SONIC BOOM 2009

A Festival of New Music by BC Composers, Presented by Vancouver Pro Musica
March 19 - 22, 2009 at 7:30 pm
The Western Front (303 East 8th Avenue, Vancouver BC)

Sonic Boom is an annual festival of new music by BC composers. This festival is widely regarded as one of Canada's most important showcases for new work, including pieces by both mature and emerging composers, all performed by top-quality ensembles and soloists. Sonic Boom 2009 will feature the talents of 12-member vocal ensemble musica intima as Ensemble in Residence, and Stephen Chatman as Composer in Residence. Nu:BC is the featured ensemble for our first evening.

Concerts take place over four evenings. This year’s highlights include the world premiere of “Varley Suite” for solo viola by Stephen Chatman, performed by David Harding on Thursday, March 19. Also on that program, Beth Orson performs on oboe for Farshid Samandari's "the mirage bona fide", and Jordan Nobles's "Undercurrents" - an open-score piece with "a single fluid melodic line performed by a soloist while accompanied by reflections and eddies from the remaining ensemble members." Nu:BC is the featured ensemble for Thursday.

Asian flavours accent Friday’s program with Mark Armanini's "Night Wind" for solo erhu featuring Song Yun, one of China's very best performers, as well as Jin Zhang's "Singing in Mid-Autumn" for erhu and harp. David Litke's "Conduits" for clarinet (François Houle) and computer, centres around the concept of transmission - that of the clarinet, and the computer as it expands and responds to acoustic sound. Over the course of the piece, a larger-scale transmission is effected as the harmonic structures gradually shift according to processes based upon an evolutionary metaphor. "Waver / 160 Years of Pressure" is a video by Krista Dragomer, who is currently pursuing a graduate degree in art history, visual art, and theory, focusing on sound art, at UBC. Paul Plimley (piano) and Victoria Gibson (computer) are both featured composers / improvisers in “The Sapphire Choir”.

Come Saturday evening to hear musica intima perform twelve works a capella, including André Cormier's "En monochrome", performed on a single pitch in unison, but with each performer interpreting this note by varying only one of the parameters such as dynamics, timbre, micro-pitch, and duration according to Cormier's semi-graphic score. The vocal ensemble will also perform Iman Habibi's powerful setting of Hart Crane's "Black Riders", Colin MacDonald's "At Sea" (poetry by twentieth-century writer and occultist Aleister Crowley) and Rita Ueda's setting of Harumi Makino's highly onomatopoeic "Tokei no Oto Nimo", which celebrates the sounds of Sapporo.

Yota Kobayashi's "Tensho", which last year was awarded first prize at Musica Nova, the international competition for electroacoustic music organized by the Society for Electroacoustic Music in the Czech Republic, will be featured on Sunday evening. David Mesiha's "Imaginary Friends", dedicated to Vancouver’s Downtown East Side, explores a deep schizophrenia between beautiful tonal melodies and dreamy atonal sequences and colours. Perhaps this is similar to the contradictory and paradoxical nature of the DTES, where humanity and inhumanity seem equally real and where beauty and foe can be found in the same place — where schizophrenia is not only an individual disease and struggle, but also a social and cultural phenomenon to which many can turn a blind eye. Ernst Schneider, who lives in Penticton, is a celebrated German-Canadian composer who has done a great deal to promote Canadian music through many lectures, workshops, and a weekly two-hour radio program, and presents his composition "This Place" with Rebecca Whitling on violin and the Infinitus String Quartet.

Sunday morning’s student composers' master class is free, and will be conducted by Steve Chatman with Tiresias (Mark McGregor, flute and Rachel Iwaasa, piano) as the reading ensemble.

Tickets are $20 General / $15 Students, Seniors, Artists / $35 Festival Pass for all four concerts. Available cash only at the door.

www.vancouverpromusica.ca
info@vancouverpromusica.ca
604.688.6407

A Celebration of Kabir at the University of British Columbia

March 8-10, 2009

Institute of Asian Research,
The University of British Columbia
251-1855 West Mall, C.K. Choi Bldg.

