>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

BLENDS ANCIENT INSTRUMENTS, TRADITIONS:Recent appearances include The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. (Photo courtesy of The Banff Centre).

"The three-member Orchid Ensemble has the ability to take you away."

— Vancouver Sun

LA GRANDE — Experience a unique performance of an innovative musical genre based on the cultural exchange between Western and Asian music traditions.

The Orchid Ensemble, from Vancouver, B.C., will perform April 29 as part of the EOU World Music Series. Sponsored by the Community School of the Arts, the concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in McKenzie Theatre, Loso Hall, EOU campus.

Tickets are $15, $8 students and seniors. Tickets are available at Sunflower Books and The EOU Bookstore.

"The Music Department is delighted to have a group of this caliber visit Eastern Oregon University, as part of our inaugural World Music Series," says John McKinnon, EOU music professor. "The intent of the series is to increase cultural awareness by exposing our students, and to a greater extent the community, to a variety of ‘sights and sounds' not often heard in Eastern Oregon.

"The Orchid Ensemble will transport the listener," he says, "with some of the most beautiful melodies in the world. This series hopes to use music as a way to experience the ‘worlds' that other people live in."

The ensemble blends ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and beyond, creating a beautiful new sound that is both creative and distinct.

The ensemble performs regularly in concerts across North America, and at prominent world, jazz and folk music festivals.

Recent appearances include The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; Canada Day Celebrations and the National Gallery in Ottawa; Vancouver International Jazz Festival; and at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.

Orchid Ensemble's leader is North Vancouver's Lan Tung, who has mastered the erhu, a two-string stick fiddle that is played while held on the lap. The instrument was introduced to China by the Mongolians in the Tang Dynasty (AD 598-906).

Tung studied in Taiwan before immigrating to Canada and joining the B.C. Chinese Orchestra as a featured soloist.

The other members of the ensemble are Mei Han on zheng and Jonathan Bernard on marimba and percussion.

Han is one of the world's leading authorities on the zheng, a half-tube zither with movable bridges that can be traced back to the Warring State Period of China's history. (475-221 BC)

Bernard is the principal percussionist with the Vancouver Island Symphony and has also performed with the Vancouver and Ottawa Orchestras, the National Ballet Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada.

Both Han and Bernard live in East Vancouver.

The ensemble has a variety of musical styles in its repertoire. They range from the traditional and contemporary music of China, world music, new music to jazz and creative improvisation.

The energetic yet endearing performance style of the ensemble consistently receives standing ovations. Acclaimed as "One of the brightest blossoms on the world music scene" (Georgia Straight), the Orchid Ensemble has been tirelessly developing an innovative musical genre based on the cultural exchange between Western and Asian musicians.

The Orchid Ensemble regularly collaborates with musicians from a variety of world cultures and commissions new works by Canadian and U.S. composers for its unique instrumentation.