About Us

Artistic Director’s Message

Dear friends,

Welcome to a brand new season of memorable music-making on the Sunshine Coast. For the last several decades, the CRS has brought the world’s best musicians to the Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt. Again this year we’ve got an all-star line-up of internationally celebrated musicians—and they all come from Canada!

Grammy-winning, Brandon-born violinist James Ehnes is unquestionably one of the best fiddlers playing today. He’s coming to Sechelt for a special, bonus concert that launches the fall leg of his 50th birthday tour. AND, the CRS is one of three presenters who have commissioned a new work from Canadian composer Carmen Braden. James’ regular piano collaborator is Andrew Amstrong, a celebrated chamber musician and concerto soloist who has made many exceptional recordings, among them the complete works for violin and piano by Beethoven and Bartok with James.

The regular subscription season begins with another fantastic Canadian violinist. Blake Pouliot, originally from Toronto, is a virtuoso musician with plenty of swagger and panache. He’s joined by Henry Kramer, a pianist who has taken top prizes at major international competitions and now combines a busy performance career with teaching at the Université de Montréal.

Cellist Luka Coetzee is a remarkable young cellist from Calgary. She’ll be joined by the masterful pianist Jon Kimura Parker, who grew up in Burnaby and now plays concerts around the world.

The stunning young mezzo Ema Nikolovska was born in Macedonia but received her early musical training in Toronto. She and guitarist Sean Shibe bring us a fascinating program that ranges from Dowland to Dylan, with songs about love, conflict, and the search for one’s own identity.

Pianist Elisabeth Pion hails from Saint-Hyacinthe, PQ, but now calls London, England home. She’s soon to become a citizen of the world after winning first prize at the Honens International PIano Competition in Calgary.

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko is another musician from a small Canadian town to make it big. He grew up in Salmon Arm, BC and has taken first prize in many of the big competitions, including, most recently, the Leeds.

The season ends with the amazing Viano Quartet. This quartet, winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2021, was formed at the Colburn School of Music ten years ago by two Americans and two Canadians—Lucy Wang and Tate Zawadiak, both from Vancouver.

Throughout the year we’ll continue to offer essential outreach programming to residents of the Sunshine Coast. Our artists offer performances in senior citizens’ facilities and high schools, master classes with exceptional young artists and our annual scholarship programme that encourages students to continue their musical studies.

I look forward to sharing all of these activities with you. The Coast Recital Society offers a special kind of sanctuary where we join together with friends and neighbours to experience the joy of listening to outstanding artists who transcend the here and now.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about the programs and welcome your feedback! You can reach me at deniseball@coastrecitalsociety.org.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Denise
deniseball@coastrecitalsociety.org

Board of Directors

President: Carolyn Mitchell
Vice-President: Maureen Drake
Secretary-Treasurer: Alec Tebbutt
Directors: Karyn Burney, James Flemming, Ines Tancré, Ward Tinney

General Manager: Koree Rogers

CRS Members

Subscribers are deemed to be members of the Society for the duration of their subscription. Ten dollars ($10) of each subscription fee constitutes the annual membership fee. Non-subscribers may become members by paying an annual fee of $10.

Past Presidents:

2014 – 2022 John Storer
2009 – 2014 Jane Whiteley
2004 – 2009 Mary Lea Bell
1998 – 2004 Frances Heinsheimer Wainwright
1994 – 1998 Neville Lincoln

History

For over 40 years, the Coast Recital Society has brought several of the most renowned artists of the international classical music world to the Sunshine Coast. This small but mighty organization is recognized as one of the finest BC concert presenters outside the lower mainland.

Initiated in 1984 as a regular concert series called Countryside Concerts under the auspices of the Sunshine Coast Arts council by CRS founder Allan Crane (1931-2014), the concert series underwent a name change and became its own registered charity in 1994.

In 1998 Allan Crane along with a host of dedicated volunteers and fundraisers, secured a 9-foot concert grand piano for the Society. “If you want an eminent pianist, you must have a major piano,” said Crane, who presciently maintained that the purchase of a Steinway D would be the single biggest factor in the success of the Coast Recital Society.

Allan Crane retired in 2004, and the Coast Recital Society thrived for the next twenty years under the artistic direction of Frances Heinsheimer Wainwright (1942-2025) who continued Allan’s legacy with an unwavering commitment to musical excellence. During her tenure Frances instituted the society’s Artists in the Community Outreach Program. The initiative brings artists engaged for the CRS’ main concert series from the stage of the Raven’s Cry theatre to eldercare homes and schools on the Sunshine Coast, and provides scholarships and music workshops and masterclasses to local students studying classical music.