Cheng² Duo and James Campbell Concert

The Victoria Conservatory is excited to welcome the incomparable Canadian sibling duo Cheng² Duo (pronounced Cheng Squared) featuring cellist Bryan Cheng and pianist Silvie Cheng to the Alix Goolden Performance Hall on October 24, 2026. Praised globally as "brilliant and absolutely captivating", this JUNO-nominated duo's musical chemistry promises to draw you in from the first note. Joined by special guest and celebrated clarinetist James Campbell, this concert is sure to charm audiences with their musical artistry, delightful storytelling, and emotional depth. Cheng² Duo Bio Rooted in a sibling bond that transcends the familial, the JUNO-nominated Cheng² Duo (pronounced Cheng Squared Duo) enchants music lovers worldwide with its impassioned expressivity, contagious joy, and instant rapport with listeners. Their performances have been described as “brilliant” (The Sunday Times, UK), “truly exhilarating” (The WholeNote, Canada), and “absolutely captivating…through a tremendous mastery of their instruments” (Pizzicato Magazine, Luxembourg). Cellist Bryan Cheng, the only prizewinner of both the Queen Elisabeth and Geneva International Music Competitions in 40 years, and pianist Silvie Cheng, former Cecilia Concerts Musician-in-Residence and National Arts Club Artist Fellow, have cultivated a lifelong musical dialogue, forged in childhood and refined through years of shared artistry. Since officially founding the Cheng² Duo with their 2011 Carnegie Weill Recital Hall debut, they have toured extensively across the Americas, Europe, Asia and South Africa. Recent and upcoming highlights include debuts at the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango (Bogotá), Frauenkirche Dresden, Flagey (Brussels), Munich Künstlerhaus, Dame Myra Hess Series (Chicago), Chamber Music at the Clark (Los Angeles), Harvard University, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Heidelberger Frühling Festival, Banff International String Quartet Festival; returns to Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts (Kingston), Ottawa Chamberfest, Salle Bourgie (Montréal), Chamberfest Cheboygan; and recital tours throughout Canada, Colombia, Ireland, India, South Africa, and USA. In the vanguard of creative programming, Bryan and Silvie are equally committed to presenting traditional masterworks, rediscovering neglected repertoire, and championing the music of their time. Since 2013, they have commissioned and arranged 17 new works, and curated cross-disciplinary concert experiences that weave classical and contemporary music with jazz, poetry, and visual/media arts. World-class collaborative partners have included photographer and cinematographer Edward Burtynsky, Mercury Films, and multimedia studio Normal. Cheng² Duo's four critically-acclaimed albums include Portrait (Centrediscs, 2023), nominated for a 2024 JUNO Award in the category "Classical Album of the Year, Small Ensemble", Russian Legends (2019), Violonchelo del fuego (2018), and Violoncelle français (2016). Born in Ottawa and Tokyo to Chinese parents, Bryan and Silvie's multicultural roots and Canadian upbringing inform their global musical outlook. They currently have musicals bases in Berlin and New York City. For more information, follow @Cheng2Duo on social media. James Campbell Bio Called “Canada’s pre-eminent clarinetist and wind soloist” by the Toronto Star, James Campbell has performed solo and chamber music concerts in 30 countries, has been a soloist with over 60 orchestras, including the Boston Pops, the London Symphony, the Russian Philharmonic, and the Montreal Symphony and has performed Copland’s Clarinet Concerto four times with Aaron Copland conducting. He has appeared with over 30 string quartets, including the Amadeus (when he replaced an ailing Benny Goodman on a tour of California), Guarneri, Vermeer, New Zealand and St Lawrence Quartets. He has made 40 recordings, including the Debussy Rhapsody with Glenn Gould, the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, and the premiere recording of the Berio arrangement of the Brahms F minor Sonata with the London Symphony. His recording of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet was chosen by the BBC and London Times as the best available. More than 30 works have been written for him, including works by James Macmillan (Scotland), Jacques Hetu (Canada), David Baker (USA), George Shearing (UK/USA), Wilhem Jetts (Holland), and Keiko Harada (Japan). He has been awarded a Juno, Canada’s Artist of the Year, the Queens Jubilee Medal, and Canada’s highest honour, the Order of Canada. James Campbell has been a Professor of Music at Indiana University since 1988 and Artistic Director of the Festival of the Sound since 1985. We acknowledge the support of the CRD Arts & Culture. Venue Accessibility The 900 Johnson Street entrance is wheelchair accessible at street level. There’s a drop-off zone out front, elevator access inside, and several accessible washrooms, including a gender-neutral washroom. We honour Canoo and Access 2 Passes. For priority seating or other accommodations, contact us in advance. For full details, visit vcm.bc.ca/plan-your-visit