The Venner Quartet

Friday, August 22, 2025 at 2:00 pm

$40 per ticket

The 32nd concert in the York Place Musical Salon.

About the Event

‘Venner’ means ‘friends’ in Norwegian and the Venner Quartet is made up of four musicians who are connected through their friendships: Joan Blackman (violin), Paule Prefontaine (violin), David Stewart (viola) and Amy Laing (cello). All four players have performed together in the Vancouver area and beyond, and Paule and David have played many concerts together, especially during the 20 years that they lived in Norway. We are now combining our friendships and looking forward to creating many fulfilling musical experiences for audiences in our extended musical community.

"Venner meets Vetta"

Reinhold Glière: Selections from 8 pieces for Violin and Cello, Op. 39

Alexander von Zemlinsky: String Quartet, No. 1 Op. 4

Franz Schubert: Quartettsatz D. 703

Antonín Dvorák: Waltz, Op. 54 #1 and #2

Astor Piazolla: Tango Ballet

Tickets will be available on Sunday, June 22, 2025 at 9:00 am.

Sign up for our newsletter and never miss a concert announcement.

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

Joan Blackman, violinist and former Associate Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony, is the Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Vetta Chamber Music Society. With a mission to showcase how music enriches our lives, she also supports emerging talent through Vetta's mentorship program and fosters cross-cultural connections with the “Seasons of the Sea” collaboration, bridging Western and Indigenous cultures.

In addition to curating and performing in the Vetta Chamber Music series, Joan contributes her expertise to the Pender Harbour Concert Society, where she curates their summer festival. She performs regularly with the Vancouver Symphony, Vancouver Opera, Turning Point Ensemble, and various other musical ensembles across British Columbia.

Joan has graced the stage as a soloist with the Vancouver Symphony, Victoria Symphony, CBC Radio Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble, and Banff Festival Orchestra. She is also a member of the eclectic group “Four Jays,” which performs throughout the province.

Her distinguished career includes appearances on series such as Music in the Morning, Music Fest Vancouver, Jeffrey Concerts in London, Ontario, and the American String Project. Joan has also participated in summer festivals including the Hornby Island Festival, Pender Harbour Chamber Music Festival, Kaimerata, and Victoria Summer Music Festival.

Critics have lauded her performances with praise such as “a ravishing tone,” “shapelier phrases and sweeter tone,” and “playing with lyricism, precision, and evident joy.” Joan Blackman’s artistry continues to captivate audiences, with reviews highlighting her as a “first-rate soloist” and noting her “flawless performance” and “meltingly exchanged lines.”

Paule Prefontaine has had a musical career spanning 40 years. She was Assistant Concertmaster of the Bergen Philharmonic, Norway for 5 of those years. She was also engaged as a freelance member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa for 12 years, participating in their regular seasons, as well as on tour.

As a pedagogue, Paule was Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa for 10 years. Paule also has expertise in Baroque performance practice, having been a member of Toronto’s Tafelmusik and many other baroque ensembles.

An active chamber musician, Paule has performed in Finland, Ireland, Norway and China.

Paule moved to Vancouver Island in July 2020 and is now very active in the music scene, performing with the Victoria Symphony and many other ensembles and festivals on the Island, in Vancouver, and on the Gulf Islands.

David Stewart decided early on in his professional career to experience all facets of musical endeavors as a musician and violinist.

In addition to his primary roles as a violin and viola professor (20 years, University of Manitoba, and University of Ottawa) and concertmaster (30 years, Bergen Philharmonic/Norway, and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra) he has been a conductor and coach of university-level orchestras around the world. Performances have taken him around the world, from major capitals in North America and Europe, to unusual places like theGalapagos Islands, ….., and 14 tours of mainland China.

He has had the privilege to have played in many of the most important classical music venues in the world, from Carnegie Hall in NYC to London’s Royal Albert Hall and from Vienna’s Musikverein to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

Now retired on Vancouver Island, Mr. Stewart is a board member and fundraiser for Harmony Project Sooke, an organization which provides stringed instruments and private lessons to school children in the region.

For the 2024/25 season, David will be a Guest Professor at McGill University in Montreal.

Originally from Nanaimo BC, Amy Laing earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton Florida, and her Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Following her studies Amy moved to Toronto where she enjoyed a fruitful and varied freelance career for nearly twenty years. She played regularly with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra among many other orchestras, and in 2019 she won the position of Principal cello in the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. She was also the solo cellist for many of Mirvish’s broadway productions including Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Matilda, Kinky Boots, the Sound of Music, and many more. Amy also played with the Canadian Opera Company, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Windsor Symphony, Niagara Symphony, Thunder Bay Symphony, and Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax. During that time she also held two short-term contracts playing Principal cello in the Victoria Symphony. Beyond the classical genre she has performed or recorded with pop artists including Ed Sheeran, Stevie Wonder, Blue Rodeo, Jesse Cook, The Barenaked Ladies, Jim Cuddy, Steven Page, Sarah Slean, Molly Johnson, Royal Wood, Amelia Curan, and Donovan Woods.

Having moved back to Vancouver Island in 2020 Amy has been busy playing with organizations on the Island and beyond. She plays regularly with the Victoria Symphony, Victoria Baroque, and the Vancouver Island Symphony and is a faculty member at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music. Amy has also worked with Vancouver’s Vetta Ensemble, Early Music Vancouver, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Chamber Choir, the Victoria Choral Society and has performed in various chamber music projects on Salt Spring Island, Victoria, and at The Old Schoolhouse in Qualicum Beach. Amy is thrilled to be back home on the Island, living near Ladysmith with her husband and two sons.