The Firehall Arts Centre and the Vancouver Independent Music Centre are pleased to present, Music in the Courtyard, a summer music series that will occur on weekends, July 30 to September 5. Performances will take place Fridays and Saturdays 7:00pm, and Sundays at 3:00pm (with the exception of the performance on Sunday, August 1, which will take place at 7:00pm). Additional concerts may be held on week days and will be announced when the details are confirmed.

Haram at 7 pm on Saturday, July 31 and the C.R. Avery Orchestra at 7 pm on Saturday, August 7 are presented in partnership with the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.

Peggy Lee is our guest curator for three concerts: Gentle Party at 7 pm on Sunday, August 1, Alvaro Rojas’ Gran Kasa at 7 pm on Friday, September 3 and Handmade Blade at 7 pm on Saturday, September 4 for the series.

Tickets, sliding scale: $20-40. Click HERE to purchase tickets.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, Creative BC, Sound On, the City of Vancouver, and the Elsie and Audrey Jang Fund, held at the Vancouver Foundation. We also acknowledge the support of BC Community Gaming through the Firehall Arts Centre; deeply appreciate our presentation partners, the Firehall Arts Centre and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and thank all of our donors and volunteers for making this series come true. Firehall Courtyard mural image, Radius, courtesy of the Creative Cultural Collaborations Society.
 

Friday, July 30, 7 pm
M’Girl
Percussive hand drum songs that blend harmonies to reflect their cultural practice and personal journeys

Renae Morriseau, Michelle Bardach, Sherryl Sewepegaham: vocals, drums
Beaver Thomas: guitar

M’Girl is an ensemble of Indigenous women with stories and songs on the gifts received from Mother Earth. Though officially performing for over 15 years, their musical histories and cultural practice spans throughout each of their lives. Their hand drum songs blend harmonies into a contemporary style that reflects their expertise of voice and their personal story of home. They are honoured to share their songs on the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Their Music in the Courtyard performance will include one set of traditional songs and a second set of both traditional and guitar songs with covers and original music.

mgirlmusic.ca 

Saturday, July 31, 7 pm
Haram – presented in partnership with the Vancouver Folk Music Festival
Arabic/Avant-garde ensemble mixing wild abandon with lyrical time-tested melodies, which are blown wide open with the inclusion of noise, electronic soundscape, and free improvisation

Gordon Grdina: oud, guitar / Francois Houle: clarinet / Jesse Zubot: violin / JP Carter: trumpet / Chris Kelly: sax / Emad Armoush: vocals, ney / Tommy Babin: bass / Kenton Loewen: drums / Liam MacDonald: riq / Tim Gerwing: darbuka

Juno Award winner Gordon Grdina formed the ensemble Haram in 2008 to interpret classic Arabic repertoire.  Starting with Iraqi folk music and the great era of Egyptian radio music when Oum Khalsoum and Farid Al Atrash reigned, they have since expanded to include classic Sudanese and Persian repertoire. The pieces are lovingly reinterpreted with an ensemble half studied in the tradition and half in avant-garde improvisation. This blend of traditions is what gives Haram its unique sound. By combining improvisation and arrangements, the band keeps alive the spirit and Tarab inherent in the compositions. The music has developed into a state of effortless cohesion mixed with wild abandon conjuring up a sense of respect and homage while being explosively self-expressive.  Haram is a powerhouse ensemble playing a repertoire that has been revered by millions.

haram.bandcamp.com

Sunday, August 1, 7 pm
Gentle Party +
Lush, mischievous, “achingly beautiful” soundscapes and harmonies

Meredith Bates: violin 
Elisa Thorn: harp
Jessicka: voice

This Music in the Courtyard appearance will include the musical projects of the members of Gentle Party. Gentle Party is an avant chamber pop ensemble described as “lush and somewhat mischievous, yet shimmering with melancholy” (Dave O Rama, BC Musician Magazine). Jessicka’s hauntingly evocative voice rests on a sumptuous bed of luscious processed strings emanating from harpist, Elisa Thorn, and violinist, Meredith Bates.