Come together this March to celebrate the poet-saint Kabir, who sang of the ultimate and challenged the people of his time—and us today—to rethink the religious and other boundaries that bind us.

The celebration features a performance of Kabir singers, led by Dalit folk artist Prahlad Tipanya; a series of four documentary films entitled Journeys with Kabir directed by Shabnam Virmani, which move through contemporary spaces touched by the music/poetry of the 15th century mystic-weaver-poet of north India; and two scholarly lectures by leading figures in the study of South Asian devotional culture and literature.

Schedule of events:
Sponsored by the Centre for India and South Asia Research, The Departments of Asian Studies, Art History-Visual Art, and Theatre and Film.

Films Sunday March 8 in Lasserre Auditorium, Room 102
1-3 pm, Film 1: Hadh-Anhadh: Journeys with Ram and Kabir
3-4 pm, Tea and conversation with the filmmaker, Shabnam Virmani
4-6 pm, Film 2: Chalo Hamara Des: Journeys with Kabir and Friends

Monday March 9
4-5:30 pm, Lecture by Christian Novetzke, University of Washington, in Choi 120:
“The Flashpoint of Bhakti and the Genesis of 'Devotion'"
7:00-8:30 pm, Film 3: Koi Sunta Hai: Journeys with Kumar and Kabir, in the Asian Centre Auditorium

Tuesday, March 10
11 am -12:20 pm, Film 4: Kabira Khada Bazar Mein: Journeys with Sacred and Secular Kabir in the Asian Centre Auditorium
4-5:30 pm, Lecture by Valerie Ritter, University of Chicago
“Living Words: The Pleasure in Kabir's Proverb,”
7:00-9:00 pm, Performance of Kabir Singers from India, in the Asian Centre Auditorium

“Indonesia’s Urban Future: Directing Urban Change”

CENTRE FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN RESEARCH

Wednesday & Thursday 4 – 5 March
C.K. Choi Building Conference Room #120
1855 West Mall, UBC

“Indonesia’s Urban Future: Directing Urban Change”

Ten years have passed since the fall of the New Order and a sense of hope and concern has developed in regard to how things have changed since 1998. Starting from the idea that the city is an “act of will,” this workshop aims to contribute to an understanding of the post-Suharto era in at least two ways: by focusing on the attempts of social groups to represent and transform the city, and by examining the role such attempts play in the formation of social identities. What kinds of visionary ideas, influential programs and activism have been set in motion for the city? According to what rationalities are they put into play? Who was enabled and disabled by the urban programs? This workshop brings together prominent urban scholars from Indonesia, Canada and the US in the purpose of sharing ideas and perspectives, and working toward articulating an understanding of what the future holds for the continuing urbanization of Indonesia.

PROGRAM:

WEDNESDAY, March 4, 2009:

4:00-5:30pm: "Street Tales from Jakarta": Documentary films from Jakarta Arts Council and the Goethe Institute (with English Subtitles)

THURSDAY, March 5, 2009:

[8:30-8:45am: Refreshments/Coffee]

8:45-9:00am: Welcome Remarks:Mr. E. Wibanarto, Acting Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Vancouver

9:00-10:30am: Keynote Address: "Competing Visions: Planning the Megacity of Jakarta."

Christopher Silver, Dean of College of Design, Construction and Planning, University of Florida. Editor of Journal of Planning History and author of Planning the Mega City: Jakarta in the Twentieth Century (Routledge, 2008)

[10:30-10:45am: Coffee break]

10:45am-12:15pm: Presentations from the Office of the Governor of Jakarta
M. Suhadyoko, Urban Spatial Management Department (Dinas Tata Ruang) Priyadi Priyautama Ignatius, (Regional Development Planning Board – Bappeda DKI Jakarta)

[12:15-1:30pm: Lunch]

1:30-3:00pm: Session I: Chair and Discussant: Terry McGee (Geography, UBC)
Thematic Panel: Informal Settlements and Evictions

[3:00-3:15pm: Coffee Break]

3:15-4:45pm: Session II: Chair and Discussant: John Friedmann (Community and Regional Planning, UBC)
Thematic Panel: Cities and Citizenship

[4:45-5:00pm: Coffee Break]

