SOUNDS GLOBAL: Celebrating Canada Music Week

Sunday November 16, 2014 at 3 pm

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
1110 Gladwin Drive, North Vancouver
Admission by donation

We are excited to be partnering with the North Shore Branch of the BC Registered Music Teachers’ Association (BCRMTA) on this recital. It’s a celebration of Canada Music Week, a performance showcase for BCRMTA student composers and musicians, and also the culmination of our VICO in the Schools workshop series for student composers, held this year at Capilano University.

Featured performers Charlie Lui (dizi) and Song Yun(erhu) will perform compositions by RMTA students (Martin Barnes, Sasha Chadinsky, Sarah Haysom, Denise Kerney, Annudesh Liyanage and Julia Tancon) as well as the world premiere of Red Leaves by Mark Armanini, commissioned by the BCRMTA for this occasion. As well, RMTA students will perform their own compositions for solo piano, and other Canadian repertoire. Finally, special guest musicians Lan Tung (erhu), Bic Hoang (dan bau), Saina Khaledi (santur) and Jonathan Bernard (percussion) – the VICO Sounds Global Ensemble – will premiere works by VICO in the Schools alumni Bruce Bai, Jessica Hua, Harrison Kuettel, Dubravko Pajalic, Vanessa Yeung and Brian Wong.

CHRYSANTHEMUMS & MAPLE LEAVES FESTIVAL

October 22 – November 3, 2014

This innovative festival celebrates the music of Japan, and explores interactions between Japanese and Canadian cultures through educationalevents, workshops, chamber recitals and orchestral concerts in Vancouver, Victoria and Burnaby. Download the full festival programme here (PDF file: 4 MB).

The VICO is proud to welcome four master musicians from Japan and the Netherlands for Chrysanthemums & Maple LeavesNaomi Sato (sho), Issui Minegishi (ichigenkin), Bruce Huebner (shakuhachi) andMiyama McQueen-Tokita (koto). These virtuoso performers will join forces with the musicians and composers of the VICO to present music that spans centuries and continents, from traditional repertoire dating back to the ancient Imperial courts of Japan all the way to new contemporary intercultural works by Japanese and Canadian composers.

The Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver has officially recognized Chrysanthemums & Maple Leaves as a signature event in connection with the 125th Anniversary of the establishment of a Japanese diplomatic office in Canada. Join the musicians and composers of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, our Japanese guest artists and our community partners in celebrating friendships, cultural connections and fruitful artistic collaborations of the past, present and future.

FESTIVAL EVENTS

Concerts

In An Autumn Garden, featuring Naomi Sato (sho)
October 22, 2014 at 8pm
Orpheum Annex (823 Seymour Street, Vancouver)
Additional info: marktmcgregor@yahoo.ca
Tickets $20/$10 here

Tiresias Duo and Tempest Flute Ensemble combine forces to present an exploration of the great Japanese music tradition of Gagaku. This event showcases new works by Canadian composers Hiroki Tsurumoto,James Beckwith MaxwellBrian Harman, in addition to a special presentation of Toru Takemitsu‘s Gagaku masterpiece, In An Autumn Garden.

Naomi Sato, Miyama McQueen-Tokita & Bruce Huebner with Emily Carr String Quartet
October 26, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Open Space Gallery
510 Fort St., Victoria, BC
Tickets $16/$11 in advance; $20/$15 at the door, on sale via Open Space Gallery here

A chamber concert in an intimate setting, featuring traditional music alongside works for strings and Japanese instruments by contemporary Japanese composers Minoru Miki and Toru Takemitsu, and VICO Composer-in-Residence Farshid Samandari.

Breathing the Past: Music From Ancient Japan
October 29, 2014 at 12 pm
Roy Barnet Hall at UBC
Vancouver, BC
Tickets: $5 at the door (cash only please)

Gagaku, zen, traditional & folk music with Naomi Sato, Issui Minegishi, Miyama McQueen-Tokita & Bruce Huebner.

A Kuroshio Breeze: Chamber Music for Voice & Japanese Instruments
Naomi Sato, Issui Minegishi, Miyama McQueen-Tokita & Bruce Huebner with special guests

Our quartet of visiting master musicians will be joined by percussionist Eien Hunter-Ishikawa and soprano Heather Pawsey for this programme of traditional and contemporary music by Japanese and Canadian composers, including Toshio Hosokawa, Rita Ueda, Elliot Weisgarber, Chris Reiche, Randy Raine-Reusch and Farshid Samandari.

October 29, 2014 at 7:30 pm
The Orpheum Annex
823 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Tickets $20/$15 here
November 2, 2014 at 7:30 pm (pre-concert talk at 6:45pm)
Nikkei Cultural Centre
6688 Southoaks Cresc., Burnaby
Tickets $20/$15 here
Chrysanthemums & Maple Leaves: Japanese Interventions
Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra
November 1, 2014 at 7:30 pm
Frederic Wood Theatre at UBC
6354 Crescent Road, Vancouver
Tickets $28/$20/$15 here

The flagship event of the festival, this concert features the full Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra our visiting guest artists, under the direction of conductorOwen Underhill. The ensemble will perform concerti for sho, ichigenken, shakuhachi and koto by Japanese and Canadian composers including Elliot Weisgarber, Farshid Samandari, Jin Zhang, Dai Fujikura and Issui Minegishi. 

Educational Events & Workshops

Meet the Instruments: Lecture/Recitals

Learn about the instruments of these ancient traditions from the masters who play them.

