Orchid Ensemble

Established in 1997, the Orchid Ensemble is Lan Tung on the erhu/Chinese violin & vocal, Gelina Jiang on the zheng/Chinese zither & ruan/Chinese lute, and Jonathan Bernard on percussion, including the western concert marimba. With this unique instrumentation, the ensemble combines musical traditions from China and beyond, creating a distinct new sound. Its repertoire ranges from the traditional and contemporary music of China, World Music, New Music to Creative Improvisation.
Active in North America, the ensemble gives close to one hundred performances every year, including music festivals, community concerts, K-12 school presentations, and University/College residencies. US appearances include Kennedy Center for the 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, Vancouver Jazz, Folk and Children’s festivals, National Arts Gallery, National Library, Sunfest, Halifax’s JazzEast, and Montreal’s Centre Pierre Peladeau.
The Orchid Ensemble actively commissions original compositions. Its unique instrumentation provides composers a new vehicle of expression. By performing contemporary works to a Folk and World Music audience while conversely performing traditional music to a New Music audience, the ensemble consistently breaks down boundaries between musical genres.
The Orchid Ensemble’s concert productions, supported by the Canada Council, represent its commitment to premiering Canadian music and presenting innovative cross-cultural programs. Past collaborators included Uzume Taiko, Egret Ladies Choir (Taiwan), pianist/composer Ya-wen V. Wang, Iranian santur player Alan Kushan, African percussionist ManDido Morris and Jewish woodwind player Mike Braverman. Special projects included “Road to Kashgar” – a Silk Road project, “Jews in China”- exploring a thousand-years’ connection of the two cultures, and a contemporary Asian music concert celebrating Chinese New Year. These projects have pushed the musicians to expand their vocabulary and develop new musical languages.
The ensemble’s recent projects have started to cross different disciplines: “Multi Media: Road to Kashgar” featured interactive media arts by Donna Szoke, with Chinese calligrapher Yukman Lai and Dervish dancer Raqib Brian Burke. The 2006 production of “Parting at Yang Kuan” (concert) featured media artists Kenneth Newby and Aleksandra Dulic and poetry reading by Britannia Secondary School students, in an exploration based around the theme of poetry and music. A new project “Café de Chinitas” with Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre premiered on Oct 28, 2006. A 2007 production will bring the ensemble to work closely with composer/interdisciplinary artist Ya-wen Wang and dancer Jessica Jone.
Through educational programs, the Orchid Ensemble fosters the understanding and interest in non-western music for the next generation of audiences, promoters, administrators and musicians. As BC’s spokesperson for the UNESCO ASPnet in Canada, the ensemble has designed programs for primary to secondary levels. At post secondary institutions, the ensemble gives a variety of lecture-demonstrations, workshops and master classes for both music and other campus departments. The ensemble combines distinct musical traditions in a contemporary framework to inspire and encourage students in their future lives and careers.
Consistent exposure through media such as CBC Radio and TV, Radio-Canada, campus radio, major and regional newspapers and Chinese media boosts the ensemble’s profile across North America. Its two CDs Heartland and 2005 JUNO nominated Road to Kashgar have received continuous airplay. The ensemble was featured on CBC TV’s “Zed TV”, CBC Radio’s “The World In Performance”, “Westcoast Performance”, “This Morning”, “Global Village” and “North by Northwest”, as well as programs on campus and community radios across Canada.