5:00-6:30: Session III: Chair and Discussant: Michael Leaf (Community and Regional Planning, UBC)
Thematic Panel: Sustainability

Panelists for all the Sessions above:

Wardah Hafidz, Chief Coordinator of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) and Winner of 2005 Gwangju Human Rights Award, and 2008 Dubai Best Practice Award

Jo Santoso, Chair of the Graduate Program in Real Estate and Urban Development and Director of the Center for Metropolitan Studies, University of Tarumanagara, Jakarta. Dr. Santoso was project manager for Bumi Serpong Damai, Lippo Karawaci, and Bukit Semarang Baru. Recent publication includes Menyiasati Kota tanpa Warga (Strategies for the City without Citizens) (Gramedia, 2006) and Arsitektur-Kota Jawa: Kosmos, Kultur dan Kuasa (Javanes Urban Architecture: Cosmos, Culture and Power) (Centropolis, 2008).

Marco Kusumawijaya, Chair of Jakarta Arts Council; Founder of the Green Map Indonesia; and Board Member of Indonesian Heritage Trust; Authors of Jakarta Metropolis Tunggang Langgang (The Runaway Metropolis) (Gagas Media, 2004); Kota Rumah Kita (Our City House) (Borneo, 2006)

The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra presents PLANETFUL OF SOUND

March 14, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts – Telus Studio Theatre
http://www.chancentre.com/

Tickets $20/$10 at Ticketmaster 604-280-3311 or www.ticketmaster.ca

The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra presents sounds of China, the Middle East, India and the West, in works by Vancouver composers Mark Armanini, Moshe Denburg, Lan Tung, Jin Zhang and special guest composer Joel Bons (artistic director of Amsterdam's Atlas Ensemble): music that transcends cultural boundaries, performed on instruments from all over the world. For the first time ever at a VICO concert, the performance will include large-screen video, giving audiences an up-close view of the musicians and their instruments in action.

The VICO is currently the only professional orchestral ensemble in BC (possibly in Canada) devoted to performing inter-cultural music on a grand scale. Planetful of Sound offers VICO musicians and composers an exciting opportunity to connect with Joel Bons, who has been breaking similar ground in Europe with his acclaimed contemporary music group Nieuw Ensemble and the Atlas Ensemble. The latter is described (very similarly to the VICO) as “a unique chamber orchestra uniting brilliant musicians from China, Central Asia, the Near East and Europe, presenting an unheard soundworld of western and non-western instruments.” Like the VICO, the Atlas Ensemble's repertoire consists almost entirely of specially commissioned works, by such composers as Guo Wenjing, Jia Daqun, Faradj Karajev, Fabio Nieder, The o Loevendie , Frangiz Ali-Zade, Bun-Ching Lam, Jack Body, Stefano Bellon, Artjom Kim, Javanshir Guliev and Evrim Demirel. (www.atlasensemble.nl)

Planetful of Sound will feature the North American premiere of Joel Bons’ piece Tour à Tour as well as Floating on the Sea of Serenity (Armanini), Little Suite for Erhu and Harp (Zhang), Market Place, Chapter 1: China (Tung) and Camel Hop at the Caravanserai (Denburg), performed by a 22-member ensemble that includes zheng, sanxian, santur, oud, dizi, bansuri, sheng, suona, flute, oboe, clarinet, marimba, Celtic harp, percussion and Western strings. The programme will also feature a solo by visiting Taiwanese musician Janelle Yichen on satar (Uighur fiddle from northwestern China).

In the VICO, Western-trained orchestral musicians rub shoulders with performers in musical traditions from all over the world…shedding light on the musical traditions of Canada’s many cultures and the myriad bridges between them. www.vi-co.org

Planetful of Sound was made possible through the generous assistance of the Chan Endowment Fund of the University of British Columbia.