If Not Now is multiple award-winning violinist Meredith Bates’ solo project featuring “achingly beautiful string harmonies that slowly advance and retreat, like breathing” (Mary Dickie, MusicWorks). The Years In Between uses harp, voice, and electronics, which Elisa Thorn weaves together through song-writing, improvisation, and soundscape to create a rich tapestry of sound she likes to call “pretty shred.” Power Squeezer, the eclectic experimental duo of Elisa Thorn and Meredith Bates, has been enthralling audiences since its inception with music that washes over you in waves of dramatic intensity and peaceful reflection.

gentleparty.com

Friday, August 6, 7 pm
Microcosmos
String Quartet Masterworks: Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden and Thomas Adès’ Arcadiana

Marc Destrubé: violin
Andrea Siradze: violin
Tawnya Popoff: viola
Rebecca Wenham: cello

Microcosmos, formed in Vancouver in 2010, performs from the rich string quartet repertoire written in the past 100 years. They harness the intimacy of a string quartet to present some of the greatest music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Aside from the quartet’s ‘house’ concerts, they have been guests on series such as Music on Main’s lauded ‘Cellar’ series, Vancouver Pro Musica’s ‘Further’ Series, and ‘Speaking in Ligeti,’ a collaboration with MMHop Productions and four dancers that toured to Halifax and Ottawa. “Thank you for learning and programming these wonderful pieces! It is truly wonderful to be able to communicate the beauty and excitement of these pieces at all” (Martin Reisle, composer)
.

microcosmosquartet.com

Saturday, August 7, 7 pm
The C.R. Avery Orchestra – presented in partnership with the Vancouver Folk Music Festival
“a creative avalanche…one has to remember to breathe through it all” (Shane Koyczan)

Elyse Jacobson: violin one 
Shannon Scott: keyboard, vocals, yuke 
Molly MacKinnon: violin two 
Ross Fairbairn: upright bass, vocals 
John Kastelic: viola
Doug Gorkoff: cello
C.R. Avery: vocals, harmonica 

what men do with their mouths (Bio for c.r avery by P. Smith)
cue the frenzied combo of molar and spit.
his tongue touches every chroma on its way to blue. he’s been rinsing with gravel, flossing with wire and chewing brick again, he’s been a bad, bad boy.
but he is crackerjack conjurer of washboards and rubber, even suburb girls welcome the twinging. i want to nibble yesterday’s corona from his chin, rub my index finger along the surface of his laugh, pull the maw open to check the slick road of his throat.
there’s something illegal going on down there, the sweet keening of ancient instruments. the orchestra is fidgety, click-hipped, steaming inside that skin.
the boy opens the beauteous and, in gut rendering, words become both otherwise and everything.

cravery.com

Sunday, August 8, 3 pm
Only a Visitor
Vocal-driven Art Pop / Indie. Deceptively catchy, poetry-forward songs

Robyn Jacob: synth/keys, vocals
Emma Postl: vocals
Celina Kurz: vocals
Jeff Gammon: bass
Kevin Romain: drums

Described by CBC Music as one of 10 Vancouver acts to watch, Only A Visitor is a quintet that resists being bound and exists in an estuary of sound informed by art music and pop. Classically trained composer and arranger Robyn Jacob’s eclectic songwriting showcases vocal techniques and arrangements that feature subtle asymmetrical rhythms twisted around a pop skeleton. Joined in 2015 by drummer Kevin Romain, bassist Jeff Gammon, and singers Emma Postl and Celina Kurz, Only A Visitor has released three recordings and with composer Nancy Tam co-produced Double Happiness: Detour This Way, a docu-song cycle exploring the complexities of the Chinese diaspora using material from their 2019 album Technicolour Education. They are currently preparing their next release Decay, which will be released in early 2022.

onlyavisitor.com

Friday, August 13, 7 pm
Murray Porter: piano
Soulful blues piano man from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory

Blues Man Murray Porter’s music career has taken him all over the world for the last 40 years. Murray may have a blues soul to the core, but he also grew up on rock and roll, R & B and country music. Porter’s love of performing comes across clear and strong. He has been compared to Dr. John, Joe Cocker and even Elton John! He captivates audiences wherever he performs and he makes new fans and they never leave his show disappointed. He’s a proud Mohawk man from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in southern Ontario, who now lives on Squamish Nation unceded territory in North Vancouver, BC.

“a master bluesman” (Robbie Robertson).

murrayporter.ca

Saturday, August 14, 7 pm
Mohamed Assani Trio
Assani is known for his innovative, genre-defying approach to the sitar, stretching the boundaries of the instrument.

