Music heard from mountains to sea

by Nicki Youroukos

Christopher Donison, Canadian composer, conductor, pianist, lecturer, inventor, and visionary has taken the passion he experienced at The Banff Centre to Canada’s Vancouver Island in Pacific Rim National Park. In July 2006, Donison created the Music-by-the-Sea festival and music school at the Bamfield Marine Science Centre in Bamfield British Columbia.

“This is designed to bring a balance between formality and informal celebration to the complete experience: namely great music of all types in a great venue, in a stunning setting, in a celebratory atmosphere with premium wines and beers,” says Donison.

The weekend-long summer music festival in the Rix Centre for Ocean Discoveries introduced British Columbians to the new venue and inspired others towards helping make the vision of a new international music school and festival a reality. “It should be a place where musicians feel safe to express themselves without false attitudes,” says Donison. 

The festival showcased a variety of talented musicians from around the world including a variety of Banff Centre Music & Sound alumni. Bassists Russ Botten and Sean Drabitt, drummer Josh Dixon, violinist Ann Elliot-Goldschmid, marimbist Nicholas Jacques, pianist Marc Ryser, and saxophonist Roy Styffe were all performers.

While a participant in fall 2003 and winter 2004 Music & Sound residency, Donison wrote music and libretto for the first five scenes of Island, an opera based upon a short story by Canadian writer Alistair MacLeod.

“It has been a privilege to be in such an inspiring place for such a duration of time – for me it was what was needed,” says Donison.

For 10 years Donison served as the music director of the Shaw Festival and has conducted over 1,000 performances, composed choral, chamber, orchestral works, and written more than a dozen scores for plays. He is also the inventor of the Donison-Steinbuhler Standards, a smaller alternative piano keyboard.