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Silk Road Music was formed in 1991 by virtuoso pipa player Qiu Xia He (pr. Chu-Sha Her), who arrived to Canada in 1989 to play the Vancouver Folk Music Festival as part of a touring ensemble from China. She stayed in Canada and has become a vibrant addition to the Vancouver Music scene. She has been a featured soloist with the Vancouver Symphony, and is part of the Juno-nominated world-beat ensemble ASZA. Prior to leaving China, Qiu Xia was a music teacher at the Xian Academy and toured with the Shaanxi Music and Dance Troupe. She formed Silk Road Music as a forum to continue to develop Chinese music with other musicians.
Silk Road Music have met with remarkable success playing Chinese traditional-inspired music with western performance techniques. The arrangements are bold and colorful, combining Pipa, (Chinese lute) played by Qiu Xia He, Erhu (Chinese violin) played by Shirley Yuan, and Ruan (Chinese guitar) played by Zhimin Yu. Their original compositions draw from many influences including jazz, folk, and Irish music.
The extraordinary project Village Tales takes Chinese -Western collaboration to a new level. The project features twelve traditional folk songs translated into English, arranged for cross-cultural instrumentation, and performed in both English and Mandarin by duets from both cultures. The accompanying 40 page CD booklet contains sheet music for all the songs, lyrics in both languages, Chinese pronunciation keys, and background on the instruments and songs, making the music truly accessible to people of all cultures.
The resulting CD features singers like the Vancouver opera sensation Willy Miles, and Chinese opera vocalist Feng Jun Wang, folk singer-songwriter Michael Friedman, Chinese vocalist Dorothy Liu, Lin Wei Xu, Chamber Choir singer Siri Oleson .Katheri'ne Goheen, and virtuoso musicians from Vancouver like dizi player(Chinese bamboo flute) Jian Min Pan, guitarist Andre Thibault, bassist Lawrence Mollerup, Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and long-time Silk Road collaborator Celso Machado.
Silk Road Music is one of the few Chinese touring ensembles in North America with performances at all the major Festivals in Canada. Their music has been featured on CBC's Asian music compilation and as part of the Canadian Parliament Sound and Light Show. In the summer of 2000, Silk Road toured the South of France with great success. Throughout their travels, the group has earned a greater appreciation for the potential of music in intercultural communication, and they hope their audiences have come away with a greater appreciation for Chinese music too. |
