7 Music of the Whole World Explorations of World Music Cultures by Canadian Composers Series 7: Presentation #1 Wednesday March 28, 2012 Weaving the Tapestry of Many Traditions ♦ •• ;"/' ,i With Joel Bons, Dr. Stephen Chatman, Coat Cooke & Moshe Denburg, composers And Guitian Liu, pipa Geling Jiang, zheng Navid Goldrick, oud Niel Golden, tabla The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the following organizations, whose support makes this educational series possible: ~TY OF VANCOUVER ~ Canada Council Conseildes Arts © for the Arts du Canada OMNr DIVERSITY Vancouver Public Library www.vpl.ca TELEVISION CREDITS Presenting Musicians Et Composers: Joel Bons, Dr. Stephen Chatman, Coat Cooke and Moshe Denburg, composers Guilian Liu, pipa Geling Jiang, zheng Navid Goldrick, oud Nie[ Golden, tabla For the VICO: Co-Artistic Directors - Moshe Denburg &. Mark Armanini Administrator - Melanie Thompson Sales/Box Office Manager - Jess Zhang Programme/study guide compiled & edited by Melanie Thompson Vancouver Public Library Fine Arts Department Liaison - Pippa Rogers * * * * IC A~usk:of the Whole World: Explorations of World Music Cultures by Canadian Composers is a free presentation of the Vancouver VANCOUVER INTER-CULTURAL Public Library in collaboration with the Vancouver Inter-Cultural ORCHESTRA Orchestra (VICO). The aim of this annual series (now in its seventh year) is to shed light on the art of inter-cultural music making through lecture-demonstrations that include live performanceJ music listening, discussion and more. Whether you are a veteran composerJ a beginning student of music or simply a music lover wishing to learn more about the many musics of the world and the bridges between them, this series is an event you will not want to miss. Please pick up a copy of our season brochure, or visit the VICO website (www.vi-co.org) for information on upcoming presentations and other events. * * Copyright and Fair Use Notification The authors do not object to the use of these materials for personal educational purposes or for any fair use, such as quoting or citing these materials, as long as authorship is credited by the user. Making copies of these materials as part of any commercial venture, or for any monetary reward, requires the written consent of the authors. © VICO 2012 Find the VICO on Facebook: www.facebook.com/VancouverlnterCulturalOrchestra 2 Weaving the Tapestry of Many Traditions ABOUTTHE PRESENTERS Joel Bons is an internationally-recognized, award-winning intercultural composer and artistic director, embodying high European musical standards and a forward-thinking aesthetic out on the cutting edge of contemporary classical music. Based in Amsterdam, he is the founding Artistic Director of the internationally-acclaimed Nieuw Ensemble and the Atlas Ensemble, which describes itself (very similarly to the VICO) as "a unique chamber orchestra uniting brilliant musicians from China, Central Asia, the Near East and Europe, presenting a previously unheard soundworld of western and non-western instruments." Dr. Stephen Chatman is Professor and Head of Composition at the UBCSchool of Music, and one of Canada's most prominent composers. He has received many commissions and composition awards, including three Western Canadian Music Awards, three BMI Awards (New York), multiple Juno nominations, the Dorothy Somerset Award, Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the 2001 BBCMasterprize short-list. His 100+ published works have sold 400,000 printed copies. His pieces have been recorded by the Vancouver Chamber Choir, UBCSingers and others on a variety of labels including Centrediscs, Naxos, Crystal, Skylark and CRI. His orchestral music has been commissioned a,ndperformed by the BBCSymphony, Berlin Radio Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles throughout the world. www.drstephenchatman.com Coat Cooke is a saxophonist, improvisor, composer and bandleader who has toured Canada, the USA, Mexico and Europe to great acclaim, whether playing in the acoustic Coat Cooke Trio or one of his electric bands, leading the legendary NOW Orchestra, or collaborating in one of many memorable projects with spoken word, dance and mixed media artists. He has performed with many of the world's great improvisors, including: George Lewis, Marilyn Crispell, Barry Guy, Wadada Leo Smith and Amina Claudine Myers. Many of Coat's compositions have been recorded; his work also appears on CDs by his bands Lunar Adventures and the NOW Orchestra. Coat's highly personal musical language comes from a hunger to find and express innovative sounds and ideas in new contexts of word, movement, electronics and cultural perspectives from around the world. www.coatcooke.com Moshe Denburg (b. 1949) grew up in Montreal, Canada, in a religious Jewish family. His musical career has spanned 4 decades and his accomplishments encompass a wide range of musical activities, including Composition, Performance, Jewish Music