Vancouver Youth Choir: Village

PRESS RELEASE

Vancouver Youth Choir Marks a Historic Milestone
with Most Ambitious Concert in the Organization’s History
– Village –

Season finale unites more than 600 voices in song, performing a wide-ranging
repertoire that represents the diversity of its community

Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Youth Choir (VYC) presents Village, an evening of vibrant choral music that celebrates family, community, and togetherness, on stage at the Orpheum, May 24, 2026 at 6:30pm. This uplifting choral presentation will be the largest concert in Vancouver Youth Choir’s history, featuring 600 youth singers, with special guest, Vancouver’s own folk artist and activist, Luke Wallace. The program reflects the rich diversity of its singers and their families, with music in French, Irish Gaelic, Spanish, Mandarin, Cree, Italian, Farsi, Fijian, Indonesian, and Innu — alongside the premiere of four new works and arrangements.

“VYC is an organization shaped by the conviction that music has the power to unite across every unique background, and Village is anchored in those values,” says Carrie Tennant, VYC Founder & Artistic Director. “Our young singers bring with them a remarkable breadth of cultures, faiths, and lived experiences — and what they create together on stage is a genuine reflection of that richness. More than a performance, Village is an invitation into a community of belonging, where many voices share the same space with openness and joy.”

Village will feature a dynamic mix of children and young adult voices, ranging from ages 8-24, including VYC Kids (102 singers ages 8-9), VYC Treble 1 & 2 (196 singers ages 10-13), VYC Junior (75 singers ages 14-15), VYC Voices (153 singers ages 16-24), and the organization’s flagship auditioned professional training choir for advanced singers, Vancouver Youth Choir (70 singers ages 15-24). Each ensemble will perform their own sets and then unite to conclude the evening with an unforgettable concert experience performed by VYC’s largest-ever choir of 600 VYC singers. Village will also include a feature performance by VYC’s annual parent choir.

The program marks a significant moment for new choral music, with the world premieres of four original works and arrangements. Among them, a new arrangement of Shenhaye Saheli (Sea of Yearning) — a beloved hit by Persian icon Googoosh; Tipatshimun, a new song by Innu composer and VYC alumnus Alex Vollant; and two new works by special guest Luke Wallace, a new arrangement of Easy on the Earth and an original composition, Be the Arc. Together, these premieres speak to the breadth and ambition of a program that is as musically diverse as the community it represents.

Regarded as a modern-day Pete Seeger, Wallace is a dynamic force in the world of folk music, who uses his talent as a songwriter and choral arranger to champion environmental causes and inspire positive change. He was a featured performer at the United Nations Water Conference in 2023, and has toured extensively across North America, spreading a message of hope and action in the fight against climate change. In Village, Wallace will join the VYC Kids ensemble to perform Easy on the Earth and the VYC Voices ensemble to perform Be the Arc.

Creative team credits for Village include: Founder and Artistic Director Carrie Tennant, along with conductors Luke McAndless-Davis, Kelly Proznick, Michelle Hartley, Caroline Lempert, Amber Tsang, and pianists Caitlin Hayes, Helen Pei, and Danielle Lee.

The complete Village program can be viewed at: https://vancouveryouthchoir.com/performances/village-2026/

Tickets and information at vancouveryouthchoir.com

About Vancouver Youth Choir (vancouveryouthchoir.com)
Founded in 2013, the award-winning Vancouver Youth Choir (VYC) is one of Canada’s most dynamic youth arts organizations, welcoming more than 700 singers aged 5–24 across 16 ensembles and eight  choir levels. Committed to accessibility, VYC offers subsidized tuition to every member, and additional financial aid to one in three singers. Internationally recognized for its adventurous programming, VYC has represented Canada at the American Choral Directors Association Convention, performed at Carnegie Hall, and served as the North American representative at the Jeju International Choral Symposium in South Korea, and the IFCM World Symposium on Choral Music in Istanbul. This spring the flagship ensemble will compete at the Cork International Choral Festival. The organization is the recipient of the 2025 Margaret Hillis Award for Artistic and Organizational Achievement from Chorus America — one of the most prestigious honours in the North American choral world.

Beyond the concert stage, VYC delivers free outreach programs that benefit more than 2,000 children and youth in underserved communities across the Lower Mainland each season, including Indigenous-led classroom workshops, elementary school performances, and concert bursaries for schools. This work is part of the organization’s broader commitment to access, community, and reconciliation.  VYC also curates the Vancouver Youth Choir Choral Series (Cypress Publishing), championing new repertoire by emerging Canadian composers. Now entering its second decade, VYC is shaping the future of choral music in Canada and beyond.

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Photos by Derek Stevens

Carrie Tennant
Alex Vollant
Meruert Bestybay

Laura Murray
lmurray@mpmgarts.com
604.418.2998

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