Mohamed Assani: sitar
Jeans Le Doujet: electric bass
Liam MacDonald: drums, percussion

Mohamed Assani is an award-winning sitar player and composer, known for being a proactive ambassador for his rich musical tradition. He has brought the sitar to new audiences through innovative, genre-bending collaborations. Mohamed has performed Hindustani classical music as well as his own original music across the globe — with orchestras, string quartets, hip hop artists, DJs, world music ensembles, jazz artists, Indian & Pakistani classical artists — and as a soloist. Trained in both Indian/Pakistani and Western Classical music, his music-making seamlessly draws from different genres and cultures with depth and authenticity. He forges new paths while remaining committed to the rich roots from which his tradition has emerged. “Assani is both a musician who’s deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of South Asia and a one-of-a-kind innovator” (Georgia Straight).

mohamedassani.bandcamp.com/album/wayfinder

Sunday, August 15, 3 pm
Tonye Aganaba
Their music is connected and intimate; a kind of vulnerability that we all hunger for.

Tonye Aganaba is a queer and non-binary multidisciplinary artist, musician, and facilitator residing on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Their new album Something Comfortable is an intentional and devotional endeavour inspired by their battle with Multiple Sclerosis. The album serves as the score to ‘AfroScience’ an immersive performance and workshop series fusing live music, dance, visual art/digital media and storytelling to stimulate conversation and action around identity, addiction, healing, public health, and expression.

tonyemusic.com

Friday, August 20, 7 pm
Ad Mare with guest artist Julia Nolan
Stellar woodwind quintet performs a great spectrum of repertoire across genres and epochs

Julia Nolan (guest artist): saxophone
Marea Chernoff: oboe
Sophie Dansereau: bassoon
Christopher Lee: clarinet
Mark McGregor: flute
Andrew Mee: horn

Founded by clarinetist AK Coope and bassoonist Sophie Dansereau, Ad Mare specializes in performing rich and unusual musical programs, entertaining educational concerts, and new compositions and commissions. Alongside the standard wind quintet works they perform new compositions, promote local Canadian composers and are regular guests at popular concert series around British Columbia. They regularly present new compositions in the Vancouver Pro Musica annual festival Sonic Boom and they had the honour of being the only group invited to simultaneously perform live on CBC’s West Coast Performance and Radio-Canada’s Les musiciens du dimanche programs.

admarequintet.com

Saturday, August 21, 7 pm
The History of Gunpowder
Blues-inspired orchestrated chaos with an experimental tendency; Tom Waits meets Mars Volta meets Nick Cave

Alex Morison: vocals, guitar
Katie Stewart: violin
Mike W.T. Allen: saxophones
Nikko Whitworth: bass
Nik Focht: drums, samples
Cole Tinney: keys, synths
Bradshaw Pack: pedal steel
Jen Davidson: tenor sax, vocals

The History of Gunpowder is a freak-out ensemble from Montreal, now based in Vancouver, with an ever-changing cast of members that put on unpredictable, chaotic live shows. A staple of the Canadian live scene, The History is devoted to constantly pushing the envelope on stage and in the studio and has built a community around them that consists of some of the best musicians in Canada. They are set to release a string of live-videos from quarantine and works from a residency project of compositions centered around a 19th century pipe organ in anticipation of their upcoming record, The Epileptic Vol. II, supported with a 2022 European Tour. The group’s line up is expanding to reach new musical heights along with a different featured artist that makes an appearance every show, ensuring a unique experience every time they hit the stage. 

thehistoryofgunpowder.bandcamp.com

Sunday, August 22, 3 pm
Rumba Calzada
Eclectic, powerful mix of salsa, jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms

Raphael Geronimo: timbales, drums, bongo, vocal
Allan Johnston: bass, vocal 
Lou Mastroianni: keyboard
Rolo Preza: congas, vocal
Rod Murray: trombone, percussion
Tristan Paxton: guitar

Rumba Calzada’s countless tours, festivals and sold out shows across Canada, the US, Malaysia and Philippines has set the standard for excellence for authentic Latin Jazz and Salsa music. Originally formed in 1991 by Boying Geronimo and now headed by his son, Raphael Geronimo, the band has recorded four albums with an array of nominations, including a Juno Award (2002 World Music Album of the Year), Westcoast Music Awards (2002 Outstanding World Recording of the Year) and Canadian Independent Music Awards (2002 Best Global Album). With airplay and media praise around the globe, Rumba Calzada is gearing up for more shows and recordings, with an all-new album planned for 2021. “This one stays in the CD player. A classic” (Descarga.com, New York).

rumbacalzada.com

Friday, August 27, 7 pm
Quatuor André Lachance
Music shaped by jazz and informed by pop, prog rock and improvised analog electronic music

André Lachance: guitar
Brad Turner: Rhodes, piano
Chris Gestrin: Moog synth
Joel Fountain: drums

