Orchid Ensemble 蘭韻樂團 (Vancouver)
From the Stars 星空 – Lan Tung (Taiwan/Canada) 董籃作曲
Sitting under the stars, the elders tell ancient stories that have been passing down from generation to generation.
圍坐在燦爛的星空下，老人為孩子們講述遠古部落的故事。
Recorded in June 2021 for the 2021 Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival, produced by the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society
The Winged Horses of Heaven 天馬行空 – Moshe Denburg (Canada) 莫協．丹伯格作曲
Recorded in June 2021 for the 2021 Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival, produced by the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society
“Intimate Portraits Episode 1”, collaboration with Uzume Taiko
19 years later, the Orchid Ensemble meets with the Uzume Taiko again, after their first collaboration in 2002. In this intimate concert, they find new inspiration through witnessing each other’s artistic growth over the past two decades. The repertoire includes group compositions brought by each ensemble and as well as compositions by John Endo Greenaway, Lan Tung, Jin Zhang, Ed Arteaga, Michael O’Neil, Boyd Seiichi Grealy, and Jason Overy.
sponsored by the Province of BC, the City of Richmond, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the BC Arts Council.
Concerto Etude – Tim Brady (2020), commissioned by Lan Tung
The work falls into 3 clearly defined sections, starting with introductory harmonies and melodic fragments, establishing the relationship between the erhu and the electronic soundscape. This is followed by highly rhythmic section, largely in 9/4 time, building to some rather dramatic glissandi for the erhu. The end of the piece is very calm, almost static, with a simple melody that undergoes for a series of repetitions and transformations. This performance was Lan Tung erhu solo with electronics. It can also be performed with string quintet or a larger strings ensemble.
The commission, performance, and video production were supported by the Canada Council’s Digital Now program during the pandemic. Lan Tung recorded another version of this piece with Turning Point Ensemble in Jan 2021 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts for its Dot Com Series.
The Orchid Ensemble has been featured at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s ACE program for a decade. Every spring the ensemble’s week-long residency brings educational music presentation to numerous schools in the Greater Milwaukee area, performing to thousands of children, teachers, and community members. During the pandemic, tours have been canceled. The ensemble has been invited by the Milwaukee Symphony to produce an online educational video.
The 2021 Sound of Dragon Digital Festival features two pieces selected from the Orchid Ensemble’s educational presentation. The Sound of Dragon Society hosted the Orchid Ensemble at the Annex Theatre to make these recordings with the support of the City’s Theatre Rental Grant.
溫哥華蘭韻樂團，1997年由來自台灣的二胡演奏家董籃發起成立，現任團員包括台灣古箏演奏家謝岱霖、加拿大打擊樂／馬林巴演奏家強納生‧柏那德。獨特的樂器組合，加上董籃融合東西方風格的特殊唱腔，曲目豐富多樣並不斷創新。除新編經典的傳統樂曲，有融合西洋作曲法及東方藝術思維的原創作品，又或是跨越印度、中東、猶太、印尼、佛朗明哥、巴爾幹半島等傳統的世界音樂，甚至有運用即興演奏的爵士風格。他們成熟的音樂表現和默契的合作，取之于紮實的技巧，同時更是不斷借鑒與重組不同音樂文化精華的結果。
蘭韻樂團每年以不同主題舉辦音樂會，委託加拿大作曲家創作新曲、並邀請不同族裔及領域的音樂家共同參與。近年來音樂會規模擴大，融入了舞蹈、動畫、書法、及多媒體藝術。此外，蘭韻樂團的主要活動在巡迴演出，從民俗音樂節、現代音樂節、爵士音樂節、室內樂音樂節、音樂廳、藝術中心、大學講座與示範、到校園兒童音樂會，展現樂團多重的風貌。樂團成立二十多年以來，足跡踏遍全北美，包括加拿大國家藝術中心、美國首府華盛頓的甘迺迪藝術中心、Smithsonian博物館、溫哥華陳氏演藝中心、多倫多湖畔藝術中心。於2002年起，蘭韻中樂團成為加拿大聯合國文化教育委員會代言人，為推廣族群融合而努力。
Orchid Ensemble 蘭韻樂團
Repertoire:
From A Dream *
Winged Horses of Heaven *
Maqam: Prelude & Dance ^
Harvest Season ^
Intimate Portraits, collaboration with Uzume Taiko,
produced by Uzume Taiko
Concerto Etude – Tim Brady
for solo erhu & electronic soundscape, sponsored by the Canada Council’s Digital Now program
* – produced by the Taiwanese Canadian Society
^ – produced by the Orchid Ensemble & Milwaukee Symphony
Established in 1997, the JUNO nominated Orchid Ensemble is acclaimed as “one of the most adventurous groups uniting Eastern and Western musical traditions” (Georgia Straight). The trio is made up of internationally renowned musicians Lan Tung (Taiwan/Canada) on the erhu/Chinese violin & vocals, Dailin Hsieh (Taiwan/Canada) on the zheng/Chinese zither, and Jonathan Bernard (Canada) on percussion, including the marimba. The ensemble regularly commissions and premieres new compositions. It has embraced a variety of styles in its repertoire, ranging from Taiwanese and Chinese music, World Music, New Music to Creative Improvisation. Its highly regarded interdisciplinary productions fuse music, dance (contemporary, aerial, flamenco, Chinese…etc), visual arts, and media arts.
The ensemble collaborates with artists from various genres, exploring new grounds and breaking down boundaries. In addition, the ensemble has created unique collections of works for its choral, orchestral, and cross-cultural collaboration projects. Past collaborators include Turning Point Ensemble, Vancouver Bach Choir, Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (Taiwan), Oktoécho (Montreal), Uzume Taiko, Aeriosa Dance, Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre, Chimerik, Moving Dragon…etc.
The ensemble tours regularly across North America, performing at concert halls, educational institutions, and festivals. Recent appearances include The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery, Canada Day Celebrations in Ottawa, Festival Miami, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. As BC’s spokesperson for the UNESCO ASPnet in Canada, the Orchid Ensemble gives educational presentations to various age groups. The ensemble’s four CDs have won two International Independent Music Awards and received numerous nominations for JUNO, Western Canadian Music Awards, Canadian Independent Music Awards, and Canadian Folk Music Awards.