Jou Tou and Silk Road Music

Standing Out gets a great review from Penguin Eggs

Here's a glowing review of Silk Road's latest CD, Standing Out, from Penguin Eggs, a magazine covering the folk and world music scene in Canada. You can buy the album at the iTunes Store.

Silk Road Music and Celso Machado at the Chinese Garden

Via the Silk Road Music site, Qiu Xia announces Silk Road Music and Celso Machado. Excerpt:

Silk Road Music had a wonderful time at the Vancouver Folk Festival last weekend. The response from the audience was heartwarming! We felt so rewarded because of their enthusiasm and reaction.

To continue with all the excitement, we really want you to know about the upcoming concert at the magical Chinese Garden. A rare opportunity of having Silk Road’s long term friend Celso Machado to join us for this Enchanted Evenings. He is special to all of us! 

Please make sure you come down to see us and try not to wait to the last minute to get your tickets, because every year we sell out. We apologize to those friends who didn’t get in last year at the gate. Seating is really limited. so, we recommend you make reservations. Thank you very much! 

Silk Road Music with Celso Machado July 20 Show starts: 7:30 pm | Doors open : 7 pm 

Tickets: $25 General | $20 Members 

Box Office: 604-662-3207 ext. 0 or 209 

Qiu Xia He 何秋霞: pipa 琵琶,vocal 

Andre Thibault: guitar, oud 

Liam MacDonald: pandeiro, rik, cajon 

Jun Rong 戎竣: erhu 二胡 

Celso Machado: guitar, percussion.

Silk Road Music with guests at The Roundhouse, March 25

Via New Works: March Dance Allsorts: Silk Road Music w/ guests. Excerpt:

Silk Road Music w/ guest dancers Wen Wei Wang, Michelle Harding, + Andrea Monteiro Multicultural dance and music Sunday Mar 25 @ 2:00pm  

Silk Road spins a world tapestry of music and dance. An award-winning ensemble founded in Vancouver in 1991, the ensemble pioneered Chinese-Western musical fusion and continues to be at the forefront of new artistic directions.

For Dance Allsorts, Silk Road presents Steps on the Road, conjuring the world on one stage with vibrant imagination, weaving through sound and steps, imprinting their global vision with some of Vancouver’s finest dancers with roots from around the world.    

Silk Road is Qiu Xia He (pipa & vocal), Andre Thibault (guitar, oud, vocal & flute), and Liam MacDonald (percussion).   

As always, admission is pay-what-you-can, children 12 + under are FREE!  A limited number of advanced tickets are available online at our Eventbrite page to ensure seating.

A "Toque Concert" and a new CD

Qiu Xia has sent me this message:

Hi Silk Road Friends: Happy New Year!

Finally our new CD has arrived!!!  Standing Out is a fantastic quality recording resulting from years of study and research. With some of our favorite artists and the Dream Maker Studio, the disc represents the best of our latest work. We proudly announce it as our Lunar New Year's gift!

www.silkroadmusic.ca

For those of you who live in Vancouver, come to the celebration at CBC and purchase your copy.

CBC Toque Sessions Concert Series

Admission: Free

Friday, January 20

Concert time 5:30pm

Venue - Studio 700, on the main floor of CBC Vancouver

Tickets - No tickets, just tell people to write to rsvp.radio@cbc.ca, with number of tickets requested and a contact email address

URL for CBC's web page - http://www.cbc.ca/bc/community/blog/#igImgId_23366

Qiu Xia He - Pipa

Andre Thibault - Guitar, flute, oud

Liam MacDonald - Percussion

Jun Rong - Erhu

Feng Jun Wang- Chinese vocal

Willy Miles - English vocal

Jou Tou in a free concert at the Chan Centre

On Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 pm, Jou Tou will take part in Vancouver Symphonique, a show written and directed by Isabelle Longnus. The UBC Symphony Orchestra will perform under the direction of conductor Jesse Read, with orchestration by Alain Mayrand.

In addition to Jou Tou, francophone songwriters and performers will include Alpha Yaya Diallo, Celso Machado, François Houle,  Isabelle Longnus, Sal Ferreras, Mark Downey, the Wintermitts, Pascal Goodrich Black, Myriam Parent, Di-Van, the choreographer/performer Noam Cannon, and musicians Fana Soro and Liam MacDonald.

The show is free. Contact the Chan Centre or the Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver to reserve seats. Tickets are available at the Chan Centre Ticket Office, 604-822-2697.

Silk Road at the Garden

On August 12, Silk Road staged another memorable concert at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.  It was a warm, lovely evening and the place was packed—one of the biggest crowds I've ever seen there. 

Qiu Xia and Andre were joined by Liam MacDonald on percussion and with flamenco dancer Michelle Harding repeating her success at last year's concert. They played a mix of old and new—but even the old familiar songs sounded new, because they always find some new interpretation even for their standards.

Qiu Xia displayed some budding talent as a flamenco dancer too, and got a round of applause for her steps.

I hope to post some video clips from the concert when they're available.

Silk Road Music back at Sun Yat-Sen Garden on Friday, August 12

Following last year’s  study in Jerez, Spain, Silk Road returns with a Flamenco fervour. With the fine percussionist Liam MacDonald and the exquisite dancer Michelle Harding, Qiu Xia and Andre step forward and celebrate  20 years of artistic vision with their company - Silk Road Music.

Founded in Vancouver in 1991, the ensemble pioneered the kind of Chinese-Western musical fusion that one now hears in acts ranging from The Sparrow Quartet to Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road project. It has blended Chinese folk and classical music with Celtic, Latin, Arabic, Aboriginal, jazz, and blues music.  It developed two exciting educational programs to bring world music to school children. 

Through many concert performances, Silk Road Music has earned a Juno nomination, two West Coast Music Awards, two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, and countless enthusiastic reviews.  

Friday's concert begins at 7:30 in the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall Street, in Chinatown. It's the perfect setting for Silk Road's music. Tickets are $20 general; $18 for members of the Garden. Reservations are recommended. Call 604-662-3207, ext. 209.

Silk Road Music on video!

Just before they leave for three months in Spain to study flamenco, Qiu Xia and Andre have posted a 6-minute Video featuring excerpts from performances and interviews about their music. It's great fun!

Silk Road at the Sun Yat-Sen Gardens

Silk Road, with percussionist Liam MacDonald, gave a great concert on August 6 at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens, with as always a new direction: an exploration of flamenco, complete with talented dancer Michelle Harding. Here's the program they played:

 1. Ha Ya Xi Shui - Traditional Chinese.

2. Folguedo - Trio. Brazilian piece featuring Liam on Pandeiro. By Celso Machado 

3. To Mi La - Original music in a Central Asian style on Oud, Pipa, Rik. By Qiu Xia He

4. A Pair - Trio. Old favourite in a North African style. By Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault 

5. Canarios - Duet. Lute music from the 17th century adapted for Pipa. By Gaspar Sanz

6. Solea - Dance. Flamenco from Andalucia Ole! By Andre Thibault and Qiu Xia He

Intermission

7. Granainas - Guitar solo. A free form in flamenco. By Andre Thibault

8. Passion’s Promise - Duet. Spain meets India via jazz! By Moshe Denburg

9. Rumba Calabria - Dance. Contemporary Latin sound. By Andre Thibault

10. Gitan Gene- Encore Rumba with dance.

And here is a recording of the concert, courtesy of CITR radio at UBC.

Silk Road's new look

Here's the link to Silk Road Music, which has had a major makeover: super graphics, new audio clips, and a dramatic black-and-red design.