Quatuor André Lachance’s approach is electric, improvised and in the moment. The blend of acoustic and electric instruments creates a wide range of energy, dynamics and exchanges in the music. It is the coming together of four strong voices, old friends and the sum of their experiences in the music world, for a truly unique group sound that references jazz, prog rock, fusion as well as funk and electric ambient textures. Their music includes original compositions by André, as well as groove-oriented and ambient improvisations. The group was founded in 2010 and nominated for best jazz artist at the 2017 Western Canadian Music Awards for its album “The Orange Challenge.” A second album is due for release at the end of 2021.

andrelachance.com

Saturday, August 28, 7 pm
Electronica Night
An evening of progressive electronica with three of Vancouver’s most exciting performers

x41: ambient

Jen Pearson has been an electronic music producer, promoter and dj for over 20 years. In the 90s she started with an online radio station, created experimental jungle in the early 2000s, then moved into dark ambient and most recently she’s an active dj in the underground scene. She has played live sets at festivals including Mutek (Montreal), Decibel (Seattle), Active/Passive (Galiano Island) and Communikey (Boulder).
kikimora.bandcamp.com

Hitori Tori: breakcore

Julian La Brooy has a handful of electronic music releases on labels such as Peace Off Records, Concrete Collage and Occult Research Records. He has worked closely with Vancouver New Music Society (VNM) and over the past several years Hitori Tori has toured Japan, Europe and played improvised sets at the Manitoba Electronic Music Exhibition.
hitoritor1.bandcamp.com

Sara Gold: drone

Sara is a non binary experimental interdisciplinary film maker and sound artist operating on unceded Coast Salish Territories. Utilizing No-input mixing, an experimental noise technique, Sara weaves circuits by routing cables in various ways into large format vintage analog console mixers creating self generating feedback loops that can be controlled. This is saturated with a layer of 1/4 inch reel to reel magnetic tape delay to create a warm yet strange journey.
saragold.ca

Sunday, August 29, 3 pm
Brad Turner Quartet
Internationally recognized Vancouver quartet of keen, intuitive and skilled masters of jazz

Brad Turner: trumpet
André Lachance: bass
Bruno Hubert: piano
John Lee: drums

Formed 28 years ago, the Brad Turner Quartet has been a mainstay on the Vancouver jazz scene, and has garnered national and international attention as an ensemble of keen interactive sense, formidable improvisational skills with a strong and varied repertoire gathered over their years together as a group. The individual members of the quartet have performed and/or recorded with such artists as Lee Konitz, Dave Douglas, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Renee Rosnes, Joe Lovano, Michael Moore, Mino Cinelu, Ingrid Jensen, Gary Bartz, Harold Mabern, Seamus Blake, Peggy Lee, Achim Kaufmann, and Charles MacPherson . The Brad Turner Quartet has released eight recordings, and has been nominated for Juno awards three times, most recently for their 2019 release “Jump Up”.

Friday, September 3, 7 pm
Alvaro Rojas’ Gran Kasa
A 70s prog band, a salsa band and a string quartet going on a road trip together

Meredith Bates: violin
Peggy Lee: cello
Chris Gestrin: piano, keyboards
Alvaro Rojas: guitar
James Meger: bass
Sam Cartwright: drums
Liam MacDonald: percussion

Alvaro Rojas is an award-winning guitarist and composer based in Vancouver BC. His latest recording, Gran Kasa, features an all-star lineup of some of Canada’s finest musicians in the jazz, improv and world music. Gran Kasa combines elements of Afro-Peruvian rhythm and form with Alvaro’s own unique approach to melody, harmony, texture and sound. It’s a forward thinking project that puts old and new together in an intense and exciting musical experience. As a composer, Alvaro has had works performed by many of Canada’s finest new music groups and he has written music for choir, big band, orchestra, chamber groups, small ensembles and has scored numerous short films.

alvarorojasmusic.bandcamp.com

Saturday, September 4, 7 pm
Handmade Blade
Striking and explosive improvisations and compositions from three musicians with a huge sonic palette

JP Carter: trumpet, electronics
Aram Bajakian: electric guitar
Peggy Lee: cello

Each member of this trio contributes compositions that launch striking and explosive improvisations. This small group has a huge sonic palette and great energy. In addition to collaborating with Dumb Instrument Dance, the trio has performed at numerous venues in Vancouver and in May 2016 made their US debut at Constellation in Chicago for the Chicago String Summit. The group has produced one recording: 3 interpretations of guitarist Aram Bajakian’s Dolphy Formations.

