FESTIVAL PROGRAMME FESTIVAL PROGRAMME - TABLE OF CONTENTS

Welcome from the VICO ……………………………………………………………….. 3

Concerts & Notes on the Music • Hidden Treasures - Feb. 20 & 25 ……………………………………………….. 4 • Intimate Sounds of Araxes - Feb. 26 ……………………………………………. 6 • Notes From the Araxes Basin - Feb. 27 ………………………………………… 7 • Passage: Constantinople & Friends - Feb. 28 ………………………………… 10

Other Festival Events • Music of the Whole World (FREE!) - Feb. 19 & 24 …………………………… 11 • Music in the Morning - Feb. 23 ………………………………………………… 12 • UBC Noon-Hour Concert - Feb. 24 ……………………………………………. 12

About the Guest Ensembles ………………………………………………………….. 13

About the Musicians …………………………………………………………………… 14

About the Composers …………………………………………………………………. 16

Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………. 20

FESTIVAL TICKETS & INFORMATION vi-co.org | [email protected] | 604.224.6201

PRODUCTION CREDITS Artistic Director - Mark Armanini Composer-in-Residence & Senior Project Manager - Farshid Samandari Communications Manager & Administrator - Melanie Thompson Operations Coordinator - Allison White Artistic Advisor & Financial Manager - Moshe Denburg Audio-Visual Recording & Technical Assistance - Don Xaliman & Camilia Frey 2 WELCOME FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR On behalf of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra staff and Board of Directors, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 2016 edition of our Global Soundscapes Festival: Notes From the Araxes Basin. Thank you for joining us as we collaborate with virtuoso soloists from Turkey, , Lebanon and , and visiting Canadian ensembles from Victoria and Montreal, to present traditional, contemporary and intercultural music of the Middle East and Canada.

The Araxes (or Aras) River starts in Turkey, and flows along the border with Armenia into Azerbaijan, where it continues along another border (with Iran), until it joins the Kura and together they reach the Caspian Sea. As major rivers often are, the Araxes is a boundary marker, but also a roadway, where tributaries, travellers, cultures and ideas meet and are swept along on voyages of discovery. We invite you to come along with us on a similar journey in musical form; to get to know a group of artists who are not only virtuoso talents, but also creative, flexible and willing to work hard at communicating across cultural and stylistic differences; to let them show you a brilliantly expanded sound palette, and music that is both rooted in ancient traditions and excitingly fresh to the ear.

We are grateful to everyone involved for their many contributions, which have led to this beautiful demonstration of the power of artistic collaboration, and how it can transcend boundaries - cultural, geographical, political, historical. Enjoy the music! - Mark Armanini

ABOUT THE VICO The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, founded in 2001, was one of the first concert orchestras in the world devoted specifically to performing new intercultural music on a grand scale. It is currently the only professional ensemble of its kind in Canada. The VICO brings together musicians and composers from many cultural and artistic communities in the Lower Mainland, including Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Indian, Persian (Iranian) and Middle Eastern, Latin and South American, Vietnamese, African, North American and European. VICO strives to be a fresh and relevant voice in the contemporary music of our city, our province and our country. We build bridges of imagination. We approach diversity as a fascinating challenge and a creative call to action. We make connections, between performers and audiences of all ages and backgrounds, across the Lower Mainland, throughout Canada and the world. We create and perform orchestral music that transcends boundaries: cultural, social, political, geographical. A 2012 recipient of the City of Vancouver Cultural Harmony Award, the VICO has been described as “the United Nations of music” (CBC Radio) and “music that sounds like Vancouver looks” (Georgia Straight). 3 HIDDEN TREASURES Traditional & Contemporary Music of the Middle East & Canada

Saturday February 20, 2015 at 8 PM - Open Space, Victoria Thursday February 25, 2015 at 8 PM - Orpheum Annex, Vancouver

Emily Carr String Quartet Gevorg Dabaghyan, duduk Neva Özgen, kemençe Navid Goldrick, Niel Golden, tabla

1. Improvisation on Armenian Folk songs Traditional

2. String Quartet in One Movement** Mohammad Taghi Massoudieh

3. String Quartet no.1, Opus 27 Ahmed Adnan Saygun

4. softly, as night darkens** Mark Armanini

INTERMISSION

5. Traditional Improvisation

6. fosün Farshid Samandari

7. California Dutch Rodney Sharman

8. 14 Pieces on Themes From Armenian Folk Songs Vartapet Komitas i. Al aylughs (Red Shawl) (arr. S. Aslamazyan) ii. Garoun (Spring ) iii. Hoy Nazan (Oh Nazan)

