Victoria, although capital of British Columbia, is on an island and only has a population of c300,000. So culturally something of a backwater, you'd think. Not so, as I mused while listening to Gary Karr's extraorindary dexterity at the opening concert of this year's Victoria Summer Music Festival (snappy title eh?) Spotted in the audience: the legendary Leopold Simoneau, his wife soprano Pierette Alarie, Gavin Bryars... Deryk Barker [log in to unmask]