Christopher Gaze is best known as the Founder and Artistic Director of Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival. He hosts the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s popular Tea & Trumpets series and also their annual Traditional Christmas concerts. Christopher plays a leading role in British Columbia as an advocate for the arts in general, and his passionate dedication to Bard on the Beach has fuelled its growth into one of the largest professional theatre companies in Canada, drawing a total of well over two million patrons since 1990. 2026 is also the year that Christopher’s memoir will be published—titled The Road to Bard, A Legacy of Shakespeare on Canada’s West Coast. His many honours include Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal, Honorary Doctorates from UBC & SFU, the Mayor’s Arts Award for Theatre, the Order of British Columbia, and most recently, the King Charles III Coronation Medal.