**World premiere performance 4 NOTES ON THE MUSIC - Hidden Treasures (Feb. 20 & 25)

EMILY CARR STRING QUARTET Müge Büyükçelen, violin | Cory Balzer, violin Mieka Michaux, viola | Alasdair Money, cello

String Quartet in One Movement, composed by Mohammad Taghi Massoudieh in 1979, just a week before the revolution in Iran, uses a number of elements from traditional Persian music rhythm and melodic structures and textures, set into the Western temperament and equipped with Bartokian harmonic structures.

Written in 1947, Ahmed Adnan Saygun’s Quartet No. 1, Op. 27 is refreshingly unaffected by the post-war tendencies of his western contemporaries: an incantation-like four-note motif announces the first movement before erupting into an allegro characterized by Bartók-esque fits of virtuosity and gravitas. The second movement — the longest and arguably the most folk-inspired — evokes a Mevlevi (Whirling Dervish) hymn with its quiet echoes and vocal imitations. The finale restates the opening motif of the first movement, which is quickly transformed into a traditional horon dance. This, in turn, becomes the subject of a virtuosic four-part fugue, bringing the work to a wild and hedonistic close. softly, as night darkens - see notes by Mark Armanini on page 8. fosün presents a dichotomy of Persian dashti lines and Chinese pentatonic lines, in the context of slowly moving harmonies derived from Ney’s spectrum. The two different modes are subsets of one another, so the contrast is subtle and coloristic. - Farshid Samandari “My life has been the poem I would have writ, But I could not both live and utter it.” (Henry Thoreau)

I began writing California Dutch (2015) during my Djerassi artist residency in the Santa Cruz mountains, California. It is as Dutch as anything I have ever written: motoric, diatonic, sunny in character, but with a touch of lowland melancholy; all with the arithmetical structures common to pieces by Guus Jansen, Martijn Padding, and others. (This is nothing new; German Baroque composers in particular frequently wrote in the French, English or Italian manner.) It is dedicated to my old school friend, Joël Bons, who was the first to ask me to write for non-Western instruments some twenty years ago. Aside from my percussion writing, this is my first such piece. My thanks to Navid Goldrick, Farshid Samandari, Mark Armanini and the quartet members for their assistance, focus and warm good-humour in preparing tonight's performance. - Rodney Sharman

Fourteen Pieces on Themes from Armenian Folk Songs is a compilation of string quartet arrangements of Komitas treatments of a set of folk songs. These songs have a wide range of themes ranging from rustic to romantic. 5 INTIMATE SOUNDS OF ARAXES Special House Concert

Friday February 26, 2016 at 8 pm The Annex on Blenheim 5590 Blenheim St., Vancouver

Gevorg Dabaghyan, duduk Neva Özgen, kemençe Kiya Tabassian, & voice

An exclusive opportunity to interact with three Festival guest artists, and hear them perform in a uniquely intimate setting, while enjoying tasty beverages and appetizers.

ABOUT THE VENUE “The Annex”, a 1924 house recently renovated, is the ideal venue for concerts, poetry readings, artistic events of all kinds, weddings, and family reunions. The top floor has 3 quiet bedrooms, allowing out of town guests to stay overnight.The basement is a totally open space, ideal for workshops, film screenings, art exhibits. A very large back porch, and a huge backyard with many secret corners, provide perfect spaces for any kind of summer event. Interested in knowing more? Please contact Claudine at [email protected]. 6 NOTES FROM THE ARAXES BASIN VICO with Special Guests

Saturday February 27, 2016 at 8 PM The Orpheum Annex, Vancouver

Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra | Owen Underhill, conductor Gevorg Dabaghyan, duduk | Neva Özgen, kemençe Saina Khaledi, santur | Geronimo Mendoza, English horn | Mike Brown, bass clarinet

1. Improvisation Encounter

2. The Eternal Hills** Moshe Denburg

3. Suite Concertante: à cette époque-là ** Farshid Samandari i. days of killim ii. age of sarouk iii. time for gabbeh iv. a day for Jajim INTERMISSION

4. Shakti Artyom Kim

5. softly, as night darkens ** Mark Armanini

6. Surna Parisa Sabet

7. Gypsy Chronicles John Oliver Canada Council / VICO commission (2009) I. Crossing Byzantium II. The Gates of Europe III. Cri(se) de conscience IV. Retour aux sources

** World premiere performance 7 NOTES ON THE MUSIC - Notes From the Araxes Basin (Feb. 27)

VANCOUVER INTERCULTURAL ORCHESTRA Owen Underhill, conductor Mike Brown, clarinet & bass clarinet | Geronimo Mendoza, oboe & English horn Mark Takeshi McGregor, flutes | Charlie Lui, dizi Patricia Shih, violin | Yuel Yawney, violin | Nikita Pogrebnoy, viola Sungyong Lim, cello | Lan Tung, erhu | Ali Razmy, Saina Khaledi, santur | Navid Goldrick, oud Niel Golden, tabla | Jonathan Bernard, percussion

The Eternal Hills takes its inspiration from the view of Mount Ararat. This is the mountain upon which Noah’s ark was said, in the Bible, to have come to rest. To this day it is venerated by the Armenian people. In fact, a very poignant vista can be had from , the capital of Armenia. Yerevan happens to be where Gevorg Dabaghyan resides, he being the duduk player for whom the premiere was written. As well, the kemence, a Turkish teardrop fiddle, provides an appropriate counterpart for the duduk, as eastern Turkey is where Ararat is physically situated. So this brief double concerto, as it were, for the Armenian duduk, the Turkish kemence, and a quintet of Western strings, is a snapshot of an idealized world, one in which the errors and hurts of the past are transcended by the common pursuit and appreciation of beauty. The piece itself is melodic and modal in nature, and utilizes Middle Eastern modes - makams in the Turkish system - which incorporate microtonal elements. - Moshe Denburg

Suite Concertante: à cette époque-là for setar and orchestra is a program suite depicting the life and times of four different Persian rugs: Killim is a tribal flat tapestry woven carpet with geometrically designs derived from nature. Sarouk is a delicate often-silk carpet with curvilinear and floral designs of a more abstract nature. Jajim is a nomadic flat woolen tapestry rug with abstract minimalist designs. Gabbeh is a nomadic pile rug with designs derived from life. - Farshid Samandari 8 NOTES ON THE MUSIC - Notes From the Araxes Basin (Feb. 27) softly, as night darkens will be premiered in 2 forms at the Festival: first, as a piece for duduk with string quartet, and later, as a double concerto for duduk, kemençe and intercultural chamber orchestra. In true concerto style, the piece is built on contrast between the soloists and the ensemble, and sequenced sections of differing character: Aria, Recitative, Cadenza, Duet. The singing qualities of the dukuk and kemençe are intertwined with rather aggressive ensemble material, and are written with a rubato (slightly variable) tempo, while the ensemble material maintains a strict enforcement of the meter.

Surna was originally composed for surna (zurla) and cello in 2011. I wrote it for a Macedonian friend of mine, a surna/clarinet player who like me, is fascinated by the unique tone quality of this instrument. The surna (zurla) is a double-reed woodwind instrument with roots in Europe and Asia. In Iran, it has been usually accompanied by Dohul (bass drum) and played outdoors during wedding and ceremonies. It has a narrow range, just a little more than one octave. The role of the cello in the original composition was to provide melodic and rhythmic accompaniment (similar to Dohul). This role is provided by B flat bass clarinet in this new arrangement, while the English horn takes the surna part. I’d like to thank Dr. Farshid Samandari for encouraging me to re-arrange this piece for the Notes from the Araxes Basin Festival. - Parisa Sabet

Gypsy Chronicles is an imaginary musical journal in four parts, crossing Byzantium - modern- day Istanbul - toward the gates of Europe in search of the source of music in ancient melody and harmony, untempered and untamed, resonating with nature. I imagine musicians converging there, in Byzantium, from all parts of the Silk Road, to play this music that comes down to a handful of tones which they might play over and over again, searching for the source of their common musical heritage. One day I will make this trip. Meanwhile, I am fortunate to live in Vancouver, a city where excellent musicians from these regions have settled here and can realize my dream-music. My heartfelt thanks to the VICO for commissioning Gypsy Chronicles, and to the Canada Council for the Arts for funding. - John Oliver

