Imagined Worlds: Past and Futures Unveiled

Sunday, November 23, 2008 - 8pm

Celebrate the pioneering Canadian composers who laid the groundwork for inter-cultural music as we know it today, with a concert featuring the VICO and Laudate Singers in a performance of Songs of a Thousand Autumns by renowned composer/ethnomusicologist Elliot Weisgarber (1919-2001). This major choral work - based on classical texts from the 8th century Manyoshu Anthology of the Imperial Court of Japan, and sung in Japanese - was commissioned in 1984 but has never yet been performed in its entirety. The VICO is proud to offer the world premiere (in a new arrangement by Mark Armanini) of this seminal work, as the centrepiece of an exciting programme that also includes The Inner Light (by another pioneer of inter-cultural music: George Harrison of Beatles fame), the world premiere of Habitaculum - Dwelling Place for choir and inter-cultural orchestra by Vancouver composer Larry Nickel, and Nasime Shiraaz (from Dreams of the Wanderer) by Moshe Denburg, featuring the astounding Iranian enor Amir Haghighi.

Intercultural Composers and their Music, Past and Future

Composer Mark Armanini spoke about the ongoing legacy, in BC and Canada, of composers who have worked and are working in an intercultural medium. Live and recorded musical illustrations were accompanied by a photo exhibit of composers past and present, by Laurie Gish.

New Sound Worlds

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

VICO composer/performer Joseph "Pepe" Danza and colleagues Moshe Denburg, Mei Han, Coat Cooke, Navid Goldrick, Neel Dhillon, Koca Dioubate, Clyde Reed and Amy Stephen presented a dynamic 90-minute presentation highlighting diverse musical styles and traditions - including Japanese, Middle Eastern, Indian, Celtic, Jewish, African, Latin and Chinese - and the possibilities and challenges associated with incorporating these traditions into inter-cultural compositions. Musical demonstrations were provided on accordion, flute, saxophone, shakuhachi, santur, tabla, guitar, zheng, drums, double bass and vocals.

Music of the Whole World: Jewish Music in the Intercultural Orchestra

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Vancouver Public Library Main Branch
Alice MacKay Room

Composer Moshe Denburg, who has written extensively for inter-cultural orchestra utilizing his Jewish musical roots as a springboard, presented a program highlighting the challenges of integrating Jewish music into an inter-cultural context, with the help of live demonstrations by VICO roster members.

Music of the Whole World: Western New Music and Chinese Sensibilities

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Vancouver Public Library Main Branch
Alice MacKay Room

John Oliver, a composer of tremendous experience and much renown in the ‘new music’ world, has been exploring intercultural music-making for several years. He presented a program, together with several of his Chinese musical collaborators, delving into the ways of creating intercultural music with a modern compositional sensibility.

Music of the Whole World: Classical Western & Classical Chinese

Tuesday May 13, 2008

Vancouver Public Library Main Branch
Alice MacKay Room

A special Asian Heritage Month program - Jin Zhang, a composer and conductor originally from Beijing demonstrated, with the help of VICO musicians, his intercultural work which has as its basis his lifelong dedication to the classical music traditions of both China and the West.

Dreams of the Wanderer

Saturday April 5, 2008, 8pm
Sunday April 6, 2008, 3pm

Capilano University School of Music, in collaboration with the VICO, presented two concerts featuring the world premiere of Dreams of the Wanderer by BC composer Moshe Denburg, and performed by the VICO with the combined choirs of the Capilano University Music Program - Capilano College Singers, Capilano College Festival Chorus , and Cecilia Ensemble Women's Choir. The composition showcased the musical traditions from a variety of cultures, a multilingual work incorporating Farsi, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew and English. Iranian tenor Amir Haghighi was the featured soloist, and Lars Kaario conducted. The concert program included a cappella songs from a variety of cultures, performed by the choirs, as well as several instrumental works for smaller forces performed by members of the VICO.

Music of the Whole World: Celtic and Iranian Bridges

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Vancouver Public Library Main Branch
Alice MacKay Room

Amy Stephen and Amir Haghighi, an intercultural couple who have been part of the VICO for many years, presented a program highlighting the bringing together of their cultural inspirations - Amy’s Celtic music and Amir’s Persian music. They were joined by Navid Goldrick on Santur in live music demonstrations. The presentation incorporated a sneak preview of the upcoming VICO concerts on April 5 and 6.

Setting the World to Music

February 12, 2008

Vancouver Public Library Main Branch
Alice MacKay Room

Setting the World to Music featured composers/conductors Mark Armanini, Moshe Denburg, Farshid Samandari and Jin Zhang performing their works with an intercultural orchestra of 15 musicians. In this colourful and dynamic 90-minute presentation, each of these respected Vancouver-based composers discussed varying approaches to composing for an intercultural orchestra, illustrating the challenges of combining different instruments and musical traditions and the new creative potential that can be found in doing so. The orchestra performed pieces arranged specifically for the occasion, combining western orchestral instruments (violins, violas, woodwinds) with the zheng, erhu, pipa, bansuri, sitar, and tabla.