Vancouver Pro Musica
presents
Sonic Boom 2020
March 19-22, 2020
Pyatt Hall, Vancouver Academy of Music & Orpheum Annex
A four day festival of exciting new music created by BC’s finest composers, performed by eclectic combinations of some of BC’s finest musicians!
Featured Artist: Rachel Kiyo Iwassa
Ensemble-in-Residence: Pacific Baroque Orchestra
Tickets: $18 Students, $22 General, $55 Festival Pass
Buy Tickets in Advance on Brown Paper Tickets
Mixed Ensemble concerts
Concert No. 1: March 19 at 7:30pm, Pyatt Hall
Leslie Opatril, To Ignite a Star
Elysian Trio: Paul Hung, flute; Sarah Kwok, viola; Vivian Chen, harp
Yuxi (Lucy) Li, Dragonfly
Dailin Hsieh, guzheng; Mark Haney, double bass; Chris Blaber, percussion
Alvin Leung, Spring Sketches
Paul Hung, flute and alto flute; Aiden Wong, clarinet; Sarah Kwok, viola; Chris Blaber, percussion
Isaac Zee, Conversations
Black Dog String Quartet: Elyse Jacobson and Molly Mackinnon, violins; John Kastelic, viola; Doug Gorkoff, cello
Wylie Ferguson, Yuputka
Black Dog String Quartet: Elyse Jacobson and Molly Mackinnon, violins; John Kastelic, viola; Doug Gorkoff, cello
Intermission
Goushi Yonekura, Four interludes from a dance drama about Dante’s Comedia
Eric Wilson, cello
Ramsey Sadaka, Arioso
Paolo Bortolussi, flute; Aaron Graham and Julia Chien, percussion
Jacob Seyer, Meditation No. 3 for Solo Guitar
Jacob Seyer, guitar
Dubravko Pajalic, 2 Melodies
Heather Pawsey, soprano; Paolo Bortolussi, alto flute; Eric Wilson cello; Corey Hamm piano
Concert No. 2: March 20 at 7:30pm, Pyatt Hall
Kelly Yixuan Wang, 雪だるまさんとあの少女 (Mr. Snowman and the Girl)
Boris Ulanowicz, violin; Julie Begg, clarinet; Finn Maniche, cello; Aydan Con, piano
Gabriella Yorke, 5 Short Sketches for Piano and Cello
Laine Longton, cello; Aydan Con, piano
Mark Marinic, three diversions
Julie Begg, bass clarinet
Darren Xu, The Adolescent’s Mind
Julie Begg, clarinet; Aydan Con, piano
Jack Campbell, 176
Aydan Con, piano; Aaron Graham, vibraphone; Mark Haney, double bass
Intermission
Robert Humber, breath shapes
Joan Blackman, violin; Jane Hayes, piano
Alex Jang, momentary encounters (7)
Edward Dardis, accordion
Réjean Marois, Elleniade
Ellen Marple, trombone; Jane Hayes, piano
John L. Baker, From A Sparrow Song
The Sea to Sky Trio: Julia Nolan, saxophone; Joan Blackman, violin; Jane Hayes, piano
Concert No. 3 : March 21, 7:30pm,
Vancouver Academy of Music (Koerner Recital Hall)
Featured Artist: Rachel Kiyo Iwassa
Rodney Sharman, Wounded
Jennifer Butler, Shelter
Peter Krejcar, Diaphanous
Chris Albanese, remaining gestures
Walker Williams, small
Intermission
MJ Paquette, play{h}ers passage
Glenn Sutherland, Holy Ground
Javier Canseco, Scattered Light
Kara Gibbs, Intertidal
Jeffrey Ryan, AfterShock
About the Artist: Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa
Hailed in the press as a “keyboard virtuoso and avant-garde muse” (Georgia Straight) with the “emotional intensity” to take a piece “from notes on a page to a stunning work of art” (Victoria Times Colonist), Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa is recognized among Canada’s foremost contemporary music pianists. Selected to close the ISCM World New Music Days 2017 in Vancouver, Rachel has performed in the Netherlands, Germany, US and across Canada, with engagements including Muziekweek Gaudeamus, Music TORONTO, Music on Main, Vancouver New Music, Redshift, Western Front, Vancouver Symphony, Victoria Symphony, the Aventa Ensemble (Victoria), CONTACT contemporary music (Toronto), New Works Calgary, Groundswell New Music (Winnipeg), and Vancouver Pro Musica.
Rachel has commissioned or premiered works by many of Canada’s most eminent composers, such as Hildegard Westerkamp, Rodney Sharman, Jocelyn Morlock, Nicole Lizée, Jordan Nobles, Jeffrey Ryan, Farshid Samandari, Marci Rabe, and Emily Doolittle. One half of the acclaimed contemporary flute/piano duo Tiresias with Mark Takeshi McGregor, Rachel has also collaborated with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Judith Forst, Heather Pawsey, the Bozzini Quartet, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw, and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire. Her interdisciplinary adventures have led to work with photo-based artist SD Holman, playwright/director David Bloom, choreographer Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, and multi-media provocateur Paul Wong.
Rachel’s debut CD, Cosmophony, has been praised as “brilliant” and “unforgettable” (Vancouver Sun) and for “the passion, intensity and the nuanced playing she’s acclaimed for… she manages to instill a sense of dynamic tension and pull to every note” (The Province). Rachel was a co-founder of the Queer Arts Festival in Vancouver, recognized as one of the top 5 festivals of its kind worldwide.
Concert No 4: March 22, 7:30pm, Orpheum Annex
Ensemble in Residence (Pacific Baroque Orchestra)
Edward Top, Clairvoyant
Trevor Tunnacliffe, Curl
Kamran Shahrokhi, Ocean Rush
Intermission
F. Scott Thompson, Hidden Gala
Carl Winter, Intrusions
Henry From, Dances at the End of Time
About the Artists: Pacific Baroque Orchestra
The Pacific Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is recognized as one of Canada’s most exciting and innovative ensembles performing “early music for modern ears”. PBO brings the music of the past up to date by performing with cutting edge style and enthusiasm. Formed in 1990, the orchestra quickly established itself as a force in Vancouver’s burgeoning music scene with the ongoing support of Early Music Vancouver.
In 2009 PBO welcomed Alexander Weimann as Artistic Director. His imaginative programming and expert leadership have drawn in many new concertgoers, and his creativity and engaging musicianship have carved out a unique and vital place in the cultural landscape of Vancouver.
PBO regularly joins forces with internationally celebrated Canadian guest artists, providing performance opportunities for Canadian musicians while exposing West Coast audiences to a spectacular variety of talent. The Orchestra has also toured BC, the northern United States and across Canada as far as the East Coast. The musicians of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra have been at the core of many large-scale productions by Early Music Vancouver in recent years, including many summer festival performances led by Alexander Weimann.
Student Composers masterclass
Featuring: Composer: Rita Ueda and Performers Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa and Mark Takeshi McGregor
Martha Lou Henley classroom (VSO School of Music) March 22 at 10am
Composers TBD (Deadline for call for scores- March 1, 2020)
(Free Admission)