Sunday, September 5, 3 pm
Alpha Yaya Diallo
Guinean born singer-guitarist who’s earned a matchless reputation for the excellence of his musicianship and the excitement of his live shows

Alpha Yaya Diallo: guitar, vocals
Etienne Mangala: bass guitar
Knowledge Mizoni: drums

Guitarist and singer Alpha Yaya Diallo, from Guinea in West Africa, is one of the hottest acts on the world music scene. His dexterous acoustic and electric guitar-playing, with its fluid melodic lines and compelling grooves, places him in the front ranks of African axemen. By successfully uniting the traditional and the contemporary in African music, Diallo has carved out a niche beside such luminaries as Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Youssou N’Dour, and Mory Kante. He has recorded eight highly-acclaimed albums, many of them nominated for or winning JUNO awards. With Doy doy, his latest release, Diallo takes his art to new heights. Always seeking new territories to explore while at the same time respecting his roots, Alpha Yaya Diallo is one of the most inspired and inspirational world music artists performing anywhere.

alphayayadiallo.com

VIM Online!
An evening of performances and interviews with five local music talents
Kimmortal, Marina Hasselberg, Tariq, Tzo’kam and Venetta
Hosts: Jo Hirabayashi and John Korsrud
December 3, 2020, 7pm

Facebook and Youtube
Free registration: https://vimonline.eventbrite.ca

On December 3, join the Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society for an evening of performances and interviews on youtube and facebook!

Please support local music by donating to the Vancouver Independent Music Centre: https://bit.ly/3pIjH0s

With (by order of appearance):

Kimmortal
Kimmortal is a queer non-binary filipinx musician (poet, rapper, singer), visual artist and creative facilitator who is passionate about making and using art and music to empower, educate, and activate community engagement and healing. Kimmortal is a talented artist who combines hip hop, indie, electronic, and experimental into a powerful mix of raw vocals, imaginative instrumentation, and powerful storytelling. They released their most recent album “X marks the Swirl” in 2019 which was longlisted for a Polaris and recognized as top 19 albums of 2019 via CBC. In 2020 Kimmortal was nominated in the Hip Hop and Rap category of Breakout West Music Awards.

Marina Hasselberg
Award-winning cellist Marina Hasselberg’s musical career led her from her birth country of Portugal across the world to Vancouver’s eclectic music scene. Starting as a chamber musician with a strong background in classical music, her passion quickly expanded into baroque music, experimental music, improvisation, and interdisciplinary works that cross all genre boundaries, taking her on a path to perform with various orchestras, ensembles, theatre, dance and film productions, mimes and calligraphers, noise bands, and improvised music groups. In early 2021, Marina will be releasing her debut album featuring written and improvised music for solo cello and electronics, and small ensembles featuring guest improvisers Jesse Zubot, Aram Bajakian, Kenton Loewen, Giorgio Magnanensi, and François Houle.

Tariq
Tariq is a Juno nominated singer/songwriter and recording artist, also a member of the critically acclaimed Vancouver band, Brasstronaut. His latest, “Telegrams,” is his sixth full-length solo release. Tariq is also a nonfiction writer whose essays on song craft have appeared in Walrus Magazine. He is currently working on a memoir about growing up as a first-generation Canadian kid who dreams of playing in a rock n’ roll band.

Tzo’kam
Tzo’kam means “chickadee” and “visitors are coming” in the Stl’atl’imx language. Flora Wallace and her family have always sung together, but the family decided in 1997 to expand their efforts to share the culture. It did not take long for Tzo’kam to start performing, touring and recording. Tzo’kam, under the direction of Russell Wallace since the death of the founder, lead singer and family matriarch Flora Wallace, continues to work within their communities to teach, share and maintain a tradition that has been kept alive by dedicated elders.

Venetta
Venetta is the co-founder of NuZi Collective, an events, and music collective focused on uplifting black & brown women, trans women & gender non-conforming individuals within the Vancouver electronic music scene through music initiatives & community engagement and empowerment. She is committed to reclaiming the black & brown roots of electronic dance music and creating black political spaces as a source of empowerment. Venetta has quickly become an important DJ and voice in Vancouver’s thriving underground dance music scene, and her blend of techno, electro, acid (and beyond) is starting to make waves outside of Vancouver. She is also the founder and executive director of the Vancouver Black Therapy & Advocacy Fund, a non-profit foundation aiming to connect Black Vancouver residents with mental health resources such as free therapy.  

