Encounter: Taiwan/Toronto/Vancouver

Venue: ANNEX

Sound of Dragon presents Encounter: Taiwan/Toronto/Vancouver

Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (Taiwan), PhoeNX Ensemble (Toronto), and Vancouver music community with special guest Wayne Lavallee

This concert brings together visiting musicians from Taiwan’s Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra and Toronto’s PhoeNX Ensemble to collaborate with Vancouver musicians. In addition, the JUNO nominated Métis singer songwriter/composer Wayne Lavallee will collaborate with erhu player Lan Tung to close the festival’s three concerts.

PhoeNX Ensemble brings together East Asian and Western instruments and traditions in contemporary cross-cultural chamber music. The ensemble is dedicated to explore, promote, and expand the cultural exchange between the East and the West through performances, educational presentations, commissioning, and interdisciplinary collaboration. PhoeNX ENsemble’s projects are based on compelling stories of true history, traditional mythology, or tales of life-lessons learned through fables. With music ranging from time-honoured, Eastern-oriented classics to freshly commissioned contemporary new music, the audience is treated to a journey across cultures, languages, borders, and time….and ultimately: a journey of hope and inspiration.

Formed in 2000 in Taipei, the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (gCO) breathes new life into an art form that holds ancient roots and devotes itself to promoting Chinese music on the world stage. The gCO has commissioned/premiered over 200 works and offers a full season of approximately thirty concerts a year at the prestigious National Concert Hall in Taiwan, presenting both the full orchestra of over one hundred musicians and smaller chamber ensembles throughout the year. It has toured multiple times in German, Holland, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, US, Canada, Chile, and Mexico. In addition, the gCO presents over 60 educational performances every year, introducing thousands of young audiences to Chinese music in every city in Taiwan, including small communities off the main island.

Wayne Lavallee, Red River Métis multi-disciplinary artist based in Vancouver, released his first solo album in 2000. He has since won multiple Indian Summer Music Awards, Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, and nominated by Juno and Western Canadian Music Awards. Wayne was a member of the Spirit Song Native Theatre Company and Full Circle First Nations Performance. Since 2014, Wayne has composed for numerous films and TV series, such as “The Road Forward”, “Red Snow”, “Dr. Savannah: Wild Rose Vet”, and “Bones of Crows”. He has received 3 Leo Award nominations, 2 Leo Awards wins, and numerous Canadian Screen Music Awards nominations.