A Robbie Burns Celebration
- JK
- May 29
- 3 min read
Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 2:00pm
$35 per ticket
The 42nd concert in the York Place Musical Salon.
About the Event
Join us for an unforgettable afternoon celebrating the life, legacy, and enduring influence of Robert Burns, the poet whose words have resonated across centuries and continents since his birth in 1759.
Baritone Michael MacKinnon, mezzo-soprano Shanté Van Horlick, and pianist Scott Knight bring Burns' Scotland to life through stirring traditional songs and spirited modern works inspired by the bard himself. From timeless Scottish melodies to contemporary classics, this vibrant program honors the poet who gave voice to love, nature, equality, and the human spirit.
Discover why Burns Night remains one of the world's most cherished cultural celebrations, observed with passion all around the world. And maybe, just maybe, a wee dram of Scotch will be involved?
Tickets will be available on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 9:00 am.
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We gratefully acknowledge a generous donation from an anonymous patron who has sponsored the York Place Musical Salon since 2024. This support helps further our goal of presenting performances of the highest caliber. Thank you.
About the Musicians
Baritone Michael MacKinnon started singing opera in 2006, joined the Vancouver Opera chorus in 2008, and the Vancouver Opera in Schools tour in 2009 for the world premiere of Veda Hille's Jack Pine. He trained at Opera Nuova (Edmonton), Banff Arts Centre and the Music Academy of the West (Santa Barbara, CA), twice won the Western Canada division of the Met Opera competition, and performed principal roles for nearby companies such as City Opera Vancouver, Burnaby Lyric Opera, Opera Nanaimo, Vancouver Island Opera, and Vancouver Opera. Internationally, he sang for the Young Opera Company (Freiburg), Landestheater Detmold, Ticino Music Festival (Lugano/Locarno), The Opera Factory (Freiburg), Operafabriken (Malmö/Copenhagen), Opera Bohemia (Glasgow), and the Edinburgh International Festival. His roles have included Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore, Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, Leporello and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Colline in La bohème, Méphistophélès in Faust, Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte, among many more. Since moving to the island in 2020, Michael has regularly performed in local choral and orchestral concerts, spent the summer of 2022 drumming and singing for the Chemainus Theatre in their Classic Country Roads revue, and is delighted to be making new friends within the island's musical community.
Mezzo-soprano Shanté Van Horlick has performed on stages across the Lower Mainland, USA, Czech Republic and Spain. Shante graduated from the UBC Opera program in 2016 and has been working as a professional opera singer and voice teacher since. Shante has performed with notable opera companies such as the Vancouver Opera Company, Herioc Opera Company, Burnaby Lyric Opera and Opera Mariposa. Some of her most favourite roles have been Mercedes in Burnaby Lyric Opera's production of Carmen, Siegrune in Heroic Opera's production of Wagner's Die Walkure and the lovable character Dorabella in Opera Mariposa's "Cosi Fan Tutte"! Since moving to Nanaimo in 2020, Shante has performed with island musical organizations such as the Oceanside Concert Choir as a soloist in their Handel's Messiah as well as with the Strathcona Symphony Orchestra in an Opera Highlights concert. In Nanaimo, Shante has joined Opera Nanaimo as a performer and as a board member. She hopes to help build opportunities to showcase Opera and beautiful singing in Nanaimo and continue to build connections within the island music community.
Pianist Scott Knight has been a professional pianist and music director for more than 30 years. His education in the world of music includes Capilano University, University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia as a classical pianist and accompanist. He spent two seasons as a vocal coach and conductor at the N.U.O.V.A. school for Advanced Studies in Opera at the University of Alberta, working with Nico Castel, Michael McMahon, Carol Isaac, and Tracey Dahl, and another season as conductor and musical director at Tapestry New Opera in Toronto. As a music director and pianist in Vancouver, Scott has worked with UBC Opera, Vancouver Academy Opera, Burnaby Lyric Opera and Vancouver Opera. Highlights include Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville' and 'La Cenerentola' as well as 'Marriage of Figaro' and 'La Boheme". He has also worked with the Vancouver Playhouse, Capilano University Theatre, Gateway Theatre, T.U.T.S. and more. All time favourite musical... anything Stephen Sondheim.