Jo Hirabayashi (host)
Jo Hirabayashi is a musician, producer/composer and videographer living on the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Jo operates creatively under the moniker jo passed 平林 which, under the project name sometimes referred to as a “band,” has released two EPs and one LP on internationally renowned label Sub Pop records in 2018. Jo has directed music videos for artists Kokoro Dance, Debra-Jean Creelman and many others.

John Korsrud (host)
VIM  Board Member John Korsrud is a composer, producer and trumpet player based in Vancouver, Canada. He is the leader and principal composer of the 18-piece Hard Rubber Orchestra, a jazz/ new music ensemble he formed in 1990. As a composer, John performed on his own trumpet concerto, Come to the Dark Side, at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2010, commissioned and performed by The American Composers Orchestra. John has also been commissioned by The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The CBC Radio Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble and Vancouver New Music. As a trumpet player, John’s eclecticism has seen him perform with Anthony Braxton, to punk legends DOA, and The Vancouver Symphony.

Poster design: Big Wave Design / John Endo Greenaway

Videos: shot at and produced by KW Studios.

Located in the Woodward’s Heritage building at 111 West Hastings Street in the traditional lands of the x?m??k??y??m (Musqueam), S?l?ílw?ta? (Tsleil-Watuth), Stó:l?, Shíshálh (Sechelt) and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nations of the Coast Salish peoples (Vancouver). KW studios are multipurpose production/performance spaces available to rent to the public with a mandate to support low-income, non-profit, indigenous and DTES artists. The spaces consist of a 1,051 sq. ft. dance studio on the main floor, and a 3,802 sq. ft. production studio with attached recording studio, dressing room and servery in the basement.  Both spaces feature harlequin vinyl sprung dance floors, lights and lighting grid, recording / live sound gear, projector and screen, green screen and a full outlining curtain track.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada, FACTOR and Canada’s private radio broadcasters, and the city of Vancouver.

Open Up!

A Conversation on Sustainable Models and Strategies for a  Music Centre

Tuesday, September 18, 2018, 7-9pm

Creekside Community Centre, Multi-Purpose Room 4

1 Athletes Way, Vancouver – This is an accessible venue

Free admission (limited space, free registration at openup.eventbrite.ca)

Our third conversation event is a chance to reflect on the studies and work VIM has undertaken over the last seven years, and to look at the road ahead. On July 12, the City of Vancouver approved the re-zoning of the Plaza of Nations to include a music presentation centre.

The Conversation on Tuesday, September 18 will enable public feedback on the current plans and to discuss challenges and opportunities as we begin to focus plans for the development of an exciting music hub at the Plaza of Nations.

The Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society  (VIM House) was created in July 2011 by a coalition of musicians, music presenters and managers who support the planning and development of a purpose built, culturally diverse, affordable and accessible music centre. This not-for-profit, charitable organization has undertaken a series of studies to determine the need for and feasibility of a new state-of-the art venue that will suit the needs of the local music community and Vancouver residents and visitors.

The vision for VIM House is to showcase the incredible diversity and wealth of music in Vancouver, as well as to host performers from around the world; to create a place where musicians and artists from different genres and cultures will meet one another, share ideas and experiences and develop new musical collaborations.

Vancouver has produced some of the best musicians in the world and is home to a growing population eager for music of all kinds, yet is lacking the creative hub for music that can be found in many cities. As plans move forward to include a music presentation/creation venue in the vision for Northeast False Creek, VIM House is looking to engage the community in a series of discussions exploring sustainable models and strategies for this future venue.

Listen Up!

A Conversation Series on Sustainable Models and Strategies for a Vancouver Music Centre

Volume 2: Splendor Amsterdam: a model that works
Featuring two of Splendor’s founding members, David Dramm and Anne Laberge
plus business manager, Norm van Dartel from Amsterdam
Saturday, July 28, 2018, 2-4 pm
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre at SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver – This is an accessible venue

****please enter through the courtyard off Cordova St, Hastings St entrance will be closed for construction****

Free admission (limited space, free registration at listenup2.eventbrite.ca), reception to follow

The second conversation of Listen Up! dives into artist driven spaces to tell the story of Splendour Amsterdam, presented by co-founders David Dramm and Anne la Berge, and business manager Norman van Dartel. Founded in 2010 by 50 musicians and their public, Splendor now has over 1200 registered audience members, presents over 300 events annually, and is considered an alternative central-nervous-system for Dutch music. The evening promises to open doors and minds to the possibilities for live music now and in the future.

