WHO WE ARE

Astrolabe Musik Theatre is a Vancouver-based performing arts company creating compelling works of music, theatre, visual arts, dance and film—frequently performed in site-specific or alternative venues. Passionate about Canadian creators and performers, we are dedicated to creating, commissioning, and performing works by Canadian artists.

WHAT WE DO

Since 2011, Astrolabe has presented eleven productions profiled by media across Canada. From jazz cellars, chapels and copper mines to heritage buildings, botanical gardens, art galleries and wineries, we’ve programmed the works of 23 Canadian composers—13 of them women—and world premiered eleven works by BC composers. Our upcoming opera documentary The Lake / n’-ha-a-itk, reflecting on our 8-year collaboration with Westbank First Nation in the creation of the opera by the same name, will be the first and only Canadian opera to be made as a film.

We are proud to work with outstanding B.C. artists, including Vancouver’s Turning Point Ensemble and Fringe Percussion, contemporary tap dancers Danny Nielsen and Dayna Szyndrowski, pianists Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa and Jane Hayes, choreographer Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, photo-based artist SD Holman, art photographer Maggie MacPherson, performative costumer Diane Park, former Vancouver Poet Laureate Rachel Rose, Governor General Award-winning poet Lorna Crozier, and Westbank First Nation artists and knowledge-keepers Delphine Armstrong, Corinne Derrickson, and Jordan Coble, among others.

Among the organisations with whom we have partnered and produced are Music on Main, the Canadian Music Centre, Britannia Mine Museum, Heritage Vancouver, the City of Richmond, Quails’ Gate Estate Winery, Chali-Rosso Gallery, and Opus 59 Films.

WHY WE DO IT

We believe in art that energises, challenges, soothes and inspires. By imaginatively reinterpreting established repertoire and creating original work, Astrolabe creates cultural connections, reaches out to diverse communities, and fosters active audience and community engagement.

HOW YOU CAN BE A PART

Astrolabe Musik Theatre is deeply grateful for the generous involvement of our friends and neighbours in the community. Your support goes directly towards ensuring that we can continue to bring new, socially relevant, beautiful works of music, dance, theatre and film to audiences in Vancouver and beyond. Like everyone affected by Covid-19, we are implementing plans to pivot to an increased online presence until such time as we can once again safely present live performances to our audiences. We are excited by, and eager to embrace, this opportunity to share music with our audiences and communities in a new and dynamic way.