Founded in 1919, the Vancouver Symphony is the largest performing arts organization west of Ontario and the third
largest symphony orchestra in Canada. The VSO performs to an annual audience attendance of more than 200,000 people and
features more than 50 celebrated guest artists each season. More than 140 concerts are performed annually by the VSO in the historic Orpheum Theatre, as well as in numerous venues throughout Lower Mainland British Columbia.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has a long and distinguished recording history, and was the recipient of a 2007 Grammy® and 2008 Juno® Award. Touring has been an important part of the VSO’s activities and its performances in China in 2008 were the first by a Canadian symphony orchestra in over 30 years. It was also the first Canadian orchestra to perform at the prestigious Beijing Music Festival. This tour also included concerts in Korea and Macau, and in 2009 the orchestra toured Central Canada with performances in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Quebec City.

The VSO maintains extensive educational activities with ten distinct programs experienced by over 50,000 children annually. In
addition, it created and operates the 25,000 square foot Vancouver Symphony School of Music situated directly next to the Orpheum Theatre.