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.

• Iko Bylicki – President
• Don Mowatt – Vice-President
• Teresa Bobrowska – Secretary
• Jason Ng – Treasurer
• Lee Kum-Sing – Artistic Director
• Ori Kowarsky – Publicity Director
• Niels Anderson – Director
• Vince Cardella – 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

We are very proud to welcome you to the 15th Anniversary Season of the Vancouver Chopin Society recital series. For this special season we decided to bring three pianists who already played for us in the past. Wojciech Switala, who is one of the foremost Chopin interpreters and whose phenomenal performance in 2007 is one that many of you may still remember, will kick off the season. Daniil Trifonov, after winning the Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky Competitions, is getting rave reviews and is on the radar of every music critic. Rafal Blechacz, the first prize winner at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005 and a charismatic pianist who impressed the audience in a sold out concert at the Chan Centre, will end the season. We also have one newcomer, Denis Kozhukhin, the First Prize winner in the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Last year, Kozhukhin, along with Trifonov, impressed both the most music critics and the audience at the Festival in Duszniki-Zdroj.

Following the last recital, there will be a reception to celebrate our 15th Anniversary. We hope all of you can join us at this reception.

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