Our beloved public educational series, Music of the Whole World, is BACK live and in person after a pandemic hiatus, hurray! We are excited to be partnering with the wonderful Roedde House Museum on a series of five presentations through 2023. Imagine watching and listening to the beautiful music of many world cultures, played on traditional instruments, in the intimate ambiance of a restored 19th-century heritage home. Seating is limited – get your tickets early so as not to miss out on this one-of-a-kind experience!
The VICO has presented the Music of the Whole World series annually since 2005. Hosted by VICO composers and performers, it offers an informal, accessible introduction – a guided tour with live musical accompaniment, if you will – to musical cultures and traditional instruments from all over the world. It’s a chance to get up close and personal with sounds and styles that may be new to you, or to see familiar instruments in new intercultural combinations – all in a friendly chamber music setting.
EVENT DETAILS
- April 13, 2023 at 7 pm | Persian Origins
Featuring
Saina Khaledi, santoor
Ali Razmi, tar, setar
Dr. Farshid Samandari, host (VICO Composer-in-Residence
Delicate melodies with a profusion of ornamentation give the listener a window into an ancient world where these instruments would be played in private, away from the public eye. The santoor and the tar are ancestors of the piano and guitar respectively, and the in the traditional Persian music performed by Saina and Ali, you will hear many facets of musical character similar to western music from the Baroque era: in range, in dynamics and in deeply personal thoughts being played out in transparent intimate detail.
- May 18, 2022 at 7 pm | Water Dragon Tune: Classic Mandarin Poetry and Music
Featuring
Jenny Lu, narrator
Yun Song, erhu
Albertina Chan, harp
Mark Armanini, host (VICO Artistic Director)
Water Dragon Tune is the title of a collection of Chinese poems set to music by Vancouver composer L. Mark Armanini. The power of these ancient poems is in the common and daily experiences that resonate so clearly across centuries, from the time they were written (347 -1200 AD) all the way to the present. The music for the most part is contemplative; the Mandarin text is reflected and framed by the erhu in a dialogue between words and melody. The celestial harp adds a sense of the suspension of time and space, drawing the listener closer to the rich sounds of the spoken Mandarin with its natural tonal inflections. The effect is to bring the poems into the here and now, as if the poet is speaking directly to us from ancient times.
Info & tickets: https://www.roeddehouse.org/event/rhm-vico-music-of-the-world-concert-series-2/
- July 16, 2023 at 4 pm | Silk Road Music: Chinese and Latin Musical Explorations
Qiu Xia He, pipa
André Thibault, guitar
Phil Belanger, percussion
Moshe Denburg, host (VICO founding Artistic Director)
Silk Road Music is an intercultural trio that plays spicy rhythms and funky pipa! That is, traditional and contemporary world music, all set to a danceable percussive groove. Silk Road Music has been wowing Vancouver audiences for 30+ years with their passionate commitment to musical virtuosity and refreshing sounds performed sunny side up!! Come and enjoy this afternoon in the park by Roedde House.
Info & Tickets: https://www.roeddehouse.org/events/
- September 14, 2023 at 7 pm| Golden Pearl Ensemble
Featuring
Zhimin Yu, ruan
Song Yun, erhu
Zhong Xi Wu, sheng
Dr. Gloria Wong, host (BC Chinese Music Association, Director of Education)
The Golden Pearl Ensemble is a trio that performs traditional Chinese music on beautiful traditional instruments: erhu( 2 string fiddle), ruan (4 string plucked lute), and sheng (mouth organ). www.goldenpearlensemble.com
Info & Tickets: https://www.roeddehouse.org/events/
- November 16, 2023 at 7 pm | Sounds from Far Away: Japanese Traditional Instruments
Featuring
Reison Kuroda, shakuhachi
Miyama McQueen-Tokita, koto
Naomi Sato, sho
Rita Ueda, host (composer; 2022 winner of the Canada Council’s Jules Leger Prize)
Visting artists from Japan will perform on traditional Japanese instruments that have remained virtually unchanged since their origins ca 700 AD: the sho (reed mouth organ), koto( 13 string table harp) and shakuhachi( bamboo flute). This one time only concert will be an aural feast of Japanese music, both traditional and contemporary. The meditative, sparse, natural sounds of silk strings and bamboo reeds make a representative display of peacefulness, focus and precision.
Info & Tickets: https://www.roeddehouse.org/events/
