Fresh off , the Sea to Sky String Orchestra is amping up for its first concert of 2025. The group will bring 11 pieces to the Pemberton & District Public Library on Thursday, March 6, at 7 p.m.
Carolyn Klassen, from Squamish, joined the orchestra as a violinist in 2023. She said she was hooked from the moment she first heard the group start tuning.
“To be able to play with an orchestra, yeah, it's so different than playing by yourself; it really is a team sport [where] you're boosted by the other people around you,” she said. “And the interaction with an audience is so special.”
and features musicians from Whistler, 麻豆社国产and Pemberton on violin, viola and cello. Over the last decade, they’ve performed at concerts, fundraisers, galas and special events throughout the corridor.
Iwanaga is a teacher, first and foremost. She coaches violin to musicians of all ages across the Sea to Sky, including a handful of members from the orchestra. Klassen remembers how surprised she was to learn Yuko is an alumna of the Suzuki method’s highest level (postgraduate No. 4). Iwanaga said she remembers the school not for the titular method, however, but for a different lesson it imparted.
“Some of my students said to me, ‘Hey, your teacher must be really good,’ she recalled. “I said, ‘Yes, but more importantly, what it taught me was how you play through your heart.
“It's not just the technical stuff that we learn.”
She told Pique part of the joy of teaching and of running the orchestra for more than a decade is gaining an appreciation for just how much her fellow musicians are capable of. Over the years, she’s come to expect more from them—and they’ve risen to the task.
“I'm learning how much I can push them because I want them to reach their limit like the most,” she said.
Klassen feels that pressure, and revels in it.
“Yuko isn't a conductor at heart, she's a unifier," she said. "She brings a lot out of people that they didn't realize they had."
Part of pushing her orchestra involves tackling a diverse range of musical genres. For their first concert of the year, the group’s setlist encompasses classics like Vivaldi and Handel alongside contemporary pieces from Coldplay and Hans Zimmer. That spread of genres and composers is designed to appeal to the widest audience possible.
“I always think about who we are playing for and how much they are familiar with classical music,” said Iwanaga. “I know that I need to mix things up. If I want to engage younger people or people who did not grow up listening to classical music, I need to have more contemporary [pieces].”
Maayan Hochberg is the newest member of the orchestra. He moved to the area in November 2024. And while he’s no stranger to orchestras—having played in groups back home in Israel, and in Ireland and France during his travels—he said the Sea to Sky Orchestra offers a unique welcoming atmosphere.
“The first thing I noticed in this orchestra is just that people are really warm-hearted and supportive,” he noted. “Especially in classical music, it's often super competitive. And in [the Sea to Sky Orchestra], it's the opposite… everyone is just cheering you on.”
Over the years, the group has expanded beyond string instruments; Iwanaga is working with guest musicians on the flute and oboe, and even an opera singer. She’s currently looking for a cellist.
She's grateful to be in the roles she has now; both as a teacher and as the leader of the orchestra.
“I'm really thankful that I get to do this now," she said. "I've been playing music since I was a child, and now I get to pass it on more to the people here.”
Attendees are asked to . A maximum of 75 people will be seated, but a waitlist is available. Be sure to follow the orchestra on its .
