John Kameel Farah (Berlin/Toronto)
“Baroque-Mid-Eastern-Cyberpunk” compositions and reimagined classics on piano, synthesizers, and electronics
Saturday, October 19th, 2024
Show: 7:30 pm
Doors: 7:00 pm
Venue: The Annex, 823 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3L4
GET TICKETS HERE
General Admission (Sliding Scale) – $30 / $25 / $20
Seniors / Students / Under 19 – $20
Children Under 12 – $15
Subject to availability, PWYC (Pay what you can) tickets will be available at the door at 7:00 pm.
Please reach out to info@vimhouse.ca if you would like to attend but are facing financial barriers.
This event is hosted on the unceded and traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples – sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), selíʔlwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.
Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society (VIM) invites you to an evening with Palestinian Canadian pianist, composer, and electronic artist John Kameel Farah at The Annex in Vancouver, BC, on Saturday, October 19th, 2024.
Farah’s performance will include his unique compositions for piano, synthesizers, and electronics, alongside interpretations of Renaissance master William Byrd and electronic renditions of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.
John Kameel Farah describes his art as creating “holistic experiences that fuse the elegance of Baroque and Early Music with the rich textures of Arabic Music, Improvisation, and Electronic Music.”
“I interlace piano loops with sequenced drum machines and intricate electronic arrangements, connected by spontaneous improvisations. I sometimes refer to my music as ‘Baroque-Mid-Eastern-Cyberpunk.’”
About John Kameel Farah:
John Kameel Farah is a Palestinian-Canadian composer and pianist whose music embraces aspects of Baroque and Early Music, Middle-Eastern Music, Improvisation and Electronic Music. He studied at the University of Toronto, where he received the Glenn Gould Composition Award twice. He continued studies with Terry Riley in California, and at the Arabic Music Retreat in Hartford.
Farah combines the piano with electronics, moving freely between intuitive improvisations and meticulously structured compositions. His project “Music for Organ & Synthesizers” treats the organ as the first, ancient synthesizer, which he presents in churches and cathedrals across Europe.
In 2023 he was awarded the Johanna Metcalf Award for the Performing Arts in Ontario, and was a guest-performer with Tangerine Dream in Toronto. Earlier this year, he performed his own works at the Berlin Philharmonic.
John has performed across Europe and North America, as well as South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, and Palestine, giving master-classes at the Edward Said National Conservatory in Ramallah in 2003. He is currently doing a residency with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, writing a piano concerto to be premiered in 2025. www.johnfarah.com
About Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society:About Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society (VIM):
VIM is a non-profit, charitable organization established in 2011 with a mandate to develop a well-designed, central, accessible, sustainable and culturally diverse music centre based on feedback from hundreds of musicians, music presenters, concertgoers and managers among others. In 2018, the City of Vancouver passed zoning at the Plaza of Nations to include a 20,000 square foot music centre based on the VIM’s vision and plans.
This event is produced by the VIM with support from Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, Government of BC, City of Vancouver, JTC Heersink Foundation and the MENA Film Festival.
For more information or interviews, please contact Cindy Dai-Thiessen at communications@vimhouse.ca.
VENUE NOTES:
All information including accessibility can be found on the ANNEX/Vancouver Civic Theatre website: https://vancouvercivictheatres.com/venues/annex