VICO’s Annual Global Soundscapes Festival Re-Imagined for 2020!

The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra’s annual Global Soundscapes Festival is a rich feast of sound and rhythm, celebrating the intersection of Canadian cultures with musical traditions from all over the world. The 2020 edition has been re-imagined as a series of 16 brand new virtuoso filmed performances by VICO musicians and some of Vancouver’s finest chamber ensembles (Orchid Ensemble, Silk Road Music, Vashaan Ensemble, and others), to be released online throughout the month of November.

View full Festival programme here

The videos, live performances filmed on multiple cameras in an intimate chamber setting, offer rare, close-up views of instruments that VICO audiences normally only see from a distance on the concert stage: Chinese erhu, pipa, zheng, dizi, dadi, guanzi; Persian santur, oud, kamanche, ney; violin, cello, guitar, piano, oboe, clarinet, bassoon; kiskosi (Native American flute); and percussion from around the globe. The sound, recorded by audio engineer Sheldon Zaharko on vintage analogue audio equipment, ensures that the unique colours of each instrument are clear and present, offering a compelling visual and aural concert experience for every viewer. Videographer Kerry Phillips has interspersed footage of gorgeous Vancouver and BC landscapes, rooting the music in the vibrant city and province that produced it.

“The overarching statement we hope to make is: We are here…and we are here together!” says VICO Artistic Director Mark Armanini.

The featured repertoire will juxtapose traditional music from world cultures with contemporary intercultural compositions by Canadian composers, including Mark Armanini, Qinglin Bruce Bai, Moshe Denburg, Saina Khaledi, Qiu Xia He & André Thibault, Anthony McNab, John Oliver, Parmela Attariwala, Ali Razmi, Lan Tung, and Jin Zhang.

With performances by:

Parmela Attariwala
Phil Bélanger
Jonathan Bernard
Marina Hasselberg
Qiu Xia He
Hamin Honari
Saina Khaledi
Luke Kim
Nicole Ge Li
Charlie Lui
Anthony McNab
John Oliver
Ali Razmi
Jun Rong
Ali Sajjadi
André Thibault
Lan Tung
Eric Wilson
Zhongxi Wu

Videos, artist biographies and programme notes will be available from November 5, 2020. Visit the Festival landing page for all the details!

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The VICO gratefully acknowledges the support of the following funders:

Department of Canadian Heritage

Canada Council for the Arts

The Province of BC (Community Gaming)

Creative BC (Showcase BC)

The City of Vancouver