Together, Forte!
Harmonia String Ensemble
VANCOUVER ZION MISSION CHOIR
Feb 1st | 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
The Orpheum
These last two years have been difficult, and it is more important than ever for us to stand Together, Stronger. On February 1st, 2022, we have invited Vancouver Zion Mission Choir to perform alongside the Harmonia String Ensemble. Harmonia has always been a community-based orchestra, where people come together because of their shared love of music. This LunarFest, voices from different cultures are gathering to share stories, music, and culture. We invite you to join us, not just as a spectator, but as part of our community, in a Lunar New Year celebration like no other.
Programme
- Loving the Year Round
Composer: Yu-Shian Deng
Arranger: Che-Yi Lee - Ballad of the Fung-Yang Drum Dancer
Arranger: Che-Yi Lee - Last Spring
Composer: Edvard Grieg - The Four Seasons: Spring, 1st Movement
Composer: Antonio Vivaldi
Solo Violin: Dominic Woo - Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach - Tamborito
Composer: William Grant Still - Springtime Hills
Composer: Che-Yi Lee - Madrigal Sobre un Tema Popular: El Cant Dels Ocells
Composer: Xavier Montsalvatge
Soprano: Lydia Choi
Solo Cello: Sung Yong Lim - Baba Yetu (Swahili “The Lord’s Prayer”)
Composer: Chris Kiagiri
Music by: Christopher Tin
Soloists: Brian Lee, Youngju Kim
African Drum: Ransford Buah - Days of Elijah
Composer: Robin Mark
Arranger: Minjung Shin, Seeun Ha, Mina Cho
Korean Dancer: Yusun Min
Korean Janggu Drum: Kyungja Jo
Korean Kkwaenggwari Gong: Gonmin Song
Timpanist: Martin Fisk - Divertimento in D
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Arirang with Amazing Grace
Arranger: Sun Taek Lee
Korean dancer: Yusun Min
About the Artist
Harmonia String Ensemble
In 2004, Tony Lee brought together a group of enthusiastic string players to read orchestral music in his home. This became a frequent event at the Lee residence and soon, the group decided to perform concerts publicly.
The objective of the group is to play chamber works that are rarely performed by large symphonic orchestras. The music they play is usually composed for strings only, or for a classical orchestra which may include a limited number of wind instruments (typically 2 oboes and 2 horns).
Initially, a whimsical name was chosen for the ensemble – I Musici Sushi – to give the group a “West Coast flavour”. Under the I Musici Sushi banner, the ensemble held three or more concerts a year. Admission was by donation and the proceeds were donated to charities.
In late December 2018, the group’s name was officially changed to Harmonia and we continue to perform and raise money for charitable causes.
Vancouver Zion Mission Choir
The Vancouver Zion Mission Choir originated from within the Korean community in 1982 and has been an active ministry for over 40 years. Through its annual concert performance, the Zion Mission Choir, guided by the words of Christ to care for the poor, has been empowered lovingly serving the impoverished and marginalized all around the globe.
Fundraising through annual benefit concerts has enabled the VZMC to contribute towards various initiatives, including the World Famine Relief Fund, the Paraguay Orphanage Mission, First Steps Canada’s Soy Milk and Radios for North Korea Mission, and Global Aid Network’s Tanzanian Water Well Initiative. Most recently in January 2022, the VZMC participated virtually at the 10th Joseph Chung Scholarship Award Ceremony to congratulate all the recipients. In 2019, the choir organized a fundraiser for Pacific Autism Family Network to benefit a dental program for kids and adults with autism spectrum disorder at the Bell Performing Arts Centre in Surrey. In 2018, the VZMC supported Tsad Kadima’s Training Apartment Program for Young Adults with Severe Physical Disabilities in Israel. In 2017, the VZMC supported the Surrey Memorial Hospital to purchase a Radiofrequency Ablation system.
The Choir has also been honored to be invited to perform at the Palace of Korean President in the Blue House (2010), the Carnegie Hall in New York (2011) and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Canada (2013). Dr. Stephanie Chung is currently the Director and Conductor of the VZMC.
