the third largest city of Canada, an artistic scene in the French language that would have the staying power to keep up momentum for a whole year, sustaining itself and developing over time. With a major event in the summer and another in the fall, it was as if we had two magnets, two poles of attraction for the current to run on, providing the electroshocks that would stimulate our artists to want to produce more and to give them the opportunity to become better known both in our city and in the cities of my colleagues, in what we had nicknamed “the Coup de coeur network” from the very start. The commitment to produce at least three events with artists from at least three Canadian provinces under the Coup de ceeur francophone label was, by consensus, decided on to seal the marriage contract.

Year afer year, meeting after meeting, the projects multiplied, with real tours, as we had only dreamt of, that were made possible thanks to economies of scale. For our artists, Jirst there was the chance to do opening acts for star performers, and then their first opportunity to do a solo show, and then, the chance to launch a first, and a second, and a whole series of albums of francophone songs that were “made in Vancouver”. And then, as in every family, the children grew up, and they began to amaze us with their tal- ents, andto recognise the features of their own identities, with all the maturity that merits pride and respect for them. We commissioned shows from them that were increasingly ambitious. And now, seventeen years later, the winds of francophone song are blowing on the Pacific Coast. We can hear them blowing day and night along the streets, the valleys, the sea and the rivers, the glaciers, and the mountains, with the distinct per- sonality of identities that have matured, of these children who now have graduated for good into the category of accomplished artists. It seemed to me that the time had come to do something like Vancouver symphonique: a major celebration, the biggest in our still youthful history, both for the audience and for the artists. It brings us all together, at the same time and the same place, joyfully raising our voices in unison to celebrate the multiple anniversaries of this year, 2011: first, 25 years since the first stake for the Coup de ceeur was planted in the ground of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve; then, 75 years since Radio-Canada began to broadcast the lyrics and music of francophone songs from sea to sea; and above all, this 125th year of the incorporation of our city, born in the delta of the continents western-most river, Vancouver resonates with the melody of the many languages that the city welcomes with open arms, including French, which is more present than ever before and which is one of the guarantees of its image for the future, and the image of the nation looking westward as far as one can see, to the last rays of the setting sun, startlingly rose-coloured, on this far shore of North America.

Directeur général et artisitque / Executive and Artistic Director

Pierre Rivard Le Centre culturel francophone de Vancouver

Message du ministre du Patrimoine canadien et des langues officielles

Notre gouvernement sait combien les arts et la culture sont importants pour assurer le dynamisme de notre économie et de nos collectivités. C’est pourquoi nous sommes fiers d’appuyer Vancouver symphonique. Cette rencontre réunit sur une méme scéne des artistes de talent et les membres de LP orchestre symphonique de la Colombie-Britannique dans le cadre d’un concert unique. Voila une belle occasion pour les francophones et francophiles de la région de vivre une expérience culturelle enrichissante. Au nom du premier ministre Stephen Harper et du gouvernement du Cana- da, je salue l’équipe du Centre culturel francophone de Vancouver qui assure la tenue de cette soirée. Vous nous permettez ainsi de célébrer en musique et en chanson la culture d’expression francaise dans toute sa diversité. L'honorable James Moore