Shakti - I asked my close friend, the great Indian musician Dhruba Ghosh, to create a theme for this piece, based on a hymn to Shakti, the Indian Goddess of Pure Energy. This theme is played 5 times by the Daegeum, each time longer in the proportion of 1/1.618. This is one of the spiritual proportions, used from ancient times. While becoming longer, the theme creates more and more space for the improvisation of the soloing Flute. Another instrument, Changgu, uses 5 rhythmical cycles, each of those faster or slower than another in the proportion of 1/2 or 1/3. And finally the third instrument, Cello, performs a harmonic figuration which stays stable and changeless all the time. These proportions, overlapping one with another, create periodical waves and spirals, which symbolize for me the processes of Genesis. - Artyom Kim

9 PASSAGE Constantinople & Friends co-presented by Caravan World Rhythms

Sunday February 28, 2016 at 8 pm The York Theatre, Vancouver

Kiya Tabassian, setar & voice Charbel Rouhana, oud & voice Neva Özgen, kemençe Didem Basar, qanun Pierre-Yves Martel, viola da gamba Patrick Graham, percussion Gevorg Dabaghyan, duduk Hamin Honari,

“This concert programme is a musical voyage into the heart of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern musical traditions. Some of the most pre-eminent heirs and creators of music from these lands will present ancient sounds and modes intertwining with new music composed by the virtuosos of the ensemble.

This meeting between master musicians from Lebanon, Iran, Turkey and Canada, between strings and vocals, goes back in time to evoke the beauty of being. It is a joint passage through the common sites of the imagination, like a long breath before the inexorable march of the world and time. Without doubt, this concert will transport you to a soul-stirring world of peaceful musical dialogues.” - www.constantinople.ca

10 MUSIC OF THE WHOLE WORLD FREE Educational Presentations

Friday February 19, 2015 at 7:30 PM Open Space, Victoria

Gevorg Dabaghyan, duduk Niel Golden, tabla Navid Goldrick, oud

Wednesday February 24, 2015 at 7 PM Vancouver Public Library Central Branch

Gevorg Dabaghyan, duduk Neva Özgen, kemençe Saina Khaledi, santur

11 MUSIC IN THE MORNING Maestro Hossein Behroozinia & Friends

Tuesday February 23, 2016 at 10:30 AM Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art 2121 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver

Festival guests Gevorg Dabaghyan (duduk) and Neva Özgen (kemençe) join forces with local Persian master musicians Hossein Behroozinia (), Ramin Bahrami (tombak) and Hamin Honari (tombak & ) to present Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish and Persian traditional and folk music.

Programmed by the Gordon Smith Foundation for Young Artists

UBC NOON-HOUR RECITAL Notes From the Araxes Basin

Wednesday February 24, 2016 at 12:00 PM Roy Barnett Hall (UBC School of Music) 6361 Memorial Road, Vancouver

Traditional Turkish, Armenian & Persian music performed by Gevorg Dabaghyan, Neva Özgen, Saina Khaledi & Hamin Honari.

Admission: $5 at the door (cash only). Free for UBC students.

12 ABOUT THE GUEST ENSEMBLES

Formed in 2006 by members of the Victoria Symphony, the Emily Carr String Quartet has given performances in the US, Europe and Asia. They have performed for "Music in the Morning" and “Music on Main” concert series in Vancouver, the Ankara Music Festival, The Hornby Festival, Victoria Summer Music Festival and the IAMA Canadian Music Showcase in Montreal. They have collaborated with artists such as William Preucil, Jamie Parker, Arthur Rowe, the Alcan Quartet and the Tin Alley Quartet. The ECSQ has been featured on CBC radio's "North by Northwest" and their CD "Hidden Treasure" was nominated for the 2012 classical recording of the year at the Western Canadian Music Awards.

