The Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble is a group of musicians who play both traditional and modern Chinese music, from classical pieces to Jazz.
The Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble
The Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble have been performing together since the late 1980s. At the time, they were the first professional Chinese music organization in the country!
The group now consists of about ten different musicians. They are masters of traditional instruments including Chinese flutes, guitars, banjos and lute.
The Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble puts on a variety of performances, sharing ancient melodies passed down through generations as well as developing new music for traditional Chinese instruments. In fact, they have even been on international tours, bridging cultures all over the world. The ensemble also performs at local events in Metro Vancouver.
In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, the group hosted a couple of local concerts in May of 2024. Continue reading below for more information about the performances, or visit the Chinese Music Vancouver website for full details.
East of the Sun Concert
The East of the Sun concert was a mix of traditional Asian music with Western Jazz sounds. It’s a cultural celebration full of different harmonies and rhythms. The show featured live Jazz music, but with a twist. The songs were played on ancient Asian instruments!
The show featured Jasmine Jazz and SE:UM. The first group is made up of Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble members, also joined by the Jodi Proznick Trio. Meanwhile, SE:UM is a touring Korean Jazz group. Together, the two bands performed a remarkable fusion of different sounds and melodies.
Show Dates and Tickets
There were two East of the Sun concerts in May of 2024.
One took place at 7:30 pm on Friday, May 3rd. It was held at The Anvil Centre located at 777 Columbia Street in New Westminster. Tickets started at $19 for adults and $14 for students. The best seats cost $28 for adults and $23 for students.
The second show happened on the following day, so on Saturday, May 4th, in 2024. It also began at 7:30 pm, but at the ANNEX at 823 Seymour Street in Vancouver. General admission tickets for this show cost about $20 per person.
Click East of the Sun for tickets and full details about the two shows.
About Jasmine Jazz
Based in Vancouver, Jasmine Jazz is a group of musicians from the Vancouver Chinese Ensemble and the Jodi Proznick Trio. They play a variety of instruments, including guitar, bass and clarinet, in addition to suono, guzheng and erhu. Together, they blend Chinese folk melodies with modern Jazz sounds.
The group’s music is written by Jodi Proznick. Other members of Jasmine Jazz are Tristan Paxton, James Danderfer, Ji Rong Huang, Zhong Xi Wu and Sarah Yusha Tan. Also joining the group for the 2024 East of the Sun concert was guest artist Liam MacDonald.
For more information about Jasmine Jazz, visit the Chinese Music Vancouver website.
About SE:UM
SE:UM is a touring Korean Jazz quintet. Using trumpets, contrabass, Korean percussion and a variety of other instruments, the innovative group fuses traditional Korean music with Jazz. They play old folks tunes and also combine those sounds with religious rhythms.
Members of the group are Joon Lee, Jaeha Lee, Jongsang Park, Minhyung Lee and Hachul Song. The 2024 East of the Sun shows marked SE:UM’s first performances in Vancouver.
For an idea of what SE:UM and its music is like, check out the video below.
Other Information
For more information about the ensemble, visit the Chinese Music Vancouver website.
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