Education, and Piano Tuning. He has travelled worldwide, living and studying music in Canada, the USA, Israel, India, and Japan. From 1986-90 he studied composition with John Celona at the University of Victoria, Canada. Since 1987 his compositions have reflected an ongoing commitment to the principle of intercultural music making - works that bring together the instruments and ideas of many cultures. To this end, in 2001 Mr. Denburg established the Vancouver InterCultural Orchestra (VICO), a vehicle for the realization of his, and other Canadian composers' intercultural work. He is also an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre. 3 ABOUTTHE INSTRUMENTS Study Materials developed by Moshe Denburg for the VICO's manual of intercultural orchestration (in progress). Oud [Also spelled Ud] - the Arabic lute, it appeared 1n Central Asia and the Middle East more than 2000 years ago. Its rounded body gives a full, warm sound and its fretless neck allows for quarter tones and sliding effects. It can have a biting staccato attack. The European Lute derives directly from it; in fact, the word Lute is derived from El Ud (the Ud). Pipa - a pear shaped lute with 4 strings (tuned ADE A) and 19 to 26 frets, it was introduced into China in the 4th century AD. The Pipa has a ringing ('bass-banjo' like) sound and is capable of a wide variety of techniques and ornaments. Tabla - a set of 2 pitched kettledrums from North India. The right drum has a ringing definite pitch, usually the fundamental tone of the raga (mode) being accompanied, while the left drum is lower and more indefinite in pitch. A staple of North Indian classical music, it is capable of an enormous degree of rhythmic precision, complexity, speed and pitch inflection. Zheng (pronunciation: jung) - plucked half-tube wood zither from China, with movable bridges over which strings are stretched. The modern Zheng usually has 21 strings, tuned to a pentatonic scale. The performer uses the right hand to pluck the strings, and the tone can be modulated by the left hand pressing the string on the non-speaking side of the bridge. * * * * * A NOTE ABOUT GRAPHICSCORESAND IMPROVISATION One of the devices utilized in the improvisational music of Coat Cooke is graphic indicators. These tell the musician what to play, but in a very general way, leaving many aspects of the sound up to him/her. Here below is a small sample from Coat's score lnvocatfon for S'Unduda. Each circle represents a musical event. For example, the first circle - meant for wind instruments - calls for two pitches, A and Bb, and asks the musician to play these with a flutter-tongue technique. There is no indication of how long to play or at what time intervals; nor in which octave, nor which note to play first or second or at all, nor the quickness of the flutter, nor the loudness or softness. All these parameters are left to the discretion of the performer who, by dint of listening to what the others in the ensemble are playing, attempts to respond and blend in musically with what he hears. Finally, the conductor indicates to the musicians when they must move to the next event circle. 4 WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE VICO? If you found tonight's presentation interesting and inspiring, wait till you see and hear the whole orchestra on stage, with a 25-member choir! IMAGINEDWORLDS:INTERTWINED Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra with special guests Laudate Singers Saturday March 31, 2012 at 8 pm Norman Rothstein Theatre (950 West 41st Ave at Oak) Tickets are available from VICO staff at the reception table at a special "early bird" rate ($18). You can also purchase online via our website (www.vi-co.org), by phone (778-8815499) or in person at the theatre, on the night of the concert. Don't miss this night of amazing music, including THREEworld premieres of the new pieces you learned about tonight, by Joel Bons, Dr. Stephen Chatman and Coat Cooke. * * * * * INTERESTEDIN GETTINGINVOLVED...? Thank you for attending Music of the Whole World tonight! Just in case you want to become even more closely involved with making all this multicultural musical magic happen, here are several ways in which you can show your support for the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra: o Attend a VICOconcert and bring a friend or several! (visit www.vi-co.org for event details) o Make a donation via the CanadaHelpslink at www.vi-co.org; a tax receipt will be emailed to you within minutes. o Volunteer your time at a VICOevent, or join our Board of Directors o Spread the word to friends and family about the VICO. Join our e-mail list or "like" our Facebook page and invite others along! We hope to see you at another VICO event soon, and look forward to connecting with you as part of the VICO community. You can also contact us at info@vi-co.org - we'd love to hear from you! * * * * * With thanks to the VICO'sSEASONAL MEDIASPONSOR OMNI'" DIVERSITY TELEVISION 5