This spring, the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra is honoured to host international guest stars Tsunao Yamai (renowned Noh performer) andNaomi Sato (virtuoso sho player) in CHRYSANTHEMUMS & MAPLE LEAVES, a festival showcasing Japanese music in myriad forms, from the centuries-old traditions of Noh theatre to contemporary music for soloists, small ensembles and intercultural orchestra. In addition to six free public educational events in Burnaby, Vancouver and Victoria, CHRYSANTHEMUMS & MAPLE LEAVES includes two flagship concerts: “Noh/Sho Meets Canada” at the Nikkei Centre on May 12, and “Naomi Sato with Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra” at The Roundhouse on May 18.

Noh/Sho Meets Canada:Tsunao Yamai & Naomi Sato in ConcertCo-presented with the Nikkei Centre Sunday May 12, 2013 at 7:00 pm Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre – Main Hall 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby Tickets $15 ($10 for students & seniors) at www.vi-co.org or in person at Nikkei Centre

A quartet comprised of Naomi Sato (sho) and local Japanese musicians Yuriko Nariya (koto), Kozue Matsumoto (koto) and Minoru Yamamoto (shakuhachi) will perform a concert of traditional Japanese music and contemporary Japanese/Canadian compositions. At this event VICO and the Nikkei Centre are honoured to co-present world-renowned Noh performer Tsunao Yamai, who will be appearing in Vancouver as part of his “Noh Meets Canada” tour (produced by the Consulate-General of Japan in Vancouver with support from the Agency of Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan).

This is a rare opportunity to see an intimate performance by one of Japan’s most respected players and leaders of this ancient and profound form of theatrical expression.  In addition to a performance by Mr. Yamai and his ensemble, the programme will include traditional music for solo sho, koto & shakuhachi; a duet for two koto by Tadao Sayai titled Tsuchi Ningyo; Chidori No Kyoku by 19^th-century Japanese composer Kengyo Yoshizawa (in a new arrangement by Mark Armanini for two koto, sho and shakuhachi); and, by special arrangement, a collaboration between all the participating artists (including Ms. Sato, Mr. Yamai and an 8-piece traditional ensemble).

Chrysanthemums & Maple Leaves: Naomi Sato with Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra Saturday May 18, 2013 at 8:00 pm Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews) Tickets $25 ($15 for students & seniors) available via www.vi-co.org

In the culminating event of the “Chrysanthemums & Maple Leaves” festival, virtuoso sho (Japanese mouth organ) player Naomi Sato will join the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra to perform music by contemporary Canadian and Japanese composers, including Minoru Miki, Arata Kobayashi and Mark Armanini, as well as Greek composer Basil Athanasiadis and Chinese composer Wenchen Qin. The featured works include a chamber piece by Victoria-based composerStefan Maier for sho, flute and clarinet, and the Canadian premiere of axiom praxis, a concerto for sho by Farshid Samandari.

With Western strings, erhu, koto, shakuhachi, sho, flute, clarinet and percussion all sharing the stage, this is world music like you’ve never heard it before – a ground-breaking fusion of tradition and innovation.

More information: www.vi-co.org , or www.facebook.com/VancouverInterCulturalOrchestra

The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the support of the following funders and sponsors for CHRYSANTHEMUMS & MAPLE LEAVES: the Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of BC (Community Gaming & BC Multiculturalism), the Hamber Foundation, the City of Vancouver, Festivals Burnaby, the Consulate General of Japan, National Association of Japanese Canadians, Listel Hotel, OMNI Diversity Television, and artsVest Vancouver.

ABOUT VICO

The VICO, founded in 2001, was one of the first concert orchestras in the world devoted specifically to performing new intercultural music on a grand scale. It is currently the only professional ensemble of its kind in Canada, and (as far as we know) one of only a handful that exist in the world. The VICO brings together musicians and composers from many cultural and artistic communities in the Lower Mainland, including Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Indian, Persian (Iranian) and Middle Eastern, Latin and South American, Vietnamese, African, North American and European.

