| Orchid Ensemble, Moving Dragon and Jin Zhang |
|
www.orchidensemble.com Vancouver, British Columbia The JUNO-nominated Orchid Ensemble blends ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and beyond, creating a beautiful new sound that is both original and distinct. The ensemble has embraced a variety of musical styles to its repertoire, ranging from the traditional and contemporary music of China, World Music, New Music to Creative Improvisation. Triaspora’s producer and leader of the Orchid Ensemble, Lan Tung crosses the lines between classical, contemporary, folk, blues, Flamenco and improvised music and draws influences from India and Central Asia, to expand the horizons of the erhu (Chinese violin). Trained at Taiwan 's Chinese Cultural University, Lan went on to study music in Beijing, San Francisco, Amsterdam, India and Egypt. The various influences are evident in Lan's compositions. She also studied classical voice from the age of 12, and continued at Capilano College and with Joseph Shore in Vancouver. A concert producer and arts administrator, Ms. Tung also serves as the vice president of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra. Multi-instrumentalist Gelina Jiang performs on a wide range of Chinese traditional instruments. For 20 years, Gelina performed with the famous Hubei Chime Ensemble, that performs on reproductions of ancient Chinese court instruments. In 2000, Gelina was a visiting artist at the Smithsonian Institution Sackler Gallery. In 1992, Gelina formed her chamber ensemble, the Wuhan Women’s Plucked Instruments Ensemble. Ms. Jiang graduated from Hubei Conservatory of Beijing Opera and Wuhan Conservatory of. Jonathan Bernard combines his background in western percussion with a fascination for Asian traditions to create a unique sound palette incorporating a myriad of instruments, techniques and styles. Jonathan’s interests span genres from orchestral music to New Music, and World Music. Having premiered over seventy chamber works, Jonathan regularly performs with various chamber and symphonic ensembles. Mr. Bernard’s interest in World Music has led him to study traditional and contemporary Chinese percussion in Beijing, China, Arabic percussion in Cairo, Egypt, and Carnatic rhythm in South India and Javanese and Balinese gamelan in Vancouver. Jessica Jone and Chengxin Wei founded Moving Dragon in 2004 as a contemporary dance company, focusing on cross-cultural fusion between eastern and western dance styles. Born in Vancouver, Jessica Jone trained in Chinese classical and folk dance with her mother, Lorita Leung, at the Beijing Dance Academy, and the Guangdong Dance School in China. She is also a graduate of the dance program at Simon Fraser University, and has won numerous awards for her performance and choreography. Born in China, Chengxin Wei graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy in 1997, where he studied classical Chinese dance, and worked as principal dancer of the Guangdong Provincial Dance Theatre. Since moving to Vancouver in 2000, Chengxin has danced with companies, including Anatomica, Judith Marcuse Projects, the Lorita Leung Dance Company, Wen Wei Dance and Ballet British Columbia. He has created a number of contemporary works that have appeared at Dances for a Small Stage, the Connecting Community Dance Series and at the Dance Centre. Chengxin was recently announced the recipient of the Iris Garland Emerging Choreography Award, through which he will present a new work for Moving Dragon at Scotiabank Dance Centre in April 2008. Composer Jin Zhang is the Music Director and Conductor of Vancouver Philharmonic Symphony Society, New Westminster Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Youth Symphony (Intermediate) Orchestra, and Westcoast Choir Society. Mr. Zhang’s compositions have been performed by Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and numerous ensembles and choirs. His music is often heard on BBC, CBC, VTV and other networks. In 2006, he was featured on the Canadian Music Centre’s online initiative "Composer Portraits - Influences of Many Musics", which highlights the contributions from composers who have come to Canada from other countries. Born in Beijing China, Mr. Zhang received musical education at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing China and Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Japan. Zhang studied conducting with Professor Morihiro Okabe, maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama and in a master class with Seiji Ozawa. |