Constantinople is the story of a musical ensemble that chose the journey as its cornerstone —geographical journeys, but also historical, cultural and inner—and, seeking inspiration from all sources, aims for distant horizons. Drawing inspiration from the ancient trailblazing city illuminating East and West, the ensemble, founded in 1998 in Montreal, was conceived as a forum for encounters and cross-fertilization by Kiya and Ziya Tabassian, who grew up in effervescent Teheran. In 2008 the ensemble evolved, welcoming Pierre-Yves Martel to its ranks, a viola da gamba player of improvisational brilliance who was as insatiable and adventurous as the two brothers. Since then, the trio has ceaselessly explored a wide range of musical avenues: from mediaeval manuscripts to contemporary aesthetics, from Mediterranean Europe to the East and New World Baroque. In its research and creation, Constantinople joins forces with other leading figures on the international scene, including singers Françoise Atlan, Savina Yannatou, Rosario La Tremendita, Ghada Shbeir and Irasema Terrazas, the Greek ensemble En Chordais, the polyphonic choir Barbara Furtuna, the Quebec group Vent du Nord, the Afghan rubab virtuoso Homayoun Sakhi, DJ Mercan Dede, and such prominent percussionists as the Istanbul-based Mısırli Ahmet or Israeli Zohar Fresco. Constantinople has performed on many of the world’s major stages, including the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (France), the World Sacred Music Festival of Fez (Morocco), the Festival d’Île de France (Paris), the Onassis Centre (Athens), the Festival de México en el Centro Histórico (Mexico), the Festival de Lanaudière (Quebec), or the MusicFest Vancouver (Canada). NOTE: for performances at Notes From the Araxes Basin, Ziya Tabassian will be replaced by Patrick Graham on tombak & percussion

13 ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Owen Underhill (conductor) lives in Vancouver where he is active as a composer, conductor, artistic director and faculty member at Simon Fraser University. As a conductor, Underhill has been especially active in contemporary music and music of the early twentieth century and has conducted well over 150 premieres by Canadian composers. Active as a programmer and promoter of contemporary music, Underhill was Artistic Director of Vancouver New Music from 1987 to 2000. He is currently Artistic Co-Director of the Turning Point Ensemble. He has been active for many years with the Canadian Music Centre, serving as the President from 2010 - 2014. Underhill has been an SFU faculty member since 1981, teaching music composition and conducting, and serving as Director of the School for the Contemporary Arts. In 2013, he was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada.

Gevorg Dabaghyan (duduk) is among the most prominent duduk players in the world today. He is famous for his interpretations of the works of Sayat Nova, and his critically- accclaimed performances of traditional Armenian folk music. He received his Master’s degree at the Yerevan State Conservatory, where he now teaches. In addition to performing in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, he is the leader of the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble. This will be his first visit to Vancouver.

Neva Özgen (kemençe) is recognized in her native Turkey as a master musician in the classical Ottoman tradition, carrying on a legacy that can be traced back through her father Ihsan Özgen (also a very influential performer and educator) to one of the great figures of Turkish classical music, Tanburi Cemil Bey. She has performed as a soloist with Anatolia Ensemble, Montreal Tribal Trio, Atlas Ensemble, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, En Chordais, /Elect.Voices, Shujaat Hussain Khan, Deepak Ram, Peter Murphy, Mich Geber, Kudsi Erguner, Frangiz Ali-Zade, Javanshir Guliev, Theo Loevendi, and Kamran Ince among others. This will be Neva’s first visit to Vancouver.

Kiya Tabassian (setar) emigrated from Iran at age 14 with his family to Quebec. Determined to become a musician, composer and historical torchbearer, Kiya has performed on stages throughout the world, and collaborated on highly eclectic projects as a composer, performer and improviser. These include regular collaborations with Radio- Canada; the international MediMuses project researching the history and repertoire of Mediterranean music,; musical collaborations since 2009 with the Atlas Ensemble (Holland), with the Atlas Academy as a tutor, and on a project linking contemporary music with oral traditions. He has composed for many musical groups and institutions, including the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and the Union Européenne de Radio-Télévision.

14 ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Hossein Behroozinia (barbat) was born on June 11, 1962 in Tehran, Iran with a heart and soul for music. At the early age of nine he was accepted into Tehran’s Conservatory of Music, where he was introduced to the Persian radif of Mirza Abdullah by the famed Mohammad Reza Lotfi. At the young age of 17, he was asked to instruct at the prestigious Centre of Preservation and Propagation of Music. Soon after, he humbly accepted the position of Director of Music Production, followed by Director of Music Education, and then Chairman of the Board. Now resident in North Vancouver, Behroozinia has traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and North America with Aref, Mowlana and the Dastan Ensemble.