New Asia Film Festival Monthly Film Series screens Warrior Boyz

Public Screening of Warrior Boyz and Community Forum on Gang Violence

Saturday, February 28, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 10:30pm
Location: Richmond Cultural Centre, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond, BC

Co-presented by the Richmond Cultural Centre, Cinevolution Media Arts Society and the National Film Board of Canada

A panel discussion will be followed, featuring director Baljit Sangra, Jagdeep and Sukh from the film, as well as social workers, community leaders, and police. This special forum will be a rare opportunity for the public to obtain a deeper understanding of the gang violence. We wish through open and constructive dialogue among different groups of the community, this event will bring new perspectives to this issue and helps to find solutions for the future.

http://www.vnaff.ca./

Vince Mai Project

We're going to groove at the Yale Hotel again. Trumpet based instrumentals with some vocal RnB faves. NO COVER!

featuring:
Daryl Jahnke,
Brent Gubbels,
Darryl Bennett,
Pepe Danza,
Russ Klyne,
Timothy Fuller,
& Vince Mai

Hope you can make it!

The Yale Hotel - 1300 Granville Street, VANCOUVER BC
Thursday Feb 26, 9:45 pm - 1:15 am

Filipino Youth For Social Justice - 2nd Annual Canadian National Day of Action

Join Filipino-Canadian youth in their struggle for equality and social justice!

January 27, 2009 will mark the one year death anniversary of Filipino youth Deeward Ponte who tragically lost his life after being stabbed in Gray's park and later died in the hospital. In one month we will gather in support of his family and in memory of not only Deeward but the other Filipino youth who have lost their lives such as Mao Jomar Lanot who was beaten to death in 2003 at Sir Charles Tupper, and Charle Dalde fatally stabbed outside of his Richmond home last April.

We will continue our call to End Systemic Racism, Social Justice for the Filipino community and the scrapping the racist and exploitative Live-In Caregiver Program!

"Filipino Youth For Social Justice"
2nd Annual Canadian National Day of Action
Friday, February 27, 2009

In Vancouver:
Friday, February 27 at2:00 pm
Sir Charles Tupper Secondary- 419 E. 24 Avenue, Vancouver, BC.
From Tupper we will march to Gray's Park for a candlelight vigil.

Similar actions/activities will take place in Montreal and Toronto.

For more information please contact Niki at Phone: 604-215-1103 or Email: ukpc_fcya@kalayaancentre.net

Divine Performing Arts World Tour comes to Vancouver

The Vancouver Falun Dafa Association and New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), both non-for profit organizations are presenting the Divine Performing Arts performances that will take place at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver from April 3-8, 2009as part of their grand world tour.

The New York based Divine Performing Arts (DPA) has dazzled audiences the world over with extraordinary dance and music that capture the true spirit of 5000 years of authentic Chinese culture. Inspired by the myths and legends of China's long history, DPA weaves wondrous stories of heavenly realms, ancient heroic legends and
modern-day epics. The show stirs virtue, compassion, courage and hope in audiences' hearts breaking all language and cultural boundaries.

DPA performed over 220 shows during it's 2008 world tour, including 15 at New York's prestigious Radio City Music Hall, reaching a live audience of over 600,000 people in 66 cities. Some of the world's great venues have hosted DPA shows, including Le Palais des Congres in Paris, London's Royal Festival Hall, the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and the Sony Centre in Toronto.

Like the Silk Road that connected China with the West for thousands of years, DPA illustrates the great traditions and universal values that have survived across time and space. In New York City, Over 17,000 students and teachers have attended and thoroughly enjoyed the DPA shows. In Canada, critics have described the shows as "breathtakingly beautiful," "inspirational," and "a top-rate family show."

For more info about DPA, please visit: http://www.divineshows.com/vancouver

Fourth Annual Yip So Man Wat Memorial Lecture: Yu Hua, author of “Brothers”

The Department of Asian Studies at The University of British Columbia is delighted to welcome you to the Fourth Annual Yip So Man Wat Memorial Lecture:

With Yu Hua, author of “Brothers”

February 25, 2009, 6pm reception, 7pm lecture in the Asian Centre Auditorium
1871 West Mall, UBC

Yu Hua, one of China’s most prominent contemporary novelists, was born into a family of doctors in Hangzhou in 1960 and grew up in the coastal town of Haiyan, Zhejiang. Following the Cultural Revolution, at his father’s urging, he worked for five years as a dentist before abandoning medicine for literature. He gained national attention in 1984 for a series of short stories distinguished by Kafka-esque scenes of banal cruelty rendered in plain language with surgical precision. Some critics have attributed the preponderance of the macabre in Yu Hua’s fiction to his childhood living near a hospital morgue and overhearing the nightly wailings of bereaved families. (Dentists also surface frequently in Yu’s fiction, notably Yanker Yu in Brothers.) These “experimentalist” stories explored the relationship between memory and the violence of the past through disjunctive narration, denial of character interiority, and other avant-garde stylistics.

