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Keeping music in the family

Father and daughter come together for special performance at Alix Goolden Hall
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Richard and Lauren Margison will perform at the Goolden Performance Hall on Friday. Richard was born in Victoria and has travelled worldwide playing in some of the top concert halls.

Richard and Lauren Margison are not a typical father-daughter pair. The two are professional singers who will be joining forces on stage in Victoria this Friday.

“It’s a family affair,” said Richard Margison, an operatic tenor who has been singing opera for 30 years now. His wife Valerie is an operatic stage director and a violist.

Richard said music is in their blood. His mother was a pianist and a singer, and his wife’s father was a professional musician.

“There is music in the genes for sure,” said Margison.

Lauren, 22, joined the Canadian Childrens’ Opera Chorus when she was seven years old.

Lauren now specializes in pop and jazz, but she continues to pursue classical music as well.

“She’s hoping to get into a young artist program with an opera company,” said Margison, who has been teaching his daughter voice lessons.

“She’s always been singing around the house as a kid and has always as long as I can remember been singing something,” said Margison. “It’s always been a passion for her.”

Margison, 61, was born in Victoria, but he moved to Toronto 26 years ago for his wife Valerie’s work.

“It didn’t really matter where I lived because I was flying all over,” said Margison. “I just needed an airport.”

Since Margison’s career involved a lot of traveling, he said it is nice to be able to spend this quality time with his daughter.

“Throughout my career I was on the road a lot, and missed a lot of time with Lauren, and now we’re actually having fun,” said Margison. “We’re doing what a lot of people would love to do, go to work with your kid.”

Richard and Lauren have done duets together before, but they only started doing complete concerts last December.

Friday’s concert will be split into two parts. The first half will feature mainly opera, and the second half contains more popular music and music from Broadway.

“There’s something for everybody,” said Margison. “I love sharing music with the audience. That sort of warm feeling of taking people on a journey, it’s really wonderful.”

Originally from Victoria, and a former stdent of the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Margison is looing forward to returning to the Island.

“I’ve got a long history with Victoria and a special place in my heart for Victoria,” said Margison. “It’s a chance to touch base with the audience and see a lot of familiar faces and enjoy making music there.”

The concert takes place at the Alix Goolden Performace Hall on Friday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 for adults, $40 for seniors and $25 for students and can be purchased at eventbrite.com (keyword Margison) or 250-419-4533.

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The Victoria Conservatory of Music’s largest fundraiser of the year is tomorrow (Oct. 2) night.

An elegant evening of music and fine dining will be at Bard and Banker at 6 p.m.

The event, Oxygen, is expected to run until midnight or later.

The fundraiser is part of the conservatory’s $2-million fundraising campaign. All of the proceeds go to the conservatory’s students and programs such as two new schools at the Conservatory, including a school of contemporary music and a school of music technology and creativity.

“We’re branching way beyond our roots to meet the needs of our community,” said Cynthia Funnell, director of marketing and communications at the Victoria Conservatory of Music.

The concert will feature Lauren Margison, Daniel Lapp and Friends, the Aldan Miller Trio, the Marc Atkinson Trio and the Damian Graham Trio.

Tickets are $300, which includes champagne, wine, food throughout the entire evening, the chance to win a musical trip for two to San Francisco and a take-home gift.

Tickets can be purchased at vcm.bc.ca/events/oxygen or at 900 Johnson St.