In response to the loss of grassroots venues worldwide, a trend is underway to explore new ways to make arts and cultural organizations more resilient by improving their business models and developing their long-term strategic and innovation capacities. One of the most unique initiatives for the live music industry is Splendor Amsterdam (splendoramsterdam.com). Reclaiming the territory between maker, performer and the public, Splendor is a meeting place, club, laboratory and venue. Vancouver’s music visionaries and supporters are invited to take an inside look at the space and its organizational structure through an interactive presentation and lively conversation. Moderated by Vancouver-based writer, musician and organizer Barbara Adler,
audiences will explore Splendor’s innovative approaches to sustainability, financial models, collective thinking, and the challenge of running a musician-run venue without “programmers”. After four years, what has worked and what hasn’t?

Listen Up!

A Conversation Series on Sustainable Models and Strategies for a Vancouver Music Centre

Volume 1: Introducing Our Acoustical Design Book

 Featuring Larry Tedford (San Francisco) and Donald Luxton (Vancouver)

 Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 7-9 pm

The Startup Studio at The Post at 750

#110 – 750 Hamilton Street, Vancouver

Free admission (limited space, free registration at vimlistenup.eventbrite.ca, reception to follow)

“Prescriptive design criteria might work; strategic, performance-based design

 focusing on people will work.” – Larry Tedford

Vancouver has produced some of the best musicians in the world and is home to a growing population eager for music of all kinds, yet is lacking the creative hub for music that can be found in many cities. As plans move forward to include a music presentation/creation venue in the vision for Northeast False Creek, VIM House is looking to engage the music community in a series of discussions exploring sustainable models and strategies for this future venue. The first in this Conversation Series will feature a session on acoustics design, presented by Larry Tedford (San Francisco), the lead consultant on the development of the VIM House Acoustical Design Book. The conversation will be moderated by Donald Luxton, author of our 2014 Feasibility Study which outlined the vision and development of VIM House.

Mr. Tedford will present the strategy which was developed over three 2 day visits to Vancouver in 2014-2015. Tedford, along with Denis Blount and Peter Dodds, met with musicians, music presenters, sound technicians and production staff, and visited 11 Vancouver venues where music is presented. Workshops were held with key stakeholders to share their experience and explore various technical requirements that would affect the acoustical performance of the proposed venues.

The VIM House Acoustic Design Book is based on their research and expertise, information and feedback from the Vancouver sessions as well as previous VIM House studies and consultation, and further detailed review by key music community participants and stakeholders. The Acoustic Design Book will provide the basis for the design of the purpose-built music centre which will contain a main venue for a wide range of music, and a secondary venue more focused on creative and interdisciplinary projects, educational presentations, workshops and intimate concerts.

Listen Up! A Conversation Series consists of talks to review the planning of VIM House to date, to generate discussion and collaboration, and explore the road ahead for the culture and cultivation of music in Vancouver. Listen Up! will allow the Society to bring Vancouver’s music visionaries together to learn about cooperative music venues, and about creating and maintaining sustainable operating models for live music. The intent is to open doors and minds to the possibilities for live music now and in the future. As development plans are being presented for Northeast False Creek, it is essential the music community find a way to present a unified vision for the proposed music incubator/venue.

The Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society  – VIM House

The Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society  (VIM House) was created in July 2011 by a coalition of musicians, music presenters and managers who support the planning and development of a purpose built, culturally diverse, affordable and accessible music centre. This not-for-profit, charitable organization has undertaken a series of studies to determine the need for and feasibility of a new state-of-the art venue that will suit the needs of the local music community.

The vision for VIM House is to showcase the incredible diversity and wealth of music in Vancouver, as well as to host performers from around the world; to create a place where musicians and artists from different genres and cultures will meet one another, share ideas and experiences and develop new musical collaborations.

Larry Tedford, Director of Digital Environs, Incorp

For 30 years as a specialty design consultant, Larry Tedford sought to forge an emotional connection between artists, audience, and communities with destinations designed for performing arts.

Larry’s particular skill is infusing the higher-level factors influencing experience and place with a deep understanding of technology and architecture.

His performing arts work as an acoustics, production technology, and theatre planning consultant includes: San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House renovation; the California Academy of Sciences; Sydney Opera House theatre masterplan; the Disney Institute Recital Hall; Las Vegas Academy of Arts Theatre; Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall; Houston’s Wortham Center Brown Opera Theatre; and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands theatres, Victoria Hall renovation, and School of the Arts theatres.