Yu Hua’s first novel, Cries in the Drizzle (1990; English translation, 2007), a story about an ostracized boy growing up during the later years of the Mao era, signaled the beginning of a shift from conspicuously formalistic experimentation towards a more realist narrative style. To Live (1992; English translation, 2003), an existentialist masterpiece, is an old man’s account of his and his family’s struggle to survive the vicissitudes of life in rural China from the 1940s through the 1960s. The novel remains Yu Hua’s best-known work to date, having been adapted into a film in 1994, and, more recently, a 33-part television series. Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995; English translation, 2003), chronicles the physical and mental debilitation of a town-dweller whose habit of selling his own blood to feed his family eventually becomes an addiction. Like To Live, Chronicle was voted one of China’s ten most influential books of the 1990s by a wide array of critics and is reportedly being adapted into a film. Yu Hua’s works have won numerous literary awards, including Italy's Premio Grinzane Award (1998) and the James Joyce Foundation Award (2002). He lives in Beijing.

About Brothers
Brothers, Yu Hua’s most recent novel and longest work to date, broke sales records in China when its two volumes were published in 2005 and 2006. The epic tale follows two stepbrothers, Baldy Li and Song Gang, from their scrappy childhood during the Cultural Revolution through the economic and social liberalization of the post-Mao era. The novel deepens Yu Hua’s absurdist vision of life in modern China, a direction which has not sat well with all critics. While some have criticized Brothers for merely reiterating the author’s fixation on historical violence, others have been offended by its sensationalistic elements, such as a “national virgin beauty competition” that sets off a stampede for hymen reconstruction surgery among would-be contestants. Critics and fans alike agree that this is a book of extremes. The English translation of Brothers will be published by Pantheon in January 2009.

Asian Studies
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Phone: (604) 822-9266
http://www.asia.ubc.ca/

Tibetan monks of Dzongkar Choede Monastery Sand Mandala Exhibition

For five days, the Tibetan monks of Dzongkar Choede Monastery will create a Buddha of Compassion sand mandala at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden.

What emerges is, for a limited time, a timeless piece of art and a meditative ractice.

Tickets: $10. Good for multiple visits during the creation of the sand mandala.
Garden members are free; a donation to the monks will be most welcome. A portion of the ticket price will be given to the monks to support their monastery.

The experience includes a Tibetan thanka exhibit by Kalsang Dawa

Tuesday February 24,
10am-4pm: Opening Ceremony, monks begin creation

Wednesday February 25,
10am-4pm: Creation continues

Thursday February 26
10am- 2pm: Sand Mandala on display
2pm-8pm: Monks continue creation

Friday February 27
10am- 2pm: Sand Mandala on display
2pm-8pm: Monks continue creation

Saturday February 28
10am-3pm: Completion and closing ceremony

For more information:
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
578 Carrall Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 5K2
Tel: 604-662-3207

www.vancouverchinesegarden.com

World Poetry Eighth Anniversary Gala Celebration

The World Poetry Reading Series And the Vancouver Public Library present
the Eighth Anniversary Gala Celebration!

