Calendar
Born in The Netherlands, Aart Bijkerk pursued his musical
training at an early age, studying with renowned organists such
as Frans van Tilburg and Herman van Vliet. Aart has specialised in
the works of the French romantic composers such as Dupré,
Guilmant, Vierne, and Widor. In 1998 he played the complete 8th
symphony from Charles-Marie Widor during the Widor Festival
in the St Joriskerk ( Saint George’s Church ) in Amersfoort, The
Netherlands. A frequent participant in organ competitions on the
historic eighteenth-century organ in the Grote Kerk of Maassluis,
Aart was twice awarded first prize. He has served as organist for
a number of churches in The Netherlands, and since immigrating
to Canada he is connected with the Canadian Reformed Church
in Yarrow, and frequently is a guest organist at Abbotsford and
Chilliwack Churches.
St. Paul’s Casavant 1906 is their oldest extant original installation in BC. The action recently converted to solid state, and other improvements were made, by Steve Miller. Come and try out the organ!
Guided tour of The Butterfly tower lobby with its Fazioli piano (The Butterfly’s design was inspired by organ pipes), and the renovated First Baptist Church Sanctuary.
Maurice Duruflé: Prélude et fugue sur le nom d’Alain, op. 7 (1942)
Jean-Louis Florentz: La croix du sud, op. 15 (2000)
iv. Interlude de Grand Orgue pour l’Élévation
ii. Gloria
Presented by St Mary’s Kerrisdale Parish Choir with Kirk Adsett, Director of Music/Organist
A wine-and-cheese reception will take place following the concert, a great opportunity to meet the performers. For planning purposes, please register to indicate your intention to attend by clicking here.Performers and programme:
Bohemian Rhapsody – Freddie Mercury
Dieu parmi nous (from La Nativité du Seigneur) – Olivier Messiaen
Final (from Organ Symphony No. 1) – Louis Vierne
In 1938 Casavant Frères of St Hyacinthe, Québec, was awarded the contract for a new 3-manual organ of 1760 pipes. The organ itself was located in the north transept of the church, formerly the choir gallery, which was lowered to make room for the instrument, with a façade designed by Adrian Gilbert Scott — the same architect who designed St James’ Church building. Over the years some minor changes were made to meet the musical demands of a living church, including a new Choir division with three ranks in the west gallery in 1948, and a new organ console in 2003. With the addition of the Choir division, the organ now has 33 ranks and just under 2000 pipes. The main organ is located high on the north gallery of the church – an excellent location, as the grand sound of this fine Casavant Frères organ is marvellously enhanced by the church’s outstanding acoustics.
2pm: “Saturday Morning Cartoons” accompanied on the mighty Wurlitzer by Koos van Nieuwkoop and Michael Dirk.
3pm or 3:30pm TBD: Orgelkit workshop with Michael Dirk.
Featuring organists Michael Dirk and Koos van Nieuwkoop on the mighty Wurlitzer
A message from Vancouver Civic Theatres:
Our audience values the unique live musical experience that is central to our series, and after careful consideration, we determined that a pre-recorded soundtrack would not do justice to the event.
Instead, we will be screening a selection of Chaplin Mutual shorts: The Immigrant (1917), The Pawn Shop (1916), and The Rink (1916)—all accompanied live by our talented organists on the historic Wurlitzer organ. Though this is an Encore Performance from our 2023 Season, the selected films are three of the very best of Chaplin from this period at Mutual films. We’re excited to share these classics with you and continue celebrating Chaplin’s legacy.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support as we strive to bring you accessible, engaging, and historically rich cinematic experiences. We look forward to seeing you at the Orpheum!
Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at vctpresents@vancouver.ca if you have any questions or encounter any issues.
