The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra proudly presents
BORDERLAND
Sunday March 3, 2024 at 3:00 pm
Surrey Arts Centre Studio Theatre
Tickets $30 / $20 plus service charges
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The Borderland Ensemble is a new cross-cultural musical collaboration presented by the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO): a quintet featuring virtuoso performers on traditional Indian and Persian instruments. Sharanjeet Singh Mand (sitar), Sunny Matharu (tabla), Sina Ettehad (kamanche), Saina Khaledi (santoor), and Ali Razmi (tar, setar) come from two different musical cultures that border each other, with different instruments and sounds but many techniques in common. They have worked together since the spring of 2023 to learn from each other, share musical ideas, and develop into a cohesive and exciting new intercultural ensemble.
On March 3, they will be joined by VICO musicians Tim Chan (sheng), Lan Tung (erhu), Mike Brown (clarinet), Finn Manniche (cello), and Jonathan Bernard (percussion). With conductor Peggy Hua, the combined ensemble will perform a colourful and dynamic programme that focuses on musicians as *creators*, not just performers. The repertoire integrates both aural / improvisatory and score-based musical traditions and techniques – and will include the world premieres of three new works by BC composers Mohammad Amini, Akhil Jobhanputra, and Mariah Mennie. This is a unique opportunity to witness the debut performance of an exciting new ensemble that offers a beautifully diverse sound palette and an innovative cross-cultural approach to music-making.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Additional thanks to Nina Buddhdev and the BANDISH Network for supporting the VICO’s community outreach efforts and catalyzing engagement around this concert.
