victoriasymphony.ca:

Victoria, BC – Maestro Brian Jackson, Principal Pops Conductor of the Victoria Symphony, will lead the orchestra through a program of British music themed after the annual “Last Night of the Proms” celebrations for the final Pops concerts of the season on Thursday, March 31 at 2pm, Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2 at 8pm at the Royal Theatre. The “Last Night of the Proms” is a British tradition that is over 110 years old, and each summer thousands of people converge upon Royal Albert Hall in London to enjoy what many call “The World’s Greatest Classical Music Festival.” Victoria audiences will have the opportunity to hear British favourites like Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, Sir Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs, and C. Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem along with A Canadian Odyssey, a piece composed by Johnny Cowell (former principal trumpet of the Victoria Symphony) and Howard Shore’s Symphonic Suite from The Lord of the Rings.

A special element of excitement will be added to the Friday evening performance when Brian Jackson draws the grand prize for the symphony’s annual raffle, an 18-day Panama Canal cruise for two aboard Holland America’s Zaandam hosted by the Maestro himself. Other prizes include a $2500 shopping spree at Jordans Interiors, a three-day spa escape package at Pacific Shores Resort & Spa, a tourmaline and diamond pendant necklace from Hélène Bourget Designs and a winter storm getaway at The Wickaninnish Inn. The draw will take place immediately following the concert on April 1st. Tickets are only $5 (or a book of 10 for $50) with all proceeds supporting the orchestra and they may be purchased by calling 385-6515 for. Order forms can also be downloaded at www.victoriasymphony.ca.

Brian Jackson holds a Master of Arts in Music Theory, History and Composition from Oxford University. In 1965 he was the youngest ever Fellow of the Royal College of Organists in London, England. After three years as a Studio Manager with the British Broadcasting Corporation, he emigrated to Canada in 1968 and began his conducting career spanning the next 30 years. Currently Principal Pops Conductor of Orchestra London Canada, the Victoria Symphony and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Jackson has conducted all major orchestras in Canada and has lead orchestras in the United States and South America. He writes and arranges his own pops shows, plays and has recently composed two musicals, Ernest and Wallace.