Vancouver Symphony Orchestra cellist spreads joy through holiday concert tradition
Posted December 17, 2022 9:18 pm.
Last Updated December 18, 2022 9:24 pm.
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is back with its holiday movie concerts, and cellist Cristian Markos says he loves the interaction with the audience, something that he says has been missing for the last few years.
He says the group played for audiences virtually over the pandemic, and is excited to be back playing for a full house.
“Being back with people, there’s no substitute for that,” he said.
The classic 90s film “Home Alone” is played while the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra plays the film scores live. (Angela Bower/CityNews)
According to the VSO, the Grammy and JUNO-award winning orchestra is one of the largest orchestra’s in Canada and performs over 150 concerts per year.
During the holiday season, Markos says the orchestra plays festive concerts at the Orpheum theatre, including playing live music to classic films like “Home Alone.”
“We are playing the movie on a beautiful screen with the orchestra playing live underneath,” he explained.
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The movie is still intriguing audiences 32 years later, and he says listening to the movie’s soundtrack live is an unbelievable experience.
“The moment we started playing the music, and the reaction from the audience, it is like a boost,” he said. “It gives you so much energy and it makes it so fun.”
Markos says playing for children, and seeing their excitement for the live music while watching the popular 90s comedy, brings him joy.
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra plays “Home Alone” at the Orpheum Theatre. (Angela Bower/CityNews)
“It never fails to make me smile when I hear the kids laughing so hard, it’s just beautiful,” he said.
A life-time musician, Markos has been playing with the world-class orchestra for over 20 years.
“There’s a lot of practice put in,” he said. “When you’re growing up you have to learn a lot. Now that I’ve been playing with the orchestra for quite some time, there’s a lot of the repertoire that I already know so it’s more a matter of maintenance.”
Markos says it is never too late to learn how to play an instrument.
“Toddlers to people who are retired who want to pick up an old instrument or learn from scratch, I recommend checking it out and seeing if it is something you would like to do,” he said.