February 27, 2009
7:00 PM
At the Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch (our gracious hosts and supporters)
Alice MacKaye Room

Featuring:
Greetings from the library
Greetings from the City of Vancouver
World Poetry Co-founders and hosts:
Ariadne Sawyer & Alejandro Mujica-Olea
Blessings: Vera Manuel, Godwin Barton First Nations
Douglas Beacon, United Church

World Poetry Life Time Achievement Awards:
Ms. Ahn Bong Ja
Professor Diego Bastianutti

Presenters:
Mr.. Tong Mo Suh,
Consulate General of South Korea

Dr. Alberta Lai, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute; cultural office of the Consulate General in Vancouver

African Canadian Heritage Month Special Tribute
Addena Sumter Freitag
Tanya Evanson

World Poetry Awards:
Volunteer of the year: Jacqueline Maire
World Poetry Radio Show: Guest host Lucia Gorea
Musicians of Excellence: Pancho and Sal
Artist of Excellence: Peter Lojewski
The World Poetry Committee woven word tapestry poem:
The Many Faces of Love
A living wall of poetry from Canada and around the world.
Music by Pancho and Sal
Korean Musician: Moon Sub Park
Letters from the Governor General of Canada
The Prime Minster of Canada
The Premier of British Columbia
Come help us celebrate!
Admission free

Contact Person:
Ariadne Sawyer,MA
World Poetry Media
Phone: 604-526-4729
ariadnes@uniserve.com
www.ariadnescoaching.com

Official VIBC Afterparty

On Saturday, February 21st, right after the Bhangra Competition, A-Town Productions & RJ1200 Present the Official VIBC Afterparty

Some of the biggest names in Bhangra history along side some of the freshest new talent out today, this event will feature full concert-sets by H Dhami, Heera & Apna Sangeet as well as a very special performance by En Karma. This event will be full of tricks and surprises, so get your tickets now!

When: Thursday, February 21, 2009
Where: Centre for Digital Media, 577 Great Northern Way, Vancouver
Time: Doors @ 9pm
Tickets: $45 at TicketWeb.ca or local video stores.
For more information visit www.atownpresents.com

Shava Night

The City of Bhangra festival would not be complete without a few good dance parties!
On Thursday, February 19th, South Asian Arts presents "Shava Night"

Celebrating the performance and promotion of Bhangra in Scandinavia, this night is a fundraiser for Finland's one and only Bhangra band!

When: Thursday, February 19, 2009
Where: Shenanigans, 1225 Robson St., Vancouver
Time: Doors @ 9pm
Tickets: $10 Cover (At the door only! Get there early!)

For more information, visit www.southasianarts.com

The ABCs of Intercultural Music

Music of the Whole World: The ABCs of Intercultural Music

A Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra educational presentation
in collaboration with the Vancouver Public Library and Vancouver Pro Musica

February 17, 2009 at 7pm
Vancouver Public Library Main branch
350 Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC
Alice MacKay Hall, lower level
FREE Admission

VICO composers and musicians present a sneak preview of the ensemble's next major concert, "Planetful of Sound" (March 14th, 2009 at the Chan Centre Telus Studio Theatre), including new pieces written by student participants in VICO’s first ever high school workshop (co-sponsored by Vancouver Pro Musica). The presentation - the third in the VICO's annual six-part educational series "Music of the Whole World: Explorations of World Music Cultures By Canadian Composers" - will include music listening, discussion and live performance, providing a fascinating window into world music cultures and the process of creating music that builds bridges between them.

www.vi-co.org

City of Vancouver Poet Laureate

Call for Expressions of Interest

The City of Vancouver would like to hear from poets interested in becoming the City's second Poet Laureate. The call for nominations and submissions is open until March 11, 2009.

Nominations/applications are invited from published poets who are currently resident in the City of Vancouver and who have either an established body of work or have been recognized for notable contributions early in their career.

The Poet Laureate will be selected for a period of two years, commencing in May 2009. A two-year stipend of $7,000 ($3,500 per year) will be provided to the Poet Laureate, funded by a generous donation by Dr. Yosef Wosk and held in trust by the Vancouver Foundation.

More information, including terms of reference and submission procedure is available at:

www.vpl.ca or at the Official Site of Vancouver's Poet Laureate vancouververse.ca

Epic Elgar, with Kyoko Takezawa

Saturday, February 28, 8pm
Orpheum Theatre

Monday, March 2, 8pm
Orpheum Theatre

Kyoko Takezawa, one of the world's top violinists, performs Elgar's epic Violin Concerto, one of the most extraordinary works ever written for violin. Celebrated conductor Andrew Litton takes the reins in this epic Romantic concert.

