{"id":100208,"date":"2023-11-03T14:22:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T18:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=100208"},"modified":"2023-11-03T14:22:04","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T18:22:04","slug":"interview-violinist-angel-wang-talks-canadian-chinese-society-arts-upcoming-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/11\/03\/interview-violinist-angel-wang-talks-canadian-chinese-society-arts-upcoming-concert\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Violinist Angel Wang Talks About The Canadian Chinese Society For The Arts Upcoming Concert"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Angel
Angel Wang (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Violinist Angel Wang will be the soloist in a concert titled Phoenix Rising. The performance on December 2 will be presented at Koerner Hall by the Canadian Chinese Society for the Arts, an organization Wang founded.<\/p>\n

East and West meet in a programme that includes a traditional Chinese work, a new commission from Chinese Canadian composer Alice Ping Yee Ho, and selections from the Mahler’s Symphony No 2, The Resurrection, and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliette Suite.<\/p>\n

It represents a global perspective on the notion of classical music, one that Angel feels strongly about.<\/p>\n

The Interview<\/h2>\n

Angel Wang is a concert violinist who\u2019s performed in both Canada and China, and her roots in music go back to her childhood.<\/p>\n

The terms classical music is most often presumed to include the Western style with European roots. There is, however, a large body of Chinese classical music, along with contemporary music that takes inspiration from both traditions.<\/p>\n

Western classical music in China<\/h3>\n

Angel had the opportunity to witness the growth of Western classical music traditions in her native China, both in the past, and during her frequent visits. \u201cIn the past ten years I would say, noticeably,\u201d she notes of the increase in interest, particularly in younger children (and their parents), resulting in a great demand for education in piano and strings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are really enthusiastic for this education in their life.\u201d The big stars of the classical music world are putting Chinese venues on their concert tours, along with the rise of local stars like Lang Lang and Yuja Wang.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have built so many new classical music halls and theatres,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n

East & West<\/h3>\n

\u201cFor me, my father taught me at the very beginning,\u201d she says. She says her father was a talented amateur musician who taught himself to play five different instruments. Angel began with the erhu, a \u2014 a traditional two-stringed bowed instrument.<\/p>\n

Eventually, she came to Canada. \u201cI came here to study,\u201d she says. After graduating from the Royal Conservatory, she was offered a teaching position.<\/p>\n

The traditional Chinese music her father had introduced her remains a strong influence. \u201cIt’s still ringing in my head,\u201d she laughs. \u201cIt’s always a dream for me to arrange it for a Western kind of orchestra format.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel formed the Canadian Chinese Society for the Arts with the goal of blending both. \u201cThat was back in 2016,\u201d she recalls, \u201cand that was something always in my mind.\u201d She wanted to bring the traditions together in a concert that showcased both Chinese and Western classical music.<\/p>\n

The organization began simply, with a goal of presenting concerts. \u201cWe spent quite a bit of time to find a proper name.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CCSA presented its first concert in 2017, titled From Vienna to Beijing to Hollywood, included music from Mozart, Tchaikovsky, movies, and Chinese traditional songs. \u201cThe first concert was sold out,\u201d she said. \u201cIt gave us a lot of encouragement to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The successful pattern has continued. One of the orchestra\u2019s highlights was a 2019 tour to Beijing. \u201cWe got invited by the Beijing Government to participate in an international festival,\u201d she says. \u201cWe were quite honoured. I brought a 42-piece orchestra back to Beijing.\u201d The performance took place in the Beijing Concert Hall. \u201cThe audience was very passionate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Angel
Angel Wang (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Concert<\/h3>\n

The concert on December 2 in Toronto takes its title from the work for solo violin and orchestra that was commissioned from composer Alice Ping Yee Ho. \u201cTo us, it’s a dream to play a commissioned work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Angel says she always had Ho in mind. \u201cAlice’s work takes its inspiration from the Chinese myth of the phoenix,\u201d she says. The theme of rebirth after adversity resonates. \u201cIt’s a parallel with our own times. We survived.\u201d<\/p>\n

He Zhan Hao and Chen Gang\u2019s Butterfly Lovers Concerto is also on the programme. The music comes from a Chinese legend very similar to Shakespeare\u2019s Romeo and Juliet. The young lovers, in this case, turn into butterflies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a very well known piece of music. It was originally written as a traditional Chinese folk opera,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was turned into a violin concerto, and became a huge hit in China.\u201d Traditional Chinese instruments accompany the introduction to the piece. It\u2019s also a substantial piece. \u201cIt’s 30 minutes long. It’s a big concerto.\u201d She\u2019ll be performing a 17-minute excerpt. \u201cIt’s very powerful, it’s beautiful, it’s romantic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conductor Claudio Vena is also a composer and musician, formerly the electric violist\/mandolinist with the progressive rock group FM. He has conducted at the Royal Conservatory, and as music director of the Canadian Chinese Society for the Arts (CCSA) Orchestra. He has worked as composer\/musician\/sound design for the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, as well as The Canadian Stage Company, and written music for Quartetto Gelato, among others.<\/p>\n

Angel is grateful to be able to work with the Toronto\u2019s deep talent pool in the realm of orchestral music to make up the member of the CCSA Orchestra. \u201cThere are a lot of wonderful, wonderful musicians in town,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s an honour to work with so many talented musicians. I feel happy because they are very supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, it\u2019s about the music.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to be a bridge between two cultures, to lead to understanding via beautiful music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets and more information [HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/p>\n

Are you looking to promote an event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em>HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Violinist Angel Wang will be the soloist in a concert titled Phoenix Rising, blending repertoire from Western classical and traditional Chinese music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":100210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40430,76,18,19,875,4967,29,38,4557,63,72],"tags":[40865,40866],"yst_prominent_words":[33214,16457,34370,34368,6715,14729,6616,14728,33215,34371,22182,23095],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/Copy-of-CRITICS-PICKS-12.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-q4g","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100208"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100208"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100212,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100208\/revisions\/100212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100208"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=100208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}