![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
|
Lan Tung is an erhu performer, concert producer, administrator and composer playing a dynamic role in the Canadian music community . Originally from Taiwan, she incorporates Chinese music with contemporary expressions in her works. At the same time, her strong interest in music outside her tradition has been a major drive in her artistic explorations. As the leader of the Juno Award nominated Orchid Ensemble, Tung has toured extensively in North America, working with composers, musicians, dancers, visual and media artists of various cultural backgrounds. [1]
Tung has been playing the erhu for more than twenty years. She received her training at the Chinese Cultural University in Taiwan, where she has won numerous first prizes in national music competitions. She was a member of Taipei Youth Chinese Orchestra, and she has studied with Huang Ching-Ming, Chen Su-Feng and Lee Chun Tung in Taiwan, Ng K-B in Vancouver, the world-renowned American Chinese virtuoso Jebing Chen and the principal erhu player of the China Radio Orchestra Fun Ming Zhang.
Since moving to Canada in 1994, Tung has premiered numerous contemporary compositions, including chamber, solo, orchestral and electro-acoustic works, by Canadian composers John Oliver, Hope Lee, Moshe Denburg, Mark Armanini, Jin Zhang, Janet Danielson, Michael Vincent, Neil Weisensel, Paul Plimley, Ya-Wen V. Wang, Farshid Samandari, Grace Lee, and Michael John. Her fascination for creative improvisation has driven her to perform with a number of Vancouver's most innovative improvisers, including Coat Cooke, Ron Samworth, and the Crossing Borders Ensemble. Tung recently completed an intensive course at the Vancouver Creative Music Institute, where she studied and performed with Han Bennink (Holland) and John Butcher (UK).
Tung has been studying with Hindustani violinist Kala Ramnath in Bombay since 2004. She has also studied with improviser and contemporary violinist Mary Oliver in Amsterdam and with Egyptian violinist Dr. Alfred Gamil in Cairo.
Tung is active in a number of cross-cultural musical projects. In Egypt, she joined qanoun player Hossan Shaker and his band Rahala in concerts. In Canada, she has collaborated with Persian santur player Alan Kushan, Hindustani sitar player James Hamilton, Carnatic singer Vidyasagar Vankayala, Vietnamese group Khac Chi Ensemble, Multi-instrumentalist Randy Raine-Reusch, Klezmer woodwind player Mike Braverman, African drummer Mandido Morris, Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre, Uzume Taiko, and Celtic band Mad Pudding. She has appeared on festival stages as a guest with the Tuvan ensemble Huun-Huur-Tu, UK's premiere African/World Music band Baka Beyond, and Canadian folk legend Bill Bourne. Tung performs with the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra and currently serves on its board as the vice president. Since 2003, she has been performing with Tandava, moving one more step further to fuse with Indian and Central Asian traditions.
In 1997, Tung founded the Orchid Ensemble. With a unique instrumentation of erhu, zheng, and percussion, including the western concert marimba, the ensemble combines musical traditions from China and beyond, creating a distinct new sound. Its unique instrumentation has been Tung's major vehicle in music writing. Her rearranged Chinese melodies act as bridges to connect Chinese music with western ears, and she is always experimenting with new ideas from her international travels and studies to expand her musical vocabulary. The ensemble's repertoire ranges from traditional and contemporary music of China, World Music, New Music to Creative Improvisation.
Tung gives close to one hundred performances and presentations internationally every year, including music festivals, community concerts, school demonstrations, lectures, and university/college residencies. US appearances included Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution, Detroit Institute of the Arts and at Bena Roya Hall for the Seattle Symphony Society. National performances included Ottawa's Canada Day Celebrations, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto Street Fest, The Music Gallery, Royal Conservatory of Music, Vancouver Jazz, Folk and Children's festivals, Canada National Arts Gallery, National Library of Canada, Ottawa Jazz Festival, Ottawa Bluefest, Halifax's JazzEast, Sunfest, Montreal's Centre Pierre Peladeau and Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur.
Tung has recorded at numerous broadcast performances for CBC ("Canada Now", "The World in Performance", "Westcoast Performance", "This Morning", "Global Village" and "North by Northwest"), Radio Canada, BBC, and CBC TV ("Zed TV" and "Newsworld") and appeared as a guest artist on various CDs.
The erhu, is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a Southern Fiddle, and sometimes known in the Western world as the Chinese violin or a Chinese two-stringed fiddle.
In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music and Chinese classical music. Since Canada's emergence as a nation in 1867, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. As well, it has developed a music infrastructure that includes training institutions, conservatories, performance halls, and a public radio broadcaster, CBC, which programs a moderate amount of Classical music. There is a high level of public interest in classical music and education.
Siow Lee Chin is a Singaporean violinist.
Alexina Diane Louie, is a Canadian composer of contemporary art music. She has composed for various instrumental and vocal combinations in a variety of genres. She has fulfilled a number of commissions, and her works, which have been performed internationally, have earned her a number of awards, including the Order of Canada and two Juno Awards.
Angèle Dubeau, is a Canadian classical violinist. She has devoted a large part of her career to making classical music accessible to a wide audience, but also frequently plays works by contemporary composers.
Liu Shueh-shuan is a Taiwanese composer. He has written works for the Erhu, and his music combines elements of traditional and modern cultures in eclectic musical styles.
George Gao is a Chinese-born erhu player and composer.
The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Ma Xiaohui is an erhu player and composer from Shanghai, People's Republic of China. She is one China's few first-class traditional artists embracing an international career. Critics have referred to her as "an artist who speaks with the world through Erhu" and "a musician who plays with heart."
Serouj Kradjian is a Grammy-nominated and Juno-winning Armenian-Canadian pianist and composer.
The Orchid Ensemble is a Canadian musical ensemble formed in 1997 in Vancouver. It is led by Lan Tung from Taiwan on erhu, with Yu-Chen Wang from Taiwan on guzheng and Jonathan Bernard from Canada on various percussion instruments. Former guzheng players include Haiqiong Deng, Mei Han, Geling Jiang, and Bei Bei He.
Zhou Yi is a Chinese pipa player.
Denise Djokic is a cellist from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is the daughter of Lynn Stodola and Philippe Djokic. She has been called instantly recognizable by her "arrestingly beautiful tone colour".
Music of Canadian Cultures is a wide and diverse accumulation of music from many different individual communities all across Canada. With Canada being vast in size, the country throughout its history has had regional music scenes. The music of Canada has reflected the multi-cultural influences that have shaped the country. First Nations people, the French, the British, the United States and many others nationalities have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada
The China National Traditional Orchestra (CNTO) is a 110-piece orchestra of traditional Chinese musical instruments with an accompanying folk choir. Founded in Beijing, China in 1960, the orchestra is a state-level (national) performing arts institution directly administered and endorsed by China's Ministry of Culture (MOC). Its mission is to promote and advance China's musical heritage. CNTO is part of a cultural exchange program called Image China and the orchestra is managed by the China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG).
Steven Gellman is a Canadian composer and pianist. He has been commissioned to write works for the Besançon International Music Festival, the CBC Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, McGill University, Musica Camerata, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, Opera Lyra, the Pierrot Ensemble, the Stratford Festival, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra among others. Since 1976 he has taught music composition and theory at the University of Ottawa.
Anita Sleeman was a Canadian contemporary classical music composer. She was also a conductor, arranger, educator, and performer.
Patricia Kopatchinskaja is a Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist.
Betty-Jean Hagen was a Canadian-born violinist and musical educator living in the United States.
Dorothy Chang is an American-born composer and a professor of music at the University of British Columbia.