Niel Golden (tabla) first studied mrdangam with Trichy Sankaran, and then tabla with Bob Becker. Niel received his honours BA from York University, specializing in ethnomusicology, and soon after became the disciple of the tabla master Pandit Sharda Sahai. After moving to Victoria in 1986, Niel helped formed the world folk fusion trio, New Earth, and later an ensemble called Djole that blended African, Indian, Western and other world music. He has collaborated with composer Robert Rosen, Kokoro dance, Joseph "Pepe" Danza, Celso Machado, Harry Manx, Andre Thibault, Daniel Lapp, The Gettin' Higher Choir, Xavier Rudd, Rhiannon, Gina Sala and Sal Ferreras to name a few.

Navid Goldrick (oud), a well-known oud and santur player and teacher from Vancouver, began his musical journey on the Persian santur. Subsequently, Navid was fortunate to gain experience learning various instruments until he fell in love with the Arabic oud. He studied extensively with world-renowned Persian-Canadian virtuoso Hossein Behroozinia, and also expanded his knowledge by studying Arabic and Turkish music. Navid is dedicated to spreading the music of this ancient instrument to more and more people, and does so through his website OudforGuitarists.com.

Hamin Honari (tombak) was born in Zahedan, Iran. He grew up in Canada and has been immersed in music from an early age. Hamin has studied Tombak with Ramin Bahrami since the age of 13 and later continued his studies with Master Pejman Haddadi. He currently performs with several ensembles and tours throughout North America and Europe

Saina Khaledi (santur) started learning the santur from her father at age six, and later her Bachelor of Arts from Tehran's Music University. She was the winner of Iran’s Santur Festival in 2003. Saina has performed in Iran, Austria, the USA and Canada with such ensembles as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vashaan Ensemble, National Orchestra of Iran Conservatoire, Mellal Orchestra, Hamsaz Ensemble, Hamnavazan Ensemble and Kereshmeh Ensemble.

15 ABOUT THE COMPOSERS

Mark Armanini (composer) has been composing for various combinations of Chinese, Asian, and Western instruments since 1991; his work has been performed by the CBC Radio Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony, the VICO, Little Giant Chinese Orchestra, the BC Chinese Orchestra, Orchid Ensemble, Silk Road and the Latvian National Symphony among others. Mark is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre and (since 1994) composition instructor at Capilano University. He has been involved with the VICO since its inception, and is now its Artistic Director.

Moshe Denburg (composer) (b. 1949) grew up in Montreal, in a religious Jewish family. His musical career has spanned four decades and several continents: he has lived and studied music in Canada, the USA, Israel, India, and Japan. Since 1987 his compositions have reflected an ongoing commitment to the principle of intercultural music-making: bringing together the instruments and ideas of many cultures. In 2001 Moshe established the VICO, a vehicle for the realization of his and other Canadian composers' intercultural work. He is also an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre.

Artyom Kim was born in 1976 in Bekabad, near Tasjkent, in Uzbekistan. He started his musical education (playing the bajan) at the age of ten. In 1995 he took his first composition lessons with the famous Uzbek composer M. Tadjiev and later with Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky. In 2001 he received his Master’s Degree at the Tashkent State Conservatory. During his studies he got involved with Ilkhom XX, the international contemporary music festival. Many of his compositions were premiered at this festival, while it also offered him an opportunity to start conducting: he conducted several first performances of music by young Uzbek composers, as well as the Uzbek premieres of Requiem by Alfred Schnittke, Les Noces by Stravinsky and Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Kim regularly composes for film and theatre. He has also recently been guest composer with the Nieuw Ensemble for which he wrote four works: Stabilis/Mobilis, L’autre plaine, De Profundis and Rag Music for european and non-european instruments. In 2004 Kim founded the Omnibus Ensemble in Tashkent, which has become the first chamber ensemble in Central Asia to focus on modern music.

Vartapet Komitas, also spelled Gomidas, was the pseudonym of Soghomon Soghomonian (born Oct. 8, 1869, Kütahya, Ottoman Empire—died Oct. 22, 1935 in Paris, France), an ethnomusicologist and composer who created the basis for a distinctive national musical style in Armenia. While studying liturgical singing at a seminary he became interested in Armenian folk songs as well as church music, and began composing his own music on Armenian motifs while studying composition in Berlin in 1896–99. Upon his return to Armenia he began collecting Armenian folk songs in earnest, and he eventually accumulated several thousand of them. He also published numerous papers on the subject and sang Armenian songs himself at concerts he organized in western Europe, arousing international interest in his countrymen’s music.

16 ABOUT THE COMPOSERS

Mohammed Taghi Massoudieh (born in Mashhad, 9 April 1927; died in Tehran, 2 Feb 1999) was an Iranian ethnomusicologist and composer who may be regarded as the first Iranian scholar to introduce and teach ethnomusicology in Iran. His approach was influenced by the Berlin school of comparative musicology and was mainly based on careful documentation of musical information, especially through detailed transcriptions and analyses. He was generally concerned with research on Iranian traditional and classical music, and his many publications on the subject marked him as a principal figure among Iranian ethnomusicologists and among scholars of Persian music internationally. He was also a revered composer whose work was usually inspired by Iranian traditional tunes. He served as a visiting professor and lectured widely in Germany, also making frequent presentations at international musicological and ethnomusicological conferences

John Oliver is a multiple-award-winning composer & performer who writes opera, orchestra, chamber & electroacoustic music. Winner of the Classical Composition of the Year Award at the 2013 Western Canadian Music Awards for his orchestral composition Forging Utopia, he came to international attention early in his career when he won six composition prizes for five compositions ranging from chamber to orchestral to electroacoustic music, including the Grand Prize at the 8th CBC National Young Composers' Competition for his live electroacoustic work El Reposo del Fuego. Commissions and performances flowed from the likes of the Canadian Opera Company, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, CBC, Vancouver New Music, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Turning Point Ensemble, New Music Concerts, and the SMCQ (Montréal), among others. Oliver has two solo releases to his credit: Time is Dust, and Forging Utopia.

Dr. Farshid Samandari’s music reflects his commitment to “unity in diversity”, and his interest in contemporary classical vocabulary, spectral analysis, and extended techniques. He has collaborated with a variety of choirs and ensembles including Tehran National Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Experimental Studio (Germany), Red Shift Vertical Orchestra, Atlas Ensemble (Netherlands), Turning Point Ensemble, Nu:bc Collective, Borealis String Quartet, Standing Wave Ensemble, Red Chamber Quartet, Orchid Ensemble, and Vancouver Peace Choir, as well as soloists such as Karin Aurel, Ariel Barnes, Neal Bennett, Jeremy Berkman, Corey Hamm, Rachel Iwaasa, Garth Knox, Mark McGregor, Julie Nessrallah, Julia Nolan, Beth Orson, Heather Pawsey, Michael Strutt, Yamai Tsunao and Eric Wilson. His Apogee for the flute won Vancouver New Music 06, while other half, an aria from his upcoming chamber opera SunarcanuS, was awarded CUMS09 Best Composition, and his trio coming home won CUMS/CLC11.

Rodney Sharman has been Composer-in-Residence with the Victoria Symphony, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In addition to concert music, Rodney Sharman writes music for cabaret, opera and dance. He works regularly with choreographer James Kudelka, for whom he has written scores for Oregon Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet and Coleman Lemieux & Co. (Toronto). Sharman was awarded First Prize in the 1984 CBC Competition for Young Composers and the 1990 Kranichsteiner Prize in Music, Darmstadt, Germany. His score for the music-dance-theatre piece, From The House Of Mirth, won the 2013 Dora Mavor Moore Award for outstanding sound design/composition. 17 ABOUT THE COMPOSERS

Ahmed Adnan Saygun (1907 – 1991) was one of Turkey’s most acclaimed composers of classical music. He shares an uncanny amount of common ground with Kodály: both were profoundly influenced by early studies in Paris, both followed in the footsteps of Bartók (in Saygun’s case, quite literally: he accompanied the Hungarian on a 1936 sojourn throughout Turkey, collecting and researching indigenous folk songs), and both, in addition to their careers as composers, made contributions to the areas musicology and music education.

18 19 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to the following for their contributions to the Festival:

The VICO Board of Directors: Diana Stewart-Imbert, K. Louise (Naomi) Arney, Jenny Lu, Joy Lin Salzberg, Jay Henrickson, Carolyn Ehman, Stephan Stewart-Imbert Sarah Hua, Winnie Meng & all our volunteers Pentâge Winery UBC Department of Theatre and Film

The VICO also extends heartfelt thanks to the following funders & community partners, without whose generous support the Festival would not be possible:

UBCMUSIC