Octet Victoria: Christmas Music
Free
- Gina Johnson, soprano
- Isolde Roberts-Welby, soprano
- Char Hodgkins, alto
- Alana Hayes, alto
- Tim Carter, tenor
- Gordon Simmons, tenor
- Nathan David McDonald, bass
- Rowan McWilliams, bass
William Byrd — Selected works
Benjamin Britten — Selected works
Herbert Howells — Selected works
Join us for our upcoming concert of Christmas music! This will be a beautiful concert including works by Poulenc, Byrd, Britten, and Howells. We will also sing some well-loved traditional carols. Octet Victoria is enjoying the process of rehearsing this wonderful mix of ethereal, soothing, and joyous music.
Donations encouraged. More than 75% of the door donations from our concerts go to local Indigenous organizations such as Raven Trust Foundation and the Victoria Native Friendship Centre.
Accessibility: St. John's is wheelchair-accessible through the Garden doors on the north side of the building.
Octet Victoria makes music and operates on the unceded ancestral lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen), now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt nations. We are grateful for their stewardship of these beautiful lands that nurture, inspire, and sustain us.
About Octet Victoria
Octet Victoria is an ensemble of eight professional singers, directed by Char Hodgkins. Spanning from early renaissance to modern works, Octet Victoria presents masterful choral music and explores the intricacies of small ensemble singing.
https://www.facebook.com/octetvictoria/About Gina Johnson, soprano
About Tim Carter, tenor
About Gordon Simmons, tenor
Gordon Simmons is a tenor and theatre manager based in Victoria, BC, Canada.
About Nathan David McDonald, bass
Commanding a repertoire spanning several centuries, from renaissance polyphony to modern opera, Nathan David McDonald, baritone, is often lauded for his vocal versatility. With a diverse musical background, including a degree in trumpet and seven years as a church Music Director, Nathan brings a wealth of experience and musicianship to his craft.
Active as an oratorio singer, Nathan has appeared with a variety of West Coast ensembles such as the Pacific Baroque Festival Orchestra, Victoria Philharmonic Choir, Cowichan Consort, and Vox Humana Chamber Choir. Recent highlights include Handel's Apollo e Dafne with Victoria Baroque led by Steven Divine; Bach's Magnificat with the Sooke Philharmonic and Victoria Choral Society; Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the Okanagan Festival Singers; the World Premiere of two new pieces at a Poetry and Song gala by East Van Opera; and Jean-Joseph de Mondonville's Cantate Domino at the Pacific Baroque Festival.
Nathan has presented recitals in Canada and the United States, and has sung professionally in choirs on 4 continents. A veteran of youth-oriented choral projects, Nathan has sung several times with the National Youth Choir of Canada and World Youth Choir, as well as the Carnegie Hall Chamber Choir (New York, NY), Weimar Bach Cantata Academy (Weimar, Germany), JSB Ensemble (Stuttgart, Germany), and Academia Internacional Teatro del Lago (Chile).
Operatic highlights include Nathan's 2016 mainstage debut with Pacific Opera Victoria (POV) as Fiorello in Rossini's Barber of Seville; solo chorus in the POV's school touring production of Mary's Wedding by Andrew Macdonald; performing the role of Marcello (2018) and Papageno (2017) in POV's Living Opera in schools program; and singing the role of Marcello in Puccini's La Bohème at Edmonton's NUOVA festival. Other operatic roles include Il Conte (Le Nozze di Figaro – Mozart), Dandini (La Cenerentola – Rossini), Don Alfonso (Cosi fan tutte – Mozart), Marco (Gianni Schicchi – Puccini), Colas (Bastien und Bastienne – Mozart), and Mr. Gobineau (The Medium – Menotti).
Nathan is a member of the Voice Faculty at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the Canadian College of Performing Arts. He serves as Music Director/Kantor at Lutheran Church of the Cross, Victoria, and is mentored by soprano, Nancy Argenta.
https://nathandavidmcdonald.com/en/About Rowan McWilliams, bass
Bass vocalist Rowan McWilliams is an alumnus of the University of Victoria School of Music.