Multimedia - Road to Kashgar 【喀什之路】

Rich Asian musical traditions meet original compositions and modern video technology in a dynamic performance. This project features the repertoire of the Orchid Ensemble’s JUNO nomnated CD “Road to Kashgar”, inspired by the rich cultural heritage embodied by the ancient Silk Road. While in essence Chinese, the music is coloured with the rhythms, modes and character of the many exotic lands and cultural traditions found along the Silk Road. Arrangements of ancient melodies of Chinese, Indian, Jewish, Persian, and Central Asian origins are performed alongside original works by Canadian composers. The Silk Road serves as a metaphor for our North American multicultural environment. Themes of travel, cultural difference and cultural specificity are explored, reflecting our fundamental human similarities.

Media Artists - Kenneth Newby and Aleksandra Dulic
Producer - Lan Tung

“This flawless bridge between Eastern and Western traditions, a musical adventure on the Silk Road, left me enchanted and deeply content that all is well with the world.” - Oliver Chronicle

Triaspora 【飄】

A cultural exploration of the Chinese Immigrant experience through music, dance and interactive multimedia Triaspora incorporates Asian traditions with contemporary expression, filling the theatres with an exhilarating mix of style, movement and sound. Triaspora draws on numerous insightful interviews from different generations of Chinese Canadians, while examining the search for cultural identity and social acceptance.

Triaspora reflects the crossing of three disciplines – music, dance and multimedia, and incorporates the three themes – fire, water and travel. Water, which at one time covered Vancouver’s Chinatown and carried the immigrants to this “new” country, symbolizes their emergence from a repressed world to a new frontier. Like water, which changes its form in natural cycles, the Chinese community continues to transform and renew with each generation. The fire that burned down Nanaimo’s Chinatown in 1960 is also a symbol of rebirth. Traveling is a familiar reality for the immigrant generation. Canada’s economic lifeline - highway 401 and Steve Reich’s famous composition Different Trains inspired the music for the final theme.

Choreography/Dance - Jessica Jone and Chenxing Wei of Moving Dragon Dance Company

Composers – Michael Vincent, Jin Zhang, Mark Armanini and Yawen V. Wang

Media Artists - Kenneth Newby and Aleksandra Dulic; Producer - Lan Tung

Ghost Project 【鬼域】

This project explores the philosophy of yin and yang to search for a connection between humans and the spirits, expressed through abstraction and suggestion. The music combines the modes, rhythms, and interlocking patterns in Indonesian
gamelan music, with the lyrical phrasings and breath in Chinese music, and the harmonies and precision in western music. Animated visuals and Chinese calligraphy are projected on seven screens to provide a mysterious backdrop.

Animation/Media Performance/Scenography/Costume design Aleksandra Dulic

Media Arts/ Multi-instruments Kenneth Newby

Javanese dancer/Multi-instruments Sutrisno Hartana

Composers – Sutrisno Hartana, Kenneth Newby, Farshid Samandari, Barry Truax, Lan Tung, Jin Zhang, Yawen V. Wang

Producer - Lan Tung

Ten Thousand Miles to Kai-feng 【萬里開封路】

East meets Middle East in the Orchid Ensemble’s New Show

A musical exploration of the cultural exchange between the Jews and the Chinese

Jewish presence in China can be dated to the seventh century when Sephardic Jews arrived from Persia along the several Silk Roads, settling in China’s capital city, Xi'an. By the Northern Sung dynasty (960-1127 CE), a thriving Jewish community had been established in the new capital Kaifeng, and it remained active for the next 1200 years. More recently Russian Jews settled in Harbin and Ashkenazi Jewish refugees settled in Shanghai. There is also a long-ago-established Jewish community in Hong Kong. However, little is known of what the music made by the Jewish settlers might have sounded like, or to what extent the musical traditions between them and their Chinese neighbours could have influenced one other. Let's unleash our imagination to re-create musically what may have been between these two ancient cultures.

Clarinet, saxophone & flute - Mike Braverman

Multi-instrumentalist - Boris Sichon

Composers - Moshe Denburg & Lan Tung

Producer - Lan Tung

Cafe de Chinitas

"In an intoxicating combination that blends the best of two distinct cultures, the Café de Chinitas project combines the sultry exoticism of China and the fiery passion of Spain. Together, they form a classic “East meets West” scenario, but delivered in an art form that’s entirely all its own. This is essentially a blending of traditional Spanish flamenco with an Asian flair. The Mosaico Flamenco Dance Theatre, home of the project for the past few years, is thrilled to showcase its dancers’ talents within the exotic music of the Orchid Ensemble, exemplifying the theatre’s philosophy of embracing cultural diversity. Their dancers come from a range of ethnic backgrounds including Spanish, Mexican, English, Chinese, and Filipino, and they bring to the project a wonderful combination of the highest level of artistic collaboration". Georgia Straight

Oscar Nieto & Kasandra Lea & Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre

Flamenco guitar - Peter Mole

Choir Collaboration

Designed for professional, amateur, university, college, and high school choirs, unique repertoire includes arrangements of traditional songs alongside unique and accessible contemporary works for the Orchid Ensemble's instrumentation and choirs.

Orchid with Symphonies

The Orchid Ensemble performs Canadian compositions with symphony orchestras.

Mountain High River Flow...without end

January 15, 2011 premiere!