With only three days to go before the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra’s Solstice Spectacular, the orchestra has had to find a new venue for the concert. The June 28 performance will take place at the Sooke Community Hall on Sheilds Road in Sooke.
With dates already changed once, the change of venue is another move the orchestra has been faced with.
Because of the labour dispute currently on, the orchestra cannot use the community school theatre, because it appears the custodians will not cross the picket line.
“Thankfully the Sooke Community Hall is available for us,” said Michelle MacHattie, SPO viola player. “They’re happy to have us.”
MacHattie said Maestro Norman Nelson is actually quite excited about the venue. Apparently the acoustics have been improved and it just might be a concert with a retro feel. In days gone by, the community hall was the place for all community events in Sooke.
The Solstice Spectacular brings Alice Haekyo Lee to Sooke and the Farguhar Auditorium to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, Op. 35. Haekyo Lee was the winner of the Don Chrysler Concerto Competition in 2012. She was accepted into the prestigious Julliard pre-college program in New York. She is just 14 years old.
Nelson is looking forward to conducting Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, a work he performed with the London Symphony Orchestra back in 1957.
Tickets are available in Sooke atwww.sookephil.ca or Little Vienna Bakery, Shoppers Drug Mart, South Shore Gallery and Wood Travel.