Andrew Litton, conductor
Kyoko Takezawa, violin

Walton Crown Imperial March
Elgar Violin Concerto
Rachmaninoff Symphony No.3

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
601 Smithe Street,
Vancouver, BC V6B 5G1

604.684.9100 VSO Customer Service
customerservice@vancouversymphony.ca
www.vancouversymphony.ca

“Reconstructing the Identities of Chinese-Canadians Across the Pacific: Personal Endeavours and Institutional Depositories”

CENTRE FOR CHINESE RESEARCH

Tuesday 24 February
12:30-2:00pm
C.K. Choi Building Conference Room #120
1855 West Mall

Libraries, museums and resource centres in Canada are major forces driving the recovery, creation, organization, promotion and research of materials about Chinese-Canadians. The dynamics and complex links between institutional efforts to manage archival materials for learning and research and the preservation of family histories by community members for posterity are studied on a number of levels, one of which is the reconstruction of the identities of Chinese overseas.

Eleanor Yuen is Head of the Asian Library, UBC and a board member of the Centre for Chinese Research Management Committee in the Institute of Asian Research. She developed the Historical Chinese Language Materials in British Columbia www.hclmbc.org web page and researched on Chinese-Canadian name forms, geographic names registered in the Head Tax Registers and major family archives. She is invited to participate as the representative of Canada at the 4th International Conference of Institutes and Libraries for Chinese Overseas Studies this coming May

New Works of Tomoyo Ihaya

Drawings - Trees and Water

February 27, 2009 - May 15, 2009
OPENING: Friday, February 27, 2009, 3-6pm, Tomoyo Ihaya in Attendance

Art Beatus (Vancouver) Consultancy Ltd. is pleased to present “DRAWINGS – TREES and WATER” featuring mixed media works by Tomoyo Ihaya. The exhibition will open with an afternoon reception open to the public on Friday, February 27 from 3pm to 6pm, and the artist will be in attendance. Trees and water are recurring subjects in Ihaya’s artworks. In her eyes, they are symbols of growth and life, essential to human and other creatures’ existence. Profoundly influenced by her recent travels and life in India, Ihaya’s new series of works are extremely relevant in today’s eco-conscious world, but more specifically pertain to the artist’s personal journey. The underlying environmental theme echoes insights on the effect of western influence over Indian culture while the importance of living well with insight and an open mind reminds one not to take the basic fundamentals of life for granted.

Wandering around the old markets in the cities and looking at endless landscapes from the train windows, pumping water and carrying it home under the starry sky or driving through extremely remote places in the Himalayas, Ihaya witnessed life in India; its vastness, the lives of people, bareness of life on the streets and influence from ‘our side’ in their natural and human environment. Plastic bottles and other western products could be found everywhere, yet the artist sensed that the strong spirit of the culture would never be spoiled by the overflowing materialism. “Wherever I went, there were trees and water beside people’s lives. They stand and flow strongly no matter what changes will happen in human world.” Ihaya believes there is no other place like India. It touched her life and has greatly influenced her art works.

Art Beatus (Vancouver) Consultancy Ltd.
108 - 808 Nelson Street Vancouver
t: 604.688.2633 e: info@artbeatus.com
www.artbeatus.com

TransFusion

Co-presented by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, TransFusion brings an eclectic blend of contemporary and traditional folk dance styles together in this unique dance production. Set in the multimedia den of light and sound, the footwork and visuals span the subcontinent of India, reaching as far north as Trinidad and Japan, blurring the borders between cultures as well as folk, classical and contemporary music and dance.

TransFusion will feature unique pairings between Kathak, Butoh, Dancehall, Bollywood, Bhangra, Rajasthani, Bharatnatyam, Odissi and more in a 90-minute presentation of folk dances from around the world.

