Calendar
Works by Schubert, de Falla, Britten and others.
Please come and enjoy an hour of music with these two outstanding artists.
A spectacular celebration of the iconic silent film Phantom of the Opera (1925) in its centennial year, featuring a score performed live by a 6-piece orchestra, 80-person choir from the Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs, and Vancouver Civic Organist Michael Dirk on the historic Wurlitzer organ.
Step back in time for a Mighty Wurlitzer Workshop – a hands on introduction to the Orpheum’s iconic Wurlitzer organ. In this 2.5 hour session, students will have the opportunity to adapt established keyboard/piano repertoire or come prepared with an improvisation to a short silent cartoon of their choice, exploring the wondrous musical palette and novel sound effects of the century-old instrument – all guided in a fun and encouraging masterclass style by Vancouver Civic Organist, Michael Dirk.
This workshop is a rare opportunity to get up close with a piece of music history. Spots are very limited – be sure to register early to secure your place!
Tickets and more info here.
YouTube videos by Michael about the Orpheum Wurlitzer:
A Tour of the Wurlitzer (VSO Day of Music 2025)
Orpheus’ bells and whistles
Marnie Giesbrecht (organ) and Joachim Segger (piano) are Duo Majoya. They will perform the works from their latest CD, Canadian Suite Celebrations, including Vancouver composer Denis Bédard’s Grande Suite, Capriccio, and Duet Suite, Edmonton composer Jacobus Kloppers’ The Last Rose of Summer, and Toronto composer Ruth Watson Henderson’s Suite for Piano and Organ.
Duo Majoya is a versatile and innovative keyboard team that performs keyboard duets of all combinations in North America, Europe, South Africa and Asia. The duo performs a distinctive repertoire of commissioned, original, and arranged works. Commissions include more than twenty works for organ duet and organ/piano by Canadian and international composers. Duo Majoya records a broad range of repertoire on CDs and on their YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@duomajoya; for more information, please see www.duomajoya.com.
The release of their latest CD, “Canadian Suite Celebrations,” recorded in the Winspear Centre and published on the Centredisc label in April, 2024 is officially celebrated with concerts in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, Langley, Vancouver and in the United States.
The duo is inducted in the Edmonton Cultural Hall of Fame; they are separately inaugurated Honorary Fellows of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. Giesbrecht and Segger co-direct the Royal Canadian College of Organists’ national competition committee. As active board members in the Edmonton RCCO Centre, they plan and organize local concerts and events.
Marnie and Joachim are Music Directors at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Edmonton. In addition to conducting weekly rehearsals and services, they curate organ and choral concerts, fundraise for refugees, and support community music making. They take great pride in their two sons, Mark and Chris, who rock the world with percussion, drum set and composition (Mark); heavy metal guitar playing in the Juno award winning band “Striker” and long-distance running (Chris).
Joachim Segger
Dr. Joachim Segger (BMus, MMus, Performer’s Certificate, Eastman School of Music; DMus UAlberta) is a versatile musician who performs internationally as a piano soloist and collaborative artist. A church organist since the age of nine, Joachim enjoys improvising at the piano and organ using classical and contemporary musical styles as well as hymn-based improvisations. Dr. Segger is Professor Emeritus of the Music Department at The King’s University, Edmonton.
Marnie Giesbrecht
Keyboard artist Marnie Giesbrecht performs and records as organ soloist, and collaborative musician (organ, piano, harpsichord) in mainstream repertoire, as well as new and early music. Dr. Giesbrecht is Professor Emerita at the University of Alberta (1988 to 2014), Adjunct Professor of Music at The King’s University, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Declared “glorious” by the New York Times upon its release, this 1926 action adventure film, shot entirely in two-colour Technicolor, marked a landmark achievement in the advancement of cinema as an art form. It features Douglas Fairbanks portraying a nobleman posing as the “Black Pirate” to seek justice for his father’s death and rescue a kidnapped princess. Accompanied live by eminent Vancouver organist Edward Norman on the historic Wurlitzer organ.
Clara Bow’s role as the plucky shop girl in this 1927 box office hit brought her global fame and made her the first-ever “It Girl”. Bow is magnetic as Betty, who is enamored with the wealthy owner of the department store where she works and determined to catch his attention. Accompanied live by Vancouver Civic Theatres organist Michael Dirk on the historic Wurlitzer organ.
Save the date! More info to come.
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 film The Lodger was his first critical and commercial success. This haunting silent thriller tells the tale of a mysterious young man who takes up residence at a London boardinghouse just as a killer known as the Avenger descends upon the city. Accompanied live by organist Koos van Nieuwkoop on the historic Wurlitzer organ.