Our chamber orchestra is a string orchestra welcoming amateur string players from the North Shore and beyond! The North Shore Chamber Orchestra provides opportunities for members of the North Shore community (and beyond) to cultivate their interest in chamber music of all kinds. The orchestra is open to string players of all ages and gives its members opportunities to refine their skills under the
direction of Charles Inkman, an accomplished cellist with the VSO and Joe Trio. The members enjoy collaborating with a wide range of musicians, from school groups to celtic bands - and often play backup for young guest soloists. As well as providing seniors and residents of care centres with enjoyable entertainment in their own venues six times a year, the orchestra also plays free concerts in informal settings, such as Culture Days Orchestra Jam in the Gordon Smith Gallery and Mother's Day at Maplewood Farm. In recent years, the orchestra has played for CircusWest acrobats for NVan Community Arts Council's annual Trolley Dances - and in various pastoral settings as part of the annual Art in the Garden Tour. The North Shore Chamber Music Society is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that has been active since the early 1970s. Over the years, it evolved to include a string orchestra, a choir and a recorder group – at one time numbering nearly 90 members. The string orchestra has remained throughout the years and currently has about 25 members. This year, eight members have formed an early music group, featuring the viola da gamba, played by one of our first violinists. Members are encouraged to suggest repertoire for the groups to play, and many have been featured as soloists in our concerts. The orchestra recently commissioned their first orginal work from Cam Wilson, a local violinist and composer, who wrote A Dream of Blue Fiddles for the group, which had its first reading at Culture Days Orchestra Jam, and will premiere at our Winter Concert on Dec. 11, 2016. The orchestra rehearses weekly in the band room of Sutherland Secondary School. We gratefully acknowledge:
* the financial support of the City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver, through the North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Office
* the support of the District of West Vancouver through their Community Grant Programs
* the BC Gaming grant program
