A young Victoria musician and his premier orchestral symphony are the subjects of a new documentary, The Sound of a Pandemic. 

Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 Joseph Boutilier directs the film, which follows the creation of Camilo AybarB次元官网网址檚 symphony, rooted in his experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aybar was still in high school when he began the project. After premiering it on YouTube, he caught the attention of music professionals and was invited to perform his work in Hillsboro, Ore. 

B次元官网网址淐amilo Aybar is one of those incredible Vancouver Island characters whose story B次元官网网址� and work B次元官网网址� deserves more attention,B次元官网网址� Boutilier said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 always a win-win when you find a compelling story about a unique artist whose work informs the style and soundtrack of the film itself.B次元官网网址� 

The symphony, titled Pandemic, B次元官网网址渢akes listeners through five stages of the crisis, from B次元官网网址極utbreakB次元官网网址� to B次元官网网址榁accine.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�  

Aybar, who was born and raised in Victoria, is a classically trained clarinetist who has performed with multiple orchestras across Vancouver Island. He is an ambitious talent who wrote his first composition just two weeks after picking up the clarinet. Aybar says music has helped him express his emotions, from light to dark. 

B次元官网网址淎s the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, the reality was cemented that this pandemic is going to leave a serious mark on human history,B次元官网网址� Aybar says in the opening minutes of the film. 

B次元官网网址淪ince I had so much time during the lockdown, I decided to start my first symphony, making each movement a different stage of the pandemic.B次元官网网址� 

The symphony, which came early in AybarB次元官网网址檚 musical career, emerged during the closure of the Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM) due to lockdowns. Without access to lessons, master classes and chamber groups, Aybar turned to composing as a way to navigate the crisis 

B次元官网网址淗e was so remarkably good for someone just starting out,B次元官网网址� said Dr. Jack Edwards, AybarB次元官网网址檚 former clarinet instructor at the VCM, recalling the earliest versions of Pandemic. 

Aybar is now enrolled at the Royal ConservatoryB次元官网网址檚 prestigious Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto, where he is working on his second symphony. 

The film is BoutilierB次元官网网址檚 third documentary, following Penny Girl and Growing Hope. The project was funded by Telus Storyhive, with support from the National Film Institute, Cinevic, the VCM and the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra. 

The Sound of a Pandemic is available on Telus Optik TV channel 9, Stream+ and the