User:Csmecher/Music By The Sea

Music By The Sea is an International Music School and Festival located in Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada. It is an opportunity for talented music students to work with internationally recognized musicians in a unique and inspiring environment. The festival is the result of this collaboration of students and faculty, and an opportunity for the students and audience to hear the faculty at their best.

Performance Residency
By being in residence for an extended stay, artists can fully benefit from the inspiration offered by this historic fishing village situated at the edge of the Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island. In addition, the extended stay permits the time needed for artists from different regions, musical backgrounds, and from different stages in their careers to work together; to form new collaborations; to further their art — and to share the results with each other and the audiences. In this way a de facto educational purpose is accomplished through career development and mentoring between established and emerging artists.

The Facility
The Rix Centre for Ocean Discoveries at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre was opened June 21, 2005. It was designed by Architects Peter de Hoog and Lynn Gordon-Findlay. It is a 1200 m2 combined conference centre, classroom complex, and marine/coastal science laboratory. Its scallop-shell shaped hall with a clear north-facing wall looking out to the sea, gives the Music By The Sea performances a unique backdrop.

Location
Bamfield is a small remote community on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It has a permanent population of about 300 people, and is the site of the Bamfield Marine Sciences Center, an extension of Canada's 5 western Universities.

History
The program was conceived by its Executive Director, Christopher Donison, and in 2005 Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre BMSC entered into a partnership to pursue the vision. In June plans were announced at the opening ceremony of the Rix Centre and a concert Steinway piano was transported to Bamfield where it has since resided.

In January of 2006, as part of the 100 year commemorative of the SS Valencia, the event that spawned the creation of the West Coast Trail from Port Renfrew to Bamfield, the first MBTS concert occurred,  featuring both classical and jazz performances. In July, a trial run of one weekend of 4 concerts was an artistic and organizational success.

The 2007 season consisted of a set of 5 concerts over one weekend. This was the first "official" season, with the creation of the legal society.

In 2008 the program expanded to an eleven-day, nine-concert performance residency, with workshops and outreach events.

The 2009 season continued the eleven day format, with an expansion to 27 performers. 2010 continued to expand the range of Artists to include Artists from Europe, and consolidate the program.

Executive Director
Christopher Donison is a Canadian composer, conductor, pianist, lecturer, inventor, and the driving force behind Music By The Sea. He is a graduate in piano performance from the School of Music, at the University of Victoria at Victoria, British Columbia. He won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Music Direction in Toronto. For the ten years from 1988 to 1998 he served as Music Director of the Shaw Festival in Niagara-0n-the-Lake, Ontario.

Chris Donison did his graduate studies in composition at State University of New York at Buffalo. He has composed choral, chamber, and orchestral works. In 1998 he finished an unfinished Gershwin musical for the Estate of George and Ira Gershwin to mark the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin's birth.

Board Of Directors
Honourary Chair Dr. Donald B. Rix, Honourary Director and Founding Patron in Memoriam

Honourary Director in Memoriam Dr. Andrew Spencer, Bamfield Marine Station

Ex-Officio Member The Mayor Of the City of Alberni, Mr. Ken McRae

Ex-Officio Member The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District Representative from Electoral Are “A”, Bamfield,  Mr. Stefan Ochman

Honourary Director The Honourable IONA V. CAMPAGNOLO, PC, OC, OBC

Honourary Director The Honourable Pat Carney, PC, Senator (ret.)

President PETER J. de HOOG, MAIBC, MRAIC Architect, de Hoog and Kierulf architects, Victoria, BC

Vice-President     MICHAEL FREY, L.L.B., Lawyer, Victoria, BC

Treasurer  SIA SANATI, Owner, ReStart Computer, Victoria

Director     DR. GORDON DAFOE, Dentist, Victoria

Director    LYNN GORDON-FINDLAY, MAIBC, Architect, de Hoog and Kierulf architects, Victoria BC

Director   Nancy Hendry, NP(F). Bamfield

Legal Status
Music by the Sea is a non-profit society ( # S-51471) registered under the Society Act of British Columbia and is a Registered Charity ( # 83328 5166 RR0001) under the Income Tax Act of Canada.

Music By The Sea
Music By The Sea Official Website

Bamfield, B.C., Canada
Bamfield Chamber of Commerce

Bamfield on VancouverIsland.com

Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre wiki page

Bamfield Marine Sciences Center Homepage

Christopher Donnison
Christopher Donnison Homepage