Steeped in Sound: A concert of tea leaves, tall tales and well-travelled tunes

Purchase tickets on our website: https://www.chinesemusicvancouver.com/steeped-in-sound

Some places never leave us.

They return in a familiar melody, the scent of tea, a sound we haven’t heard in years.

A kettle comes to a boil. A low murmur rises to a whistle. Let it stretch into a note, the follow it somewhere unexpected: into an ancient legend from northeastern China, across a Canadian landscape, towards a distant flourish of Scottish bagpipe.

On November 21, Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble presents Steeped in Sound at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Inspired by Chinese tea, the concert explores the places we carry and the homes we make, inviting you to listen as you might taste: slowly, curiously, noticing what lingers.

Traditional Chinese instruments meet Canadian folk influences and contemporary improvisation. Delicate strings give way to exuberant percussion; a melody takes an unexpected turn. Like a familiar tea prepared somewhere new, the music holds onto its roots while taking on a different character.

There are memories in these sounds, but also playfulness, surprise and the pleasure of discovering an unlikely combination that works.