---

Media Contact:  Helen Yagi (604) 736-5517, or hyagi@shaw.ca

 

Join Richmond Multicultural Community Services for our annual Diversity Dialogue Conference.  This year we will be exploring the theme of migration. Hear guest speakers share their personal stories of migration and belonging.   Come together with  community organizations, local businesses, residents, immigrants, youth, and newcomers to discuss how we can make Richmond a more welcoming community for people who make this place their home.

Thursday May 9, 2013
9:00am – 12:30pm
Richmond Caring Place 7000 Minoru (at Granville)Richmond Caring Place — 7000 Minoru (at Granville)

Space is limited for this free event.
To register please contact Wendy at
604.248.0433 or wendy@rmcs.bc.ca

Designated as a signature program of explorASIAN 2013, the 17th Annual Korean Dance Festival will present two shows this year on May 4th (Saturday) and May 11th. Tickets at $20 each and can be obtained from the organizers at koreandance@hotmail.com (repeated on Sunday, May 19 at the Evergreen Cultural
Centre, Coquitlam)

Palestinian composer and musician Simon Shaheen has done more for bringing Arab music to the West than anyone else in recent memory. Known for his melodic ingenuity and his dazzling technique on both the violin and the oud, the central instrument in Arab music, Shaheen’s style is based in traditional Arabic sounds and includes elements of jazz, world and classical.

The Call: Songs of Liberation, features a new composition by Shaheen as well as ‘50s and ‘60s anthems by some of the most popular composers of the Arab world. These songs have found new resonance in the recent freedom movements in the Middle East and North Africa. Featuring singers, Naji Youssef and Mayssa Karaa, and guest dancer Cassandra Shore.

This concert is presented in partnership with the Museum of Anthropology’s Safar/Voyage: Contemporary Works by Arab, Iranian, and Turkish Artists, guest curated by Fereshteh Daftari. Safar/Voyage is Canada’s first major group exhibition of artists from the Middle Eastern region. It will run from April 20 to September 15, 2013.

On April 28, Sunday, at 2 pm, at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver, Linda Lau Anusasananan, author of The Hakka Cookbook, Chinese Soul Food from around the World, will share her book that traces the diverse cuisine of the Chinese nomads known as the Hakka. This former Sunset Magazine food writer will discuss her journey to discover her Hakka identity through food. Beginning in her grandmother’s kitchen in California, Anusasananan travels to her family’s home in China, and from there fans out to embrace Hakka cooking across the globe—including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Peru, and beyond.

This book likens Hakka cooking to a nomadic type of “soul food,” or a hearty cooking tradition that responds to a shared history of hardship and oppression. Earthy, honest, and robust, it reflects the diversity of the estimated 75 million Hakka living in China and greater Asia, and in scattered communities around the world—yet still retains a core flavor and technique.  The book was awarded “Best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook or the World 2012” by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. It was also included in “best cookbooks of 2012” lists for Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Associated Press, and Toronto Globe and Mail.

 Details: The Hakka Cookbook at The Hall of a Hundred Rivers inside Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall St., Vancouver BC V6B 5K2   April 28, Sunday, 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Free entrance to this book event, off Carrall Street, through door 28. Doors open at 1:50 pm. Book sales and signing follow. To visit garden, buy admission ticket at main gate. Website: www.vancouverchinesegarden.com  Hakka book website: http://TheHakkaCookbook.com

Explore Surrey City’s colourful and diverse Asian culture

In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, the City of Surrey will be holding a selection of exciting programs at the Surrey Museum.

• Watch students from the Academy of Martial Arts display their martial arts skills.
• Learn about amazing Asian animals and make fun Asian crafts.
• Listen to traditional Chinese instruments, and watch as the Sudnya Dance Academy presents the Bharata Natyam Indian dance.
• Learn about Asian culture and history with local groups from the Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Society, Surrey Philippine Independence Day Society, Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society, and Dragon Boat Canada.
• Discover the ancient art of Mongolian acupuncture with Mike Lang of the Health and Vitality Clinic.
• Chat with Professor Michael Howard about Southeast Asian textiles.