Artistic Director: Tarun Nayer
Assistant Artistic Director: Raakhi Sinha
Visuals & Multimedia: Suez
Lighting Design: Itai Erdal

Performers Include:
Parul Shah - Contemporary Kathak, New York
Jay Hirabayashi - Butoh, Vancouver
Kieran Heralall - Dancehall, New Westminster
Namchi Bazar - Rajasthani Folk & Contemporary, Vancouver
Sitara Thobani - Odissi, North Vancouver
Vicki Virk - Modern Bhangra, San Francisco
Rachelle Graham - Bollywood, Vancouver

When: Saturday, February 14 and Sunday, February 15
Where: Vancouver International Film Centre
Time: Show @ 7pm (Doors @ 6pm)
Tickets: $25

Buy tickets for Saturday, February 14 - TicketWeb.ca
Buy tickets for Sunday, February 15 - TicketWeb.ca

Or call Highlife Records 604.251.6964 & Zulu Records 604.738.3232 for tickets

rePercussion

Co-presented by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, expect a night of fascinating rhythm as percussion meister Sal Ferreras and guests reveal another side of Vancouver’s rumbling heartbeat. Percussion and folk drumming traditions from Asia, Africa and Europe are your musical guides for exploring the city’s rich multicultural fabric.

When: Friday, February 13
Where: Auditorium, Vancouver Community College (Broadway Campus)
Time: Show @ 8pm (Doors @ 7pm)

Tickets $10 through TicketWeb.ca, Highlife Records 604.251.6964 & Zulu Records 604.738.3232

Meet the Stars! H-Dhami, Heera & Apna Sangeet

Rogers Wireless is presenting a once in a lifetime opportunity to get your autographs and pictures with UK singing sensation H-Dhami and legendary Bhangra groups Heera Group and Apna Sangeet!

When: Thursday, February 19th
Where: Amritech Rogers - #7-8430 128 St., Surrey
Time: 6pm – 8pm

This will be the only opportunity to catch all three of these acts in one place, hanging out with their fans. Do not miss it!.
For more information call 604-628-6406 or visit www.vibc.org

The Asian Canadian Culture Organization (ACCO) invites you to AJAM

The Asian Canadian Culture Organization (ACCO) invites you to join us at AJAM -- a fundraising night of good music, cultural performances and awesome food! AJAM will donate half its proceeds to the Asian Society for Intervention of AIDS (ASIA), which aims to raise awareness and prevent HIV in the local community.

Featuring local Asian Canadian artists:
No More Enemies (band)
x: Enders (band)
SVS Choreography (hip hop dance crew)
Off Beat Broadway (theatre)
Elfina Luk (singer-guitarist)
Michelle Pham (singer)
Oker Chen (DJ)
...and more (tbc!)

Come hang out with us on February 20th, 2009 -- from 6:30pm to 9pm -- at the SUB ballroom, UBC. Early bird tickets $9 only. We will be selling tickets at the South Entrance of the SUB (by Pie R squared) from Feb 10-13 from 4-7pm.

Check us out on the web: www.ubcacco.com

VINCE MAI PROJECT @ The Yale Hotel

"We're doing the late shift this weekend at the Yale!"

What: Music Performance
Host: Vince Mai

February 6 to 8
11:55pm to 2:55am

Where: The Yale Hotel, 1300 Granville St

You Can Dance! contest

The glamour, glitter and grace of Dancesport competition is back with the 2009 SnowBall Classic!

On February 13, 14 and 15, top dancers from around the world will be in Vancouver to go for gold! And you can be there to catch all the Ballroom and Latin action!

Send us a video of yourself performing in any dance style… Ballroom, Salsa, Swing, Hip Hop, Two-Step, Disco, Tango, Ballet, Folk, Tap, Nightclub, any genre… any age, by yourself or with a partner or a group, in any setting.

The Fabulous Prize Package:
Fabulous seats at the 2009 SnowBall Classic at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre February 13, 14 & 15
Accommodation for two, February 13 & 14 at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre
Dinner for two at the award-winning nu restaurant + lounge
A gift certificate from Avalon Dance Shop in Vancouver

The Judges:
Brian Dudley, Chairman of the SnowBall Classic
Pamela Podmoroff, Professional Competitor and Instructor with Urban Beat Dance Company

Because any dance style is allowed, the judges will be looking for entertainment value, heart and soul – show us how much you love to dance!

Contest closes at 12 noon Friday February 6, 2009

More details: http://www.cbc.ca/bc/features/snowball/