Sho, Shakuhachi & Koto

-October 24, 3:30 pm at Victoria Public Library
-October 25, 12:15 pm  at Victoria Japanese Cultural Fair

Sho & Shakuhachi

-October 27, 12 noon at Roy Barnet Hall, UBC School of Music

Ichigenkin & Koto

-October 27, 3:30 pm at UBC Asian Centre (**note updated start time; was originally listed at 2 pm)

Ichigenkin, Sho & Flute

-November 1, 1 pm at Vancouver Japanese Language School

Reading Session for Composers

An opportunity for composers to workshop sketches and new works with our guest artists. These sessions are open and free for the general public. Registration is required for active participants (please contact farshid@vi-co.org or download a registration form

October 25, 1:30 pm (sho, shakuhachi & koto) University of Victoria (**NOTE corrected date; was originally listed as Oct. 26)
November 3, 12:00 pm (sho & shakuhachi) Roy Barnet Hall at UBC School of Music

The VICO extends heartfelt thanks to the following funders and community partners, without whom CHRYSANTHEMUMS & MAPLE LEAVES 2014 would not be possible:

Sound of Dragon Music Festival 

*Signature event of Asian Heritage Month

This spring, the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra is proud to be one of several organizations co-presenting the inaugural Sound of Dragon Music Festival, celebrating Chinese music in all its diverse forms. This new festival redefines “Chinese music”, showcasing everything from ancient to contemporary music, jazz and world fusion, and avant-garde improvisation in solo, chamber, and orchestral performances. Vancouver’s first Chinese music festival reflects our unique multicultural environment, with 20 concerts and many free activities, including workshops, a multi-media installation, video screening, and hands-on demonstration of traditional instruments.

BEYOND THE WALLS: VICO at Sound of Dragon Music Festival

CONCERTS:

Monday May 5, 2014 at 7:30 pm

James Cowan Theatre at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
6450 Deer Lake Ave., Burnaby
Tickets ($25/$15) are available online here or by calling the Shadbolt Centre box office at 604-205-3000.
Friday May 9, 2014 at 7:00 pm
The Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver
Tickets are available online via www.soundofdragon.com

These concerts will feature a programme of music by BC composers Jin Zhang, Lan Tung, Farshid Samandari and Mark Armanini, performed by a 14-member ensemble that includes violin, viola, cello, bass, erhu, oud, santur, flute, clarinet and percussion, with visiting Taiwanese guest artists Yu-Chen Wang (zheng – Chinese zither) and Ling Hsuan Shen (sheng – mouth-blown reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes). The repertoire will range from traditional to newly composed works, all along the central theme of combining instruments of many cultures with traditional Chinese instruments. The ensemble will be conducted by Chih-Sheng Chen, Music Director of the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra of Taiwan and the official guest conductor of the Sound of Dragon Festival.

Other VICO events in connection with Sound of Dragon:

Music of the Whole World: Beyond the Walls

Tuesday May 6, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Vancouver Public Library
350 West Georgia St (Lower Level) – Alice MacKay Room
Admission is free; seating is limited

In this sneak preview of the VICO’s Vancouver appearance at the Sound of Dragon Festival, special guests Chih-Sheng Chen (conductor of the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra of Taiwan), Lan Tung (erhu), Yu-Chen Wang (zheng) and Ling Hsuan Shen (sheng) present traditional Chinese instruments in a fresh, contemporary Taiwanese and North American context. This informal, educational presentation will include live solo and ensemble performances, video clips and discussion. VICO Small Ensemble at Sound of Dragon

Saturday May 10, 2014 at 8:45 pm
The Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
181 Roundhouse Mews (Pacific @ Davie St.), Vancouver

The VICO Small Ensemble (sVICO)’s diverse repertoire is drawn from Jewish, Persian, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Indian and Chinese music. This band is comprised of Moshe Denburg on guitar, Ali Razmy on tar, Jonathan Bernard on percussion, Lan Tung on erhu, Amy Stephen on Celtic harp and accordion, and Russell Sholberg on bass. The instrumentalists are also singers trained in their perspective traditions, creating an unusual mix of ethnic vocal styles.

The Vancouver Inter-Cultural acknowledges the support of the following funders, sponsors and partners, without whom “Beyond the Walls” would not be possible: The Canada Council for the Arts, The Province of British Columbia (Community Gaming), The City of Vancouver, Festivals Burnaby, ArtsVest Vancouver (Business for the Arts), The Hamber Foundation, The SOCAN Foundation and OMNI Diversity Television.

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE

An afternoon of groovy folk, pop & intercultural music

Sunday March 9, 2014 at 3:00 pm (doors open at 2:30 pm)

Studio 700 at CBC British Columbia
700 Hamilton St., Vancouver

VICO does the Beatles…and more! Join us for a musical celebration of spring: a fun afternoon of groovy folk, pop and traditional tunes, performed on instruments from all over the planet. Also on the bill: tasty refreshments, instrument petting zoo, silent auction & cash bar.

Featuring

Jonathan Bernard – world percussion
Moshe Denburg – guitar, voice
Bic Hoang – danbau, voice
Ali Razmy – tar, voice
Russell Sholberg – bass
Amy Stephen – accordion, Celtic harp, voice
Lan Tung – erhu, voice

Come celebrate spring with us! All proceeds support VICO’s artistic & educational programming.

TICKETS: $39*, on sale now! Click here to purchase
*Price includes admission, tax receipt for $20 plus a 1-year VICO membership with benefits such as discounted admission to VICO concerts & more)
Also available: $49 Ticket/Membership Upgrade!
*Price includes admission, tax receipt for $20 plus a 1-year VICO membership with added benefits including one free ticket to any major VICO concert in 2014

: info@vi-co.org

Help us spread the word: click here to download our fantastic poster (designed by Paul Beja) and print it or e-mail it to friends and family.  (Note: file is approx. 7 MB)