Orchid Ensemble
Encyclopedia
The Orchid Ensemble is a musical ensemble based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Its led by Lan Tung
from Taiwan
on erhu
, with Haiqiong Deng from China
on guzheng
and Jonathan Bernard from Canada on various percussion instrument
s. Former guzheng players include Mei Han
and Bei Bei He.
The trio combines musical traditions from China and elsewhere, and its repertoire ranges from the traditional and contemporary music of China
, world music
, new music
and musical improvisation
.
Active in North America
, the ensemble gives close to one hundred performances every year, including music festival
s, community concerts, primary and secondary school presentations, and university and college residencies. In the United States
they have performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution
, the Detroit Institute of Arts
and at Benaroya Hall
for the Seattle Symphony
Society. Canadian performances included Ottawa
's Canada Day
Celebrations, Harbourfront Centre
, Vancouver Jazz
, Folk
and Children's festivals, National Arts Gallery, National Library of Canada, Sunfest
, Halifax’s JazzEast, and Montreal’s Centre Pierre Péladeau.
The Orchid Ensemble actively commissions new Canadian compositions. Its unique instrumentation provides composers a new vehicle for expression. By performing contemporary works to Folk and World Music audiences while conversely performing traditional music to a New Music audience, the ensemble breaks down boundaries between musical genres.
The Orchid Ensemble’s concert productions represent its commitment to premiering Canadian music and presenting innovative cross-cultural programs. Past collaborators included Uzume Taiko, Sutrisno Hartana, Madrigal Singers of Vancouver Community College
, Egret Ladies Choir (Taiwan), pianist/composer Ya-wen V. Wang, Iranian santur
player Alan Kushan, African percussionist ManDido Morris and Jewish woodwind player Mike Braverman. Special projects included “Road to Kashgar” – a Silk Road
project, “Jews in China”- exploring a thousand-years’ connection of the two cultures, “Contemporary Chinese New Year” – contemporary works by Chinese Canadian
s. These projects have pushed the musicians to expand their vocabulary and develop new musical languages.
Interdisciplinary projects: “Ghost Project” (2008) searched for a connection between humans and spirits through the practices of music, dance, media arts, and scenographic installations. “Triaspora” (2007) explored the Chinese Canadian
experience, incorporating Asian traditions with contemporary expression in an exhilarating mix of style, movement and sound. “Parting at Yang Kuan” (2006) brought together Asian poetry and music, enhanced with multimedia and featured poetry reading by Britannia Secondary School
students. “Café de Chinitas” (2006) combined fiery Flamenco footwork and Chinese sensitivity with Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre. In “Multi Media: Road to Kashgar
” (2005), the rhythms, modes and character of the exotic lands of the Silk Road
was enhanced by an animated video and imagery environment. The ensemble has so far collaborated with media artists Kenneth Newby
, Aleksandra Dulic
and Donna Szoke, contemporary Chinese dancers/choreographers Jessica Jone and Changxin Wei, Dervish dancer Raqib Brian Burke, Flamenco
dancers/choreographers Oscar Nieto and Kasandra Lea, and Chinese calligraphers Yim Tse and Yukman Lai.
Through educational programs, the Orchid Ensemble fosters the understanding and interest in non-western music for the next generation of audiences, promoters, administrators and musicians, as BC’s spokesperson for the UNESCO
ASPnet in Canada. At post secondary institutions, the ensemble gives a variety of lecture-demonstrations, workshops and master classes for both music and other campus departments. The ensemble combines distinct musical traditions in a contemporary framework to inspire and encourage students in their future lives and careers.
The Orchid Ensemble has recorded two CDs. Heartland was nominated for Best Instrumental Music and Best World Music by 2001 West Coast Music Awards. Road to Kashgar was nominated for world album of the Year by 2005 Juno Awards.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Its led by Lan Tung
Lan Tung
Lan Tung is an erhu performer, concert producer, administrator and composer playing a dynamic role in the Canadian music community . Originally from Taiwan, she incorporates Chinese music with contemporary expressions in her works. At the same time, her strong interest in music outside her...
from Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
on erhu
Erhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
, with Haiqiong Deng from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
on guzheng
Guzheng
The guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
and Jonathan Bernard from Canada on various percussion instrument
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
s. Former guzheng players include Mei Han
Mei Han
Mei Han is a Chinese guzheng performer and scholar.She was born into a military family in Beijing, the youngest of four children. Her father came from Shanxi, and her mother, who is half Miao, came from Hunan. Her maternal grandfather was a scholar, calligrapher, and educator named Long Zhancen...
and Bei Bei He.
The trio combines musical traditions from China and elsewhere, and its repertoire ranges from the traditional and contemporary music of China
Music of China
Chinese Music has been made since the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty...
, world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, new music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
and musical improvisation
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
.
Active in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, the ensemble gives close to one hundred performances every year, including music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s, community concerts, primary and secondary school presentations, and university and college residencies. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
they have performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, the Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
and at Benaroya Hall
Benaroya Hall
Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2500-seat performance venue, as well as the Nordstrom Recital Hall, which seats roughly 500...
for the Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
Society. Canadian performances included Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
's Canada Day
Canada Day
Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...
