Camilo Aybar was still in high school when he set out to write his first orchestral symphony, inspired by his experiences in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The incredible story – which crescendoed with a live performance in Hillsboro, Oregon – is the subject of a new documentary by Cowichan-based filmmaker, Joseph Boutilier. The Sound of a Pandemic was produced with the support of TELUS STORYHIVE through the All Access Documentary Edition and is free to view on TELUS Optik TV channel 9, Stream+, and STORYHIVE’s YouTube channel starting Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
“Camilo Aybar is one of those incredible Vancouver Island characters whose story – and work – deserves more attention,” says Boutilier. “It’s always a win-win when you find a compelling story about a unique artist, who’s work informs the style and soundtrack of the film itself.”
The film is scored by Camilo’s original Symphony No. 1 in D Minor, ‘Pandemic,’ which takes listeners through five stages of the crisis from ‘Outbreak’ to ‘Vaccine.’. Camilo, who’s also a classically trained clarinetist, was inspired to compose the work when the lockdown forced the closure of the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and with it the lessons, master classes and chamber groups that meant so much to him.
Born and raised in Victoria, Camilo Aybar has covered a lot of ground since writing the symphony. As a clarinetist, he performed Crussell’s Second Concerto with three orchestras across Vancouver Island in 2022, won first-place at the BC and Canada West Performing Arts Festivals in 2023, and was invited to perform with the Emily Carr String Quartet. He is now a student at the Royal Conservatory’s prestigious Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto and is currently working on his second symphony.
The Sound of a Pandemic is co-produced through Empress Avenue Media. About Empress Avenue Media Inc. is a film production and post-services studio based in Cobble Hill, BC. Its VFX and postproduction work can be found in upcoming feature films like Sweet Summer Pow Wow with Graham Greene and Viper with Peter Facinelli and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The company is also currently producing two independent documentaries.
You can watch now on YouTube by searching: The Sound of a Pandemic TELUS STORYHIVE
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