Mission

Mission statement

The society aims to promote cultural interaction among the people of Vancouver, who come from a rich variety of ethnic backgrounds, and to emphasize the importance of music in our lives. We have chosen to name our Society after the Polish composer Frederic Chopin because of the universal appeal of his music and his world-wide reputation as one of the greatest composers for the keyboard.

Affiliations

The VCS is a member of the International Federation of Chopin Societies, based in Vienna. This connection puts us in touch with some fifty other Chopin Societies worldwide, creating exciting possibilities for inviting international musicians to Vancouver.

Structure

The Vancouver Chopin Society is a registered charity. All donations are tax deductible and will be acknowledged in VCS concert programs. Our activities are presented mainly through the assistance of volunteers. If you are interested in helping us as a volunteer, please call 604.871.4450

Board

Our society is entirely run by wonderful and dedicated volunteers who donate their time, energy and talents to manage and direct society’s affairs.

• Lee Kum-Sing – Artistic Director
• Iko Bylicki – President
• Niels Andersen – Vice-President
• Teresa Bobrowska – Secretary
• Jason Ng – Treasurer
• Malgorzata Burczycka – Director
• Vince Cardella – Director
• Don Mowatt – Director
• Ori Kowarsky – Director
• Dawn Short – Honorary member of the Board

Please contact us at:

The Vancouver Chopin Society
# 400 – 601 West Broadway Avenue,
Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 4C2
Canada

Telephone: 604.871.4450
Fax: 604.321.4805
Email: info@chopinsociety.org

From the Artistic Director

The Vancouver Chopin Society is distinctive in its approach to featuring artists of the keyboard not by their famous names, but for their specialty in Chopin’s music and exceptional performances of classical repertoire. And with our unique international connections, particularly in the European countries, the Chopin Society has been able to bring to Vancouver audiences top Chopin interpreters such as Nelson Freire, Rafal Blechacz, Ingrid Fliter, Dinna Yoffe, Juana Zayas, Wojciech Switala, Zbigniew Raubo, Janne Mertanen, Ingolf Wunder and Daniil Trifonov. These former Chopin Competition laureates and judges have won the highest possible critical acclaim worldwide for their recitals and recordings of the music of Chopin and other composers, though some are generally not so well-known in North America. In many cases the Chopin Society has introduced them first to Vancouver.

Consequently, the Vancouver Chopin Society, which incidentally is the only Chopin Society in Canada, has been able to bring the highest caliber of artists to Vancouver audiences of music lovers, teachers and music students at very affordable ticket prices.

Thanks to the support of our donors and audiences, we look forward to continuing this tradition in seasons to come.

From the President

It is my pleasure to welcome you here, and sincerely thank you, our supporters, as we enter an exciting 14th season. When we were establishing the society therteen years ago, we had no idea that it would grow to these levels, with a fantastic audience base, and a continuing series of world-renowned artists. It would not be possible without you!

We have established a great history of a yearly four-concert series that includes established artists, as well as rising talents. We presented, in her Canadian debut, Ingrid Fliter, Rafal Blechacz, in a sold out concert at the Chan Centre, Nelson Freire, Dina Yoffe, Dmitri Alexeev, Elisso Virsaladze and recently Ingolf Wunder and Daniil Trifonov.

We are adamant on continuing to provide you with high-caliber artists, while maintaining the lowest possible price for subscriptions. We are able to do this because our society is entirely run by wonderful and dedicated volunteers.

Our society is also extremely interested in meeting you, and this is why we will continue to run our concerts in a format that is followed by a reception, to which the whole audience is invited!

It is also very important to us that we continue to support young artists by giving them an opportunity to perform, and rewarding them with publicity and scholarships.

We hope that we can continue to share our love of music with you in the following season. I am excited about all the artists that will be playing for us and I encourage you to purchase a subscription so that you can enjoy all that we have to offer this year.

Member of IFCS

The VCS is a member of the International Federation of Chopin Societies, based in Vienna.
Members of the International Federation of Chopin Societies

Fundacion Frederic Chopin

The Frederic Chopin of Victoria

Internationale Chopin-Gesellschaft in Wien

Chopin Gesellschaft in Vorarlberg

Frederyk Chopinstichting v.z.w.

Association Frederic Chopin – Karol Szymanowski

Sociedade Chopin do Brasil

The Vancouver Chopin Society

Drustvo Fryderyk Chopin

Sociedad Federico Chopin de la Habana

Spoleenost Fryderyka Chopina KaSS

Det Danske Chopinselskab

The London Chopin Society

Association Lyonnaise Frédéric Chopin

Société Chopin a Paris

Association des Amis de Nicolas Chopin

Societe Chopin a Nohant

Chopin Gesellschaft in der BRD e.V.

Chopin-Gesellschaft Taunus e.V.

Chopin-Gesellschaft Hannover

Deutsche Chopin-Gesellschaft e.V.

Grupo Fryderyk Chopin

Associazione Musicale Internazionale F.Chopin

Associazione Internazionale F.Chopin

Associazione Culturale Fryderyk Chopin

The Chopin Society in Israel

The Frederic Chopin Society of Japan

The Chopin Society of Korea

Sociedad Cultural Frederico Chopin de Mexico

Association Marocaine des Amis de Frederic Chopin

Drustvo Fr. Sopen

Philippine Chopin Society

Polska Akademia Chopinowska

Towarzystwo im.Fryderyka Chopina w Warszawie (TIFC)

Fryderyk Chopin Society in Moscow

Association Festivals Chopin de Valldemossa

Bernische Chopin-Gesellschaft

The Frederic Chopin Foundation of Taipei

Bangkok Chopin Society

Fryderyk Chopin Society of Texas

The Frederic Chopin Society

Western Chopin Society

Chopin Association, Inc.

The Chopin Association

The Chopin Foundation of the United States, Inc.

The Fryderyk Chopin Society of Connecticut

Club de Musique F.Chopin