Nicole Li is among the performers at Sound of the Dragon Festival taking over Roundhouse Community Centre, May 9-11.
Sound of Dragon Music Festival
Given the eclectic interests of Vancouver’s chamber and big band musicians, not to mention the city’s significant Chinese population, this inaugural festival showcasing Chinese music is an exciting addition to the festival scene. The organizer is Orchid Ensemble’s Lan Tung, whose interest in innovation is reflected in an ambitious 20-event program that spans ancient folk to avant-garde improvisation. Concerts include Vancouver’s Cloud Bell Ensemble, a duo who brings western techniques to an array of Chinese string instruments, here performing with Charlie Lui, master of a range of Chinese wind instruments; Improvisers’ Playground with Tung, Toronto-based pianist Lee Pui Ming, U.S.-based zheng player Yuchen Wang and laptop expert Stefan Smulovitz; the Chinese, Persian, South Asian and European sounds of Vancouver’s Big World Band, and Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra, from Taiwan, whose repertoire ranges from traditional to contemporary.