of year where the veil is being drawn, but there’s a sense that it’s going to be opened again.”
Ball seized the reins as artistic director last year following the retirement of Frances Heinsheimer Wainwright, who served in the role for two decades. Wainwright’s potent legacy was described in music through an original lyrical prelude (titled La Bella Strega di Sechelt) composed by Yehudi Wyner and performed last October by the Chang2 Duo.
“To be honest, we both come from a similar background,” said Ball, who when programming the remainder of the 2024-25 season was led by Wainwright’s initial artist selections. “We both spent a lot of years working at the CBC and getting to know a lot of Canadian musicians, but having an eye on what was happening internationally. I think our aesthetics are quite similar. I hope they are — because I admire Frances so much.”
Ball is the former executive producer for classical music at CBC Radio. In addition to her responsibilities with the recital society, she continues to produce new albums and support emerging artists by shaping their biographies to connect with contemporary audiences.
“The approach that I take — whether you’re finding listeners on the radio or putting people in a concert hall — is to create an environment of welcome, warmth and engagement,” she said. “It means creating programs that actually tell a story. You may not understand what that story is and it may not even resonate as a narrative, but the music itself should connect somehow.”
In the new year, Timothy Chooi, the virtuoso Canadian violinist currently on tour in Europe, will appear with esteemed pianist Jane Coop. The duo known as Couloir (Ariel Barnes, cello, and Heidi Krutzen, harp) will offer a recital. To end the season, the Scottish pianist Steven Osborne will perform Schubert alongside music composed by legendary jazz pianists Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans.
The Coast Recital Society regularly collaborates with the Vancouver Recital Society to coordinate performances by world-class artists. For visiting performers, said Ball, Sechelt has developed a particular cachet. “It’s absolutely gorgeous,” she observed. “It gets them out of the city. We’re able to provide them with a good piano. And the audiences are completely enraptured.”
The society will also continue its community outreach program under Ball’s leadership. During her upcoming visit, Fenlon plans to perform an exclusive concert at the Silverstone Care Centre.
“I want every concert to be a vital opportunity to enhance our collective wellbeing,” added Ball.
Tickets for the opening concert, which is sponsored by Crowe MacKay Accounting, are $35 for adults and $10 for students. Although the season is 90 per cent subscribed, some subscriptions remain — priced at $180 for adults and $50 for students.
For tickets, email [email protected] or call 604 885-0991; more information is available by browsing to www.coastrecitalsociety.ca.