Donald Luxton

Born and raised in Vancouver, Donald Luxton has a passionate interest in local history and heritage. Involved in the field of heritage and cultural resource management since 1983, he is a well-known consultant, advocate, educator and author, and has worked on numerous projects throughout western Canada, including the restoration of residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, and the development of museums and cultural facilities. Since 2005 he has been a sessional lecturer in the BCIT Architectural Science degree program. He is an award-winning author of local history books, and his interest in the preservation of architecture has led to his continuing involvement with a number of heritage societies, including his role as a founding Director of the Victoria Heritage Foundation, and as President of Heritage Vancouver from 2004-13. In 2007, he was elected to the College of Fellows of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and in 2009 he was the recipient of the British Columbia Heritage Award.

featuring Pacific Baroque Ensemble and Alan Matheson Septet

Thursday June 30, 2016, 7:30pm
Christ Church Cathedral
690 Burrard Street
Tickets $46 at ticketfly.com

Two Ensembles. Two starkly different genres. In this remarkable project, a Baroque ensemble led by JUNO Award-winning harpsichordist/chamber organist Alexander Weimann and a brilliant jazz septet led by trumpeter/composer Alan Matheson explore threads running from the 1600’s through today’s creative jazz scene. Bringing together disparate musical communities, the two groups will perform works from their respective fields as well as pieces written for the “common ground” of both. In this timeless meeting place, the long melodic lines of Ellington and Strayhorn echo Handel and Bach, while the endlessly creative practice of “theme and variation” is a keystone of jazz improvisation, of the Baroque and, one could argue, of life.

Pacific Baroque Ensemble

Alex Weiman director, harpsichord / chamber organ

Matthew Jennejohn recorder / cornetto

Chloe Meyers violin

Catherine Motuz trombone (sackbut)

Ed Reifel percussion

John Lenti baroque lute / guitar

Alan Matheson Septet

Alan Matheson leader, cornet/flugelhorn/piano

Rob McKenzie trombone

Julia Nolan saxophones

Dave Branter clarinet / saxophones

Jon Roper guitar

Laurence Mollerup bass

Craig Scott drums

The vision for VIM House is to build a music centre to showcase the incredible diversity and wealth of music in Vancouver and to host performers from around the world; to create a place where musicians and artists from different genres and cultures will meet one another, exchange ideas and experiences and collaborate.

Common Grounds provides an exciting glimpse of one the many facets of this artistic vision for VIM House. This important curatorial collaboration combines the forces of Early Music Vancouver which has brought the beauty and richness of centuries old music to West Coast audiences with Coastal Jazz, which since 1985 has opened ears to incredible range of music and experience that is jazz. Both presenters have made a massive contribution to the ecology of live music in Vancouver.

Genuine, respectful collaboration between artists, curators and presenters will be one of the key strategies for creating a unique and dynamic environment at VIM House, a place where music and community thrive.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the City of Vancouver through Cultural Services, the BC Arts Council and the Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation

VIM House and Coastal Jazz & Blues present
a NEW CURATION SERIES
Live in the Backroom at The Emerald 2014
555 Gore Street • Tickets at the door $10 • Showtime 9pm
Curated by Cole Schmidt
noschmo.com

SICK BOSS is a new ensemble lead by guitarist and composer, Cole Schmidt that charts the broad musical landscape of contemporary music. Performing beautiful and cerebral originals, with a smattering of unexpected covers, Sick Boss draws together influences from creative improvisation, rock, folk, and modern jazz. The band’s dazzling musicianship is rounded out by a cherry-picked cast of Vancouver all-stars who are recognized for their creative prowess as both bandleaders and collaborators.

Sick Boss is: Peggy Lee – cello (Film in Music, Waxwing); Tyson Naylor – accordion (Dan Mangan, Abramson Singers); Sam Davidson – clarinets (Brasstronaut, ElkHorn); Cole Schmidt – guitar (Pugs and Crows, Copilots); James Meger – bass (Braveheart, Proud Animal); Dan Gaucher – drums (October Trio, Fond of Tigers) with Debra-Jean Creelman – voice (Mother Mother, Frazey Ford)

Recording under the name Khingfisher, Craig Alan Mechler has released a self-titled album that emphasizes his folksy inclinations with ultra-stripped down arrangements of guitar and voice. These are vintage-sounding ballads with a hint of jazziness and Devendra Banhart-style quirk, and there’s a cover of the classic tune Georgia on My Mind thrown in for good measure. The album was recorded at Vancouver’s China Cloud with Mark Lawrence. It’s available for download at the following link, and listeners can give an optional donation if they choose. http://khingfisher.bandcamp.com/

photo: Sick Boss