The Victoria Conservatory of Music presents the Meridiem Wind Orchestra, performing In Remembrance, on October 25th at Alix Goolden Performance Hall. Featuring the world premiere of ‘Symphony No. 1 for Wind Ensemble’, composed by local musician Scott MacInnes, Meridiem pays tribute to our fallen heroes and celebrates our collective champions and mentors.
=0D=0A=Victoria composer honours friend and heroes with concert
Victoria musician and Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM) instructor Scott MacInnes woke up the morning after learning his friend, colleague and teacher, Eugene Downing, had terminal cancer and composed a symphony inspired by and dedicated to his friend.
"It was almost as if it just poured out of me,” reflects MacInnes. “Many in the musical community were deeply affected by Eugene and I was inspired to embody those feelings in his composition.”
Dowling was known as Victoria’s “Tuba King” and well loved. For 25 years he was the Victoria Symphony’s principal tubist and he performed annually at the Tuba Christmas event in Market Square. Friends, colleagues and students remember Dowling, who succumbed to cancer in 2015, as a kind and generous mentor who was passionate about music education.
Meridiem Wind Orchestra, a local group of professional musicians and educators, premieres MacInne’s composition in Victoria at Alix Goolden Performance Hall on October 25.
The piece, Symphony No. 1 for Wind Ensemble, is one of five pieces Meridiem Wind Orchestra will perform during their concert In Remembrance, a fundraiser for the VCM's Winds and Brass Program Development Fund (specifically supporting the new VCM Westhills location).
“The concert pays tribute to our fallen heroes and those that go above and beyond, giving to the community and inspiring younger generations,” says MacInnes, a professional trombonist, faculty member at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and director of the Vikes Band at the University of Victoria.
Other works on the program include the light and joyful western-themed Snake Fence Country by beloved Canadian composer Howard Cable who died earlier this year, Alford’s Cavalry of the Clouds, Gillingham’s Lost and Fallen and Grieg’s Funeral March for Richard Nordaak.
In Remembrance takes place October 25, at Alix Goolden Performance Hall, and tickets are $20 ($15 for seniors and students; free for Victoria Conservatory of Music students) and can be purchased at the Victoria Conservatory of Music at 900 Johnson Street, by phone at 250-386-5311 or online at vcm.bc.ca/vcm-presents