MEDIA RELEASE
Sound of Dragon Music Festival announces its lineup of concerts and free community events from June 23-26, 2022. This year’s festival, presented by the Sound of Dragon Society in collaboration with Caravan World Rhythms, offers both live music experiences and on demand streaming.
Ticketed Events:
Friday June 24, 8 pm, Annex Theatre (823 Seymour St)
KATAJJAQ meets KHOOMEI (Inuit & Mongolian throat singing)
featuring Oktoecho (Montreal) & Orchid Ensemble (Vancouver) & Anand Avirmed (Mongolia)
This concert is a hybrid that crosses between Inuit, Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese, European, and Arabic music and it will be the first time katajjaq (Inuit throat singing) and khoomei (Mongolian throat singing) are presented together on stage in BC.
Katajjaq and khoomei are ancestral throat singing techniques that reproduce sounds heard in nature – water flowing, the wind blowing, echoes in mountains, the calls of birds… Coincidentally, these are also major themes in traditional Chinese music.
The Juno nominated Orchid Ensemble is made up of Lan Tung on the erhu/Chinese violin, Dailin Hsieh on the zheng/Chinese zither, and Jonathan Bernard on percussion. Oktoecho is a collective of musicians from diverse cultures and at this concert, it will be represented by Inuit katajjaq performers Lydia Etok and Caroline Novalinga, multi-instrumentalist Michel Dubeau (flutes, shakuhachi, duduk, clarinet, bagpipe), and Moroccan oud player Khalil Moqadem. Special guest Anand Avirmed will perform khoomei and play the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle).
Saturday June 25, 8 pm, Annex Theatre (823 Seymour St)
TAIWANESE MUSIC meets Jazz on the YANGQIN (Chinese hammered dulcimer)
featuring Yaping Wang (Taiwan/France) & guests
Virtuoso Yaping Wang makes her Vancouver debut with a diverse program. Her solo work employs electronic processing and improvisation on the traditional Chinese hammered dulcimer. Wang’s compositions for jazz trio with Vancouver trumpeter John Korsrud and bassist Tommy Babin draw influence from her Taiwanese roots. She will also perform with harpist Albertina Chan and erhu player Lan Tung in the delicate and graceful work2022 SOD Fest English press release “Scented Flowers” by Vancouver composer Mark Armanini.
Free Events
Thursday June 23, 7 pm, Annex Theatre (823 Seymour St)
THROAT SINGING WORKSHOP
Participants will learn the history and cultural context of Inuit and Mongolian throat singing in a workshop with festival musicians and will be invited to experiment with throat singing/overtones.
Sunday June 26, 3 pm, Annex Theatre (823 Seymour St)
“SONG OF JOY” Music Jam Party
Musicians of any level and background are invited to bring musical instruments to play together in a party atmosphere with the festival house band, featuring local and guest musicians. This event is co-hosted by the Sound of Dragon Society and Vancouver`s Gung Haggis Fat Choy.
June 21-25, 5 pm, Live Stream
SPOTLIGHT ON FESTIVAL PERFORMERS with host Edgar Muenala
New this year is a live stream series, hosted by Andean flutist and social media celebrity Edgar Muenala who will bring virtual audiences up close to local/visiting musicians performing at the festival.
Starting on June 1, Concerts on Demand
SOUND OF DRAGON MUSIC FESTIVAL ONLINE
Showcasing new videos featuring the Sound of Dragon Ensemble, Vancouver Erhu Quartet, and Crossbridge Strings, along with selected works from national and international artists.
Tickets & Info at SoundofDragon.com
One Concert (June 24 or 25): $25 regular, $19.99 students/seniors/children
Early Bird (purchased by May 31, 2022): $19.99 regular, $15 students/seniors/children
Festival Pass for both June 24 & 25 concerts: $39.98 regular, $30 students/seniors/children
Media contact: Hadas Levy | info.soundofdragon@gmail.com | 604.365.3924
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The Sound of Dragon Society operates and presents musical events on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.