All ages
Drop in, by donation

Location: Surrey Museum, 17710 – 56A Avenue

Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Contact: 604-592-6956

Category: Heritage Kids and Family

Town Centre: Cloverdale

Please join us for the the launch, reading and signing of two gorgeously illustrated children’s picture books celebrating family bonds and Chinese festivals.   In collaboration between the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society and the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop, this event will be taking place at the Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden as part of explorASIAN 2013.   Please join us for the the launch, reading and signing of two gorgeously illustrated children’s picture books celebrating family bonds and Chinese festivals.   The Rainbow Rocket celebrates the strong bond between a child and a grandparent, as well as a child’s creativity and courage in the face of a loved one’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.  Mooncakes is the lyrical story of a young girl who shares a special celebration of the Chinese Moon Festival with her parents, who tell her ancient tales about Chang-E, the woman who lives on the moon; Wu-Gang, the woodcutter; and Jade Rabbit.

This event is held in conjunction with a solo exhibit of eastern inspired contemporary Mandalas and new children’s book illustrations by artist Kristi Bridgeman, illustrator of The Rainbow Rocket.  Reception, reading, signing and reception 2:00 p.m. Sunday May 5th, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Gardens, 578 Carrall Street, Vancouver.

Bio’s:  Fiona Tinwei Lam is the author of two books of poetry, Intimate Distances and Enter the Chrysanthemum. Her prose and poetry have appeared in over twenty anthologies. She is one of the co-editors of Double Lives: Writing and Motherhood , as well as the editor of The Bright Well, a collection of contemporary Canadian poems about facing cancer. www.fionalam.net  Loretta Seto is a fiction and screenwriter, as well as playwright, who has been published in RicePaper magazine and the anthology Strike the Wok. Her story from that anthology, titled “Versus,” was selected for production and broadcast on CBC Radio as part of the program Between the Covers. She has also had two short films “Once a Fish” and “Ripples” produced with funding from CityTV. She wrote and produced a solo performance piece “Why Weight?” for the 2011 Vancouver International Fringe Festival, and a second production of the play was also included in the Brink Festival 2012. Her first children’s book Mooncakes was released in the spring of 2013 by Orca Book Publishers.  www.lorettaseto.com.

On April 28, Sunday, at 2 pm, at Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Chinese Garden in Vancouver, Linda Lau Anusasananan, author of The Hakka Cookbook, Chinese Soul Food from around the World, will share her book that traces the diverse cuisine of the Chinese nomads known as the Hakka. This former Sunset Magazine food writer will discuss her journey to discover her Hakka identity through food. Beginning in her grandmother’s kitchen in California, Anusasananan travels to her family’s home in China, and from there fans out to embrace Hakka cooking across the globe—including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Peru, and beyond.

This book likens Hakka cooking to a nomadic type of “soul food,” or a hearty cooking tradition that responds to a shared history of hardship and oppression. Earthy, honest, and robust, it reflects the diversity of the estimated 75 million Hakka living in China and greater Asia, and in scattered communities around the world—yet still retains a core flavor and technique.

The book was awarded “Best Chinese Cuisine Cookbook or the World 2012” by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. It was also included in “best cookbooks of 2012” lists for Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Associated Press, and Toronto Globe and Mail.

Details: The Hakka Cookbook at The Hall of a Hundred Rivers inside Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall St., Vancouver BC V6B 5K2   April 28, Sunday, 2:00  to 4:00 pm. Free entrance to this book event, off Carrall Street, through door 28. Doors open at 1:50 pm. Book sales and signing follow. To visit garden, buy admission ticket at main gate. www.vancouverchinesegarden.com

We are gathering diverse stories & portraits that celebrate multiculturalism in BC that also shed a light on work that still needs to be done to create a more inclusive place.

 Come to our info session from 2:00pm to 3:30pm at the Media Lab (7700 Minoru Gate) on Sunday May 19 to learn more about how to participate this project. Refreshment will be provided.

Cinevolution Media Arts Society is proud to bring the DIVERSE VOICES & PORTRAITS to Richmond, a BC wide project produced by filmmakers Catrina Longnuir and Lisa g Nielsen. To learn more, share your story, and/or listen to your neighbours’visit: https://diversevoices.wordpress.com