Celebrations, Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on Toronto, Ontario's waterfront, situated at 235 Queen's Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the federal government to create a waterfront park, it became a non-profit organization in 1991. Funding comes from corporate...
, Vancouver Jazz
Vancouver International Jazz Festival
The Vancouver International Jazz Festival is an annual summer event in Vancouver, Canada.The festival grew out of a local jazz scene that centred around Vancouver Co-op Radio , a community radio station, in the early 1980s...
, Folk
Vancouver Folk Music Festival
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival is an outdoor multistage music festival. It takes place annually, on the third weekend of July. Founded in 1978, this annual festival uses eight outdoor stages, located at Jericho Beach Park on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia.In the past it has...
and Children's festivals, National Arts Gallery, National Library of Canada, Sunfest
Sunfest
Sunfest is the name used for several music and art festivals:* Sunfest, West Palm Beach, Florida* Sunfest, London, Ontario* Sunfest, Bartlesville, Oklahoma* Sunfest, Bucharest, Romania...
, Halifax’s JazzEast, and Montreal’s Centre Pierre Péladeau.
The Orchid Ensemble actively commissions new Canadian compositions. Its unique instrumentation provides composers a new vehicle for expression. By performing contemporary works to Folk and World Music audiences while conversely performing traditional music to a New Music audience, the ensemble breaks down boundaries between musical genres.
The Orchid Ensemble’s concert productions represent its commitment to premiering Canadian music and presenting innovative cross-cultural programs. Past collaborators included Uzume Taiko, Sutrisno Hartana, Madrigal Singers of Vancouver Community College
Vancouver Community College
Vancouver Community College is a public post-secondary institution in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1965, it is the largest and oldest community college in British Columbia, with over 140 certificate and diploma programs...
, Egret Ladies Choir (Taiwan), pianist/composer Ya-wen V. Wang, Iranian santur
Santur
The santur is a Persian hammered dulcimerIt is a trapezoid-shaped box often made of walnut or different exotic woods. The Persian classical santur has 72 strings. The name santur was first referenced in ancient Persian poetry...
player Alan Kushan, African percussionist ManDido Morris and Jewish woodwind player Mike Braverman. Special projects included “Road to Kashgar” – a Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
project, “Jews in China”- exploring a thousand-years’ connection of the two cultures, “Contemporary Chinese New Year” – contemporary works by Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadians are Canadians of Chinese descent. They constitute the second-largest visible minority group in Canada, after South Asian Canadians...
s. These projects have pushed the musicians to expand their vocabulary and develop new musical languages.
Interdisciplinary projects: “Ghost Project” (2008) searched for a connection between humans and spirits through the practices of music, dance, media arts, and scenographic installations. “Triaspora” (2007) explored the Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadians are Canadians of Chinese descent. They constitute the second-largest visible minority group in Canada, after South Asian Canadians...
experience, incorporating Asian traditions with contemporary expression in an exhilarating mix of style, movement and sound. “Parting at Yang Kuan” (2006) brought together Asian poetry and music, enhanced with multimedia and featured poetry reading by Britannia Secondary School
Britannia Secondary School
Britannia Community Secondary School is a public community secondary school located in the Grandview–Woodland neighbourhood on the east-side of Vancouver, British Columbia. The school educates its students using a district-wide block schedule program that alternates four blocks every two days....
students. “Café de Chinitas” (2006) combined fiery Flamenco footwork and Chinese sensitivity with Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre. In “Multi Media: Road to Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
” (2005), the rhythms, modes and character of the exotic lands of the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
was enhanced by an animated video and imagery environment. The ensemble has so far collaborated with media artists Kenneth Newby
Kenneth Newby
Kenneth Newby is a Canadian composer, performer and media artist. His art and research involve explorations in computational poetics, theorizing the role of encoded practices in new media, cultural encoding and the development of interactive and generative techniques for the composition,...
, Aleksandra Dulic
Aleksandra Dulic
Aleksandra Dulic is a Canadian painter, animator, media artist and scholar. Aleksandra is an assistant professor in at , Director of the Centre for Culture and Technology at and Visiting Professor at the University of Arts in Belgrade. In 1998 Aleksandra received BFA from University of Arts in...
and Donna Szoke, contemporary Chinese dancers/choreographers Jessica Jone and Changxin Wei, Dervish dancer Raqib Brian Burke, Flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
dancers/choreographers Oscar Nieto and Kasandra Lea, and Chinese calligraphers Yim Tse and Yukman Lai.
Through educational programs, the Orchid Ensemble fosters the understanding and interest in non-western music for the next generation of audiences, promoters, administrators and musicians, as BC’s spokesperson for the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
ASPnet in Canada. At post secondary institutions, the ensemble gives a variety of lecture-demonstrations, workshops and master classes for both music and other campus departments. The ensemble combines distinct musical traditions in a contemporary framework to inspire and encourage students in their future lives and careers.
The Orchid Ensemble has recorded two CDs. Heartland was nominated for Best Instrumental Music and Best World Music by 2001 West Coast Music Awards. Road to Kashgar was nominated for world album of the Year by 2005 Juno Awards.
Further reading
- Tran-Adams, Matthew. "Principal Themes: The Orchid Ensemble - Bringing Musical Diversity to Classrooms across Canada." Canadian Music Educator 47:4 (Summer 2006), p. 28-30.