Family: East West Style
Gerard Yun, director
Featuring guest artist Wen Zhao, pipa virtuosa
Wendy Wen Zhao is an internationally acclaimed pipa virtuoso, has presented numerous solos and concerto concerts throughout Canada. Born in Beijing, Wen began to study the pipa at the age of seven, eventually winning the first prize at Beijing Youth National Instrument Competition in 1985. After completing her Conservatory study with the renowned pipa master Wang Fan Di in Beijing, she continued her musical career in England, performing and teaching Chinese music throughout the U.K. She lives in Toronto since 1997, and teaches Pipa at both the Royal Conservatory of Music and York University in Toronto.
For the past years, Wen has toured worldwide; including Asia, Europe, Canada and the US, and played solo performance at major ethnic music festivals, at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, UK, Toronto Roy Thomson hall, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong international festivals. In recent years she has collaborated with some world top Western orchestras include Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony and the Toronto Consort. She is especially honored to be one of the featured solo artists for the CBC award-winning documentary film The Four Seasons Mosaic. Her masterful playing deeply impressed the audience and was highly acclaimed by the media: BBC, CBC, OMNI TV all broadcast her in concert, The Toronto Star described her as “Wen Zhao, a virtuoso player who displayed her dexterity and percussive skills on Pipa.”
The Dark Horse Ensemble
Free admission--all are welcome.