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Joy, bliss and Bramwell Tovey: New Music Festival takes the stage

OK, I confess, I am currently performing an experiment. I'm putting up two blog posts today: one on the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra 's New Music Festival, and one on the Vancouver auditions for The Bachelor Canada .

OK, I confess, I am currently performing an experiment. I'm putting up two blog posts today: one on the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's New Music Festival, and one on the Vancouver auditions for The Bachelor Canada.

If you came to this post, then I congratulate you on helping me to prove that, in fact, people are just as interested in classical music as in reality TV! (It remains to be seen if I'm right, or if I'm delusional. I shall report back when I get some blog post numbers.)

Meanwhile, on with the real purpose of the post - this awesome New Music Festival being put on by the VSO this weekend.

The inaugural festival includes four concerts at the Orpheum Theatre, Jan. 17 to 20.

The festival is planned to be an annual event, focusing on a distinguished international visiting composer each year.

This year's will feature the Australian composer and violist Brett Dean, one of the most internationally performed composers of his generation.

Dean will perform his Viola Concerto and other works in the Dean on Dean concert Sunday night.

Also on tap for the festival are the Rascher Saxophone Quartet from Germany, with Water Music, Redux on Saturday night and Songs of Joy and Bliss on Monday night; and the acclaimed new music ensemble Standing Wave.

All the concerts will be conducted by Bramwell Tovel, who will also host each evening with VSO composer-in-residence Edward Top.

Each concert includes a pre-concert emerging artists performance and a post-concert jazz cabaret where performers and the audience and meet and mingle.

Sounds amazing. If you get a chance to get out to one of the concerts, let me know what it's like! Tweet me, @juliemaclellan, or send me an email, jmaclellan@burnabynow.com.