Reflections on Light and Life - John Oliver. Mei Han 韩梅, Raine-Reusch 雨苇, VICO Tentet

World Premiere, written by John Oliver. Performed by Mei Han 韩梅 (zheng) and Raine-Reusch 雨苇 (hitoyogiri, piri, ney) at Rekindle the Fire, Dec 20, 2023, cosponsored by the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra (VICO) and the Red Chamber Cultural Society at the Annex Theatre in Vancouver, Canada.
VICO honoured Han and Raine-Reusch by dedicating a full concert to their music. All the works presented were either fully or partially improvised by the featured soloists.
VICO commissioned two new works: Reflections On Light and Life by John Oliver, and Wrath of Selene by Lisa Cay Miller. Wrath of Selene called for improvisation by the full ensemble based on a graphic score and conduction by Miller.
Orchestral arrangements of three of Han and Raine-Reusch's works were presented: Clouds in an Empty Sky arranged by Moshe Denburg; Dragon Dog arranged by Mark Armanini; and Tokyo Crows arranged by Farshid Samandari and Han, orchestrated by Samandari. Four of Raine-Reusch's graphic scores were also performed.
Video by Rick Etkin DP, camera and editing by Inder Nirwan, camera by Rich Tran. Sound by Sheldon Zaharko
@VICOrchestra / vicovideo1
VICO performers:
Guilian Liu: pipa,
Paul Hung: flute/alto flute,
Mike Brown: clarinet in B-flat/bass clarinet,
Tim Chan: sheng,
Saina Khaledi: santoor,
Ali Razmi: tar,
Jun Rong: erhu,
Sina Ettehad: kamanche,
Sarah Kwok: viola,
Finn Manniche: cello,
Michael Vaughn: double bass,
Jonathan Bernard: percussion.

[@auralarchipelago]

What an amazing assemblage of instruments, and great playing from all!

[@Windandthereeds]

So many cool sounds! Great piece ❤