2025 Vancouver Arts & Music Festival Featured in The Columbian and KGW

Grammy Award winning cellist Zuill Bailey returns to Vancouver to play with the new local Youth Virtuosi orchestra in its debut. (Windows on Life Photography)

Presented by The City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA, the 2025 Vancouver Arts & Music Festival is a free multidisciplinary arts festival, taking place this weekend in Esther Short Park and downtown Vancouver, WA. It’s a joyful celebration of community through the shared experience of the arts. World-renowned soprano Renée Fleming, conductors Gerard Schwarz and Salvador Brotons, GRAMMY-winning cellist Zuill Bailey, guitar soloist Sharon Isbin, Americana stars Mark & Maggie O’Connor, Latin jazz sensation Tito Puente, Jr. and his Orchestra, Inuit-soul group Pamyua, the acrobatics and comedy duo the Kif-Kif Sisters, and the playful pop-up ensemble Clown Garage are some of stars who are performing.

“While classical music is the driving force behind the upcoming Vancouver Arts & Music Festival, don’t be surprised to find yourself jumping out of your lawn chair and grooving to sounds and rhythms from all around the world,” writes Scott Hewitt for The Columbian.

Classical still a mainstay but the fest also includes dance, juried art exhibits and music from around the world.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Igor Shakhman came up with the idea for the festival in the wake of the pandemic to showcase Southwest Washington’s rich arts scene, which he said had been a “well-kept secret.” The festival “highlights an exciting chapter in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s artistic growth and leadership role in the community,” Shakhman said.

Read the full piece here.

Mark and Maggie O'Connor were also featured on KGW, Portland news, this week! The perform Mark’s own music, with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA, on Friday. Watch the segment below: