Thursday, April 2 to Sunday April 5, 2026
The Annex & 8East, Vancouver
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The Sound of Dragon Society presents the 7th Sound of Dragon Music Festival and redefines Chinese music with ground-breaking cross-cultural programming in Vancouver’s biennial celebration of Asian sounds:
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1) Jade Emperor’s Great Race
Sound of Dragon Music Festival Day 1
Thursday, April 2, @8:00 pm
The Annex, 823 Seymour St, Vancouver
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To measure time, the Emperor held a race, awarding the first 12 animals to arrive with a corresponding year and creating the 12-year zodiac cycle. Toronto’s PhoeNX Ensemble will collaborate with Taiwan’s Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra to give the B.C. premiere of 14 works in the themes of the 12 animals and the Jade Emperor from award-winning Canadian and Asian composers: Dorothy Chang (BC), Bekah Simms (ON), Lan Tung (BC), Alexina Louie (ON), Vincent Ho (AB), Alice Ho (ON), Andrew Staniland (NFLD), Cecilia Heejeong Kim (Korea), Roydon Tse (SK), Emilie LeBel (AB), Sophie Dupuis (NB), Alfred Wong (Hong Kong), and John Oliver (BC).
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PhoxNE Ensemble (Toronto):
Patty Chan – erhu, Sanya Eng – harp, Ryan Scott – percussion
Vancouver guest Sungyong Lim – cello
Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (Taiwan):
Fu-Yun Teng – dizi, Chung-Chi Tsai – erhu, Fu-Hsuan Teng – pipa
Chih Sheng Chen – conductor
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2) Strum, Bow, Roar
Sound of Dragon Music Festival Day 2
Friday, April 3, @ 7:30 pm
The Annex, 823 Seymour St, Vancouver
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The Strum, Bow, Roar concert presents three Vancouver ensembles using instruments within the same family, either plucked strings, bowed strings, or winds. The ensembles bring together musicians and traditions from different cultures to explore the similarities and differences between their instruments and musical traditions. The featured composers include John Oliver, Farshid Samandari, Jin Zhang, Ali Razmi, Moshe Denburg, Elizabeth Knudson, Yawen Wang, and Amir Eslami.
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88 Strings: Dailin Hsieh – zheng, Joy Yeh – harp, John Oliver – guitar, Ali Razmi – tar
Vancouver Erhu Quartet: Lan Tung – erhu, Jun Rong – erhu, Parmela Attariwala – viola, Sungyong Lim – cello
Multicultural Wind Ensemble: Amir Eslami – ney, Zhongxi Wu – suona & sheng, Alcvin Ryūzen Ramos – shakuhachi, Charlie Lui– dizi, Hamin Honari – tombak & daf
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3) Encounter: Taiwan, Toronto, Vancouver
Sound of Dragon Music Festival Day 3
Saturday, April 4, @ 8:00 pm
The Annex, 823 Seymour St, Vancouver
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This concert brings together visiting musicians Taiwan’s Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra and Toronto’s PhoeNX Ensembleto collaborate with Vancouver musicians to perform music by Jerome Langlois (NL), Andrew Gosse (QC), Lan Tung (BC), Niel Golden (BC), Guadalupe Perales (Mexico), and Zhou Long (US/China). In addition, the JUNO-nominated Métis singer songwriter/composer Wayne Lavallee will collaborate with erhu player Lan Tung at this festival closing concert.
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PhoxNE Ensemble (Toronto):
Patty Chan – erhu, Sanya Eng – harp, Ryan Scott – percussion
Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (Taiwan):
Fu-Yun Teng – dizi, Chung-Chi Tsai – erhu, Fu-Hsuan Teng – pipa
Chih Sheng Chen – conductor
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Vancouver Musicians:
Mark McGregor – flute, Itamar Erez – guitar, Zhimin Yu – ruan, Dailin Hsieh – zheng, Jonathan Bernard – percussion, Sungyong Lim – cello, Lan Tung – erhu; special guest Wayne Lavallee – vocal
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4) Song of Joy Music Party (free)
Sound of Dragon Music Festival Day 4
Sunday, April 5, @ 2:00 pm
8East, 8 East Pender St, Vancouver
Co-presentaiton by the Sound of Dragon Society & the NOW Society
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Bring any musical instrument and join us at this hands-on “freestyle” music party. Musicians of all levels and genres are welcome. You will meet and play with musicians in our community, as well as the visiting musicians from Taiwan’s Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra.