Sixty-one years ago today, something extraordinary began: a music school that would grow to shape the cultural heartbeat of Victoria and inspire generations of musicians.
On May 13, 1964, the Victoria School of Music was officially incorporated. What began as a bold response to a growing need for music education in our city has become one of Canada’s leading centres for music learning, performance, and wellness.
The vision for a music school in Victoria first took shape in the early 1960s, when arts advocate Mrs. Anne Alexandrina “Alix” Goolden gathered a small group of supporters for a tea party to share her idea. With the help of a generous community, $30,000 was raised to bring that idea to life.
From our earliest days in Union Hall on Pandora Street to Craigdarroch Castle to St. Ann’s Academy (1985 picture above), and our current home in the beautifully restored former Metropolitan United Church, the Conservatory has grown in both size and impact. We started with just eight students; today, we serve over 4,500 students and music therapy clients annually, guided by more than 130 faculty and a dedicated staff team.
In 1968, just four years after our incorporation, we became the Victoria Conservatory of Music—marking a new era of growth and artistic excellence. Since then, we’ve watched our alumni take the stage around the world, and we’ve seen our instructors, students, and graduates shape the cultural fabric of Victoria. Nearly half of the Victoria Symphony are Conservatory alumni or faculty, and many members of the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra got their start right here.
As we celebrate 61 years, we honour those who laid the foundation—leaders like Otto-Werner Mueller, Dr. Robin Wood, and Winifred Scott Wood —and we thank the generations of students, faculty, families, and supporters who continue to make music live here.
Here’s to 61 years of learning, performing, wellness—and to all the music still to come.
