BCCME Concert 2017 – Canada at 150: the Silk, Bamboo and Maple National Festival

In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the BCCMA is planning to form the Silk, Bamboo and Maple Festival Orchestra. This is the first large professional Canadian Chinese Traditional Instrument orchestra in Canada and it will give its gala debut performance on May 21, 2017 at the Vancouver Playhouse. Under the guidance of conductor Chih-Sheng Chen, Music Director of the Little Giant Chinese Orchestra in Taiwan, and in a spirit of new beginnings, inclusion of young emerging performers and looking to the future, the concert program will feature three new commissions and three new works for the ensemble:

New Commission:

These composers commissioned: two composers for BCCME: Moshe Denburg (established) and Qinglin Bai (emerging) and one performer composer and member of the ensemble, Zhimin Yu.

• New commission: Zhimin Yu, a small triple concerto for pipa, ruan and da ruan with the Festival Orchestra (8 min)
• New commission: Qinglin Bruce Bai, emerging Canadian composer, a chamber work for 12-14 Chinese instruments (8 min)
• New commission: Moshe Denburg : a new ensemble work for the Festival Orchestra by VICO Founding Artistic Director (10 min)

Existing Repertoire for Chinese traditional instrument orchestra, composed and arranged by Canadians to be performed by the large Silk, Bamboo, and Maple Festival Orchestra:

• John Oliver: Scenes from an Intercultural Marriage (2015): Canada Council commission by Chih-Sheng Chen; first performance of the work by BCCME and Silk, Bamboo and Maple Festival Orchestra : enlarged orchestra version. (16 min)
• Mark Armanini: Que Qiao Xian: Song Dynasty poem by qin guan (1049-1100): Song Yun, erhu, Jenny Yu, narrator, and Willy Miles Grenzburg, baritone with the Festival Orchestra in a premiere orchestral performance of a famous Song dynasty poem. Sung/narrated in Mandarin, (10 min)
• Dr. Gloria Wong: Yang Guan Sandie, the oldest known Chinese melody, orchestrated and featuring a performance by Lin Min, guqin master (a 5-silk string zither, one of the oldest Chinese instruments). This is the type of instrument the melody was composed for in the Song Dynasty, in approximately 1000 AD. (6 min)
• Owen Underhill: Slender Gold: commissioned by the BCCME in 2011 for intercultural ensemble. Re-orchestrated for Silk, Bamboo and Maple Festival Orchestra. (9 min)
• Early Spring by the Han River: (Tong –Xiang Ren orchestrated and arranged by Mark Armanini)
• A virtuoso work for the Chinese suona performed by Zhong-Xi Wu (5 min)

Producer / Presenter:

• B.C. Chinese Music Association (BCCMA) Mr. Bill Lai, President
• B.C. Chinese Music Ensemble (BCCME) Mark Armanini, Producer
• BCCMA Project Assistant: Fammie Wong
• Ottawa Coordinator: Canada Zichan International Arts School
• Toronto Coordinator: Toronto Chinese Orchestra

Dates: Vancouver: May 14, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22 of 2017

Venues:

• May 14: Richmond Public Library: Public lecture /demonstration
• May 17: Vancouver Public Library: Public lecture/demonstration
• May 16-20: B.C. Chinese Music Association: 303-8495 Ontario Street Vancouver; Rehearsals
• May 21: Vancouver Playhouse Theatre: Concert