New York Voices band members Darmon Meader, left, Lauren Kinhan, Kim Nazarian and Peter Eldridge. New York Voices will be playing at MusicFest Vancouver.
Travel a world of sound from New York jazz to a 485-pipe organ, and from Italian tango to Brazilian guitar at MusicFest Vancouver, a midsummer mix of live classical, jazz and world music from around the globe.
According to festival program director Matthew Baird, must-sees this weekend include acclaimed Norwegian a cappella group Nordic Voices – they're performing music inspired by the heavens and the skies – as well as tango masters Quartango, and Vancouver's Turning Point Ensemble, who will be accompanied on stage by a live painter as they perform a Michael Bushnell reduction of Stravinsky's The Firebird.
"We don't want to be a musical museum that's doing all the classics all the time," says Mr. Baird.
"And this was a perfect opportunity to showcase that, and to do it in quite a different way."
Upcoming festival highlights will include genre-straddling orchestra Pink Martini, the Juno-winning Gryphon Trio, legendary Quebecois folkies La Bottine Souriante and many more.
"You don't have to know everything about the music; you just have to have an appreciation for the fact that people have the unique ability to make music, and they've had it throughout history," says Mr. Baird.
"And it's that collective experience that makes it all so rewarding."