News Stories
VIU’s redesigned Jazz diploma prepares graduates for careers in different music genres
January 22, 2024
VIU’s Jazz diploma gives students the musical grounding to thrive in their industry. Vancouver Island University (VIU) has updated its Jazz diploma. The diploma immerses students in the life of a working musician. “From the moment you walk in the door, we treat you as a musician. You are a musician when you are in this program,” said Brent Jarvis, Chair of VIU’s Music department. The diploma... Read more
VIU professor explores Bach’s Chaconne for Solo Violin during first spring Colloquium lecture
January 27, 2023
The series kicks off on February 10 with a presentation by Nanaimo violinist and composer James Mark. Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series explores the topics of Bach’s Chaconne for Solo Violin and what it means to hold space for queerness in the classroom during two lectures this spring. “We’re excited about the two presentations that are lined up for the... Read more
Cold War Propaganda, Graphic Narratives and Magical Music Explored in Series
January 22, 2020
Spring Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series allows faculty to share their scholarly and creative work. Action-packed television shows in the 1950s entertained many children, but also served as a powerful Cold War propaganda tool that conveyed messages about security, ethnicity and gender, say VIU History professors Dr. Cheryl Krasnick Warsh and Dr. Katharine Rollwagen. They’ll discuss how... Read more
Cozy Classrooms, Biomusical Beats, and Crime and Punishment Explored in Colloquium Series
September 23, 2019
Lectures allow VIU faculty to explore questions and share their passions with students, colleagues and the public. This fall, three Vancouver Island University (VIU) drummers will attempt to merge into a single entity of sound during a performance of Nebojša Živković’s Trio Per Uno. The piece, which requires the musicians to play on multiple percussion setups, combines quick tempos, complex... Read more
A Career in the Clouds
September 17, 2019
For most people, the prospect of spending days immersed in virtual reality worlds is a pipe dream made possible only by winning the lottery or some other turn of good fortune. For the folks at Qualicum-based Cloudhead Games, five of whom are VIU alumni, this is their everyday. Up against heavy competition from AAA studios for games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim, the virtual reality game development... Read more
Alum of the Month: Jonathan Bauer
July 23, 2019
Moving to New Orleans gave multi-talented trumpeter and composer Jonathan Bauer the chance to hit the ground running after graduating from Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies program in 2014. Since then, he’s gotten a master’s degree, toured parts of the world, started playing with the infamous New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and recorded his own album. His secret?... Read more
Drummer Brain, Prison Theatre and Heritage Graffiti Featured in Colloquium Talks
September 24, 2018
Free public lecture series hosted by the VIU Faculty of Arts and Humanities covers range of themes From how drummers, prisoners and 16th Century Scottish women think; to the role graffiti plays in the art world; to an investigation of how media creates a sense of belonging, a free public lecture series at Vancouver Island University (VIU) investigates a wide range of topics. Every year, Vancouver... Read more
Alumni of the Month: Liam Ross Gibson
June 6, 2018
Growing up in Nanaimo, Liam Ross Gibson (Diploma in Jazz Studies ’10) had his passion for music fuelled by a summer jazz program that VIU faculty ran at the time. He has followed his passion all the way to graduate school, completing a master’s degree in composition from the University of Manitoba earlier this year. He recently settled back on Vancouver Island, and a piece of music he composed is... Read more