Musicians from Brooklyn, Saskatchewan, Vancouver Island and Vancouver come together for the second annual West Coast String Summit

Vancouver Improvised Arts Society, in partnership with Vancouver New Music, The Only Animal Theatre Society, KW Studios and NOW Society present:

West Coast String Summit

May 25 & 26, 2024

• Concerts at 8pm each night at The Ironworks & 8east (doors 7pm)
• Slow Social on May 25 from 5-7:30pm at The Ironworks
• Improvised Music/String Workshop on May 26 from 2-3:30pm at 8east
• Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for free throughout all events
• There will be a bar serving alcoholic drinks for purchase (cash/card)

FEATURING:

Laura Ortman (Brooklyn) • Chamber of Bones: Jesse Zubot & Pura Fé with Strings (Saskatchewan & Vancouver Island) • Marina Hasselberg (Vancouver)  • Toni-Leah C. Yake (Vancouver) •  Anju Singh (Vancouver) • Julia Ulehla (Vancouver) • And, more!

VENUES:

The Ironworks  (235 Alexander Street)

8EAST (8 East Pender Street)

TICKETS:

Tickets for May 25th concert at The Ironworks $12-23 in advance and $15-25 at the door. Advance tickets available on Eventbrite and at the door.

Lan Tung

https://www.lantungmusic.com

In 2022, Jesse Zubot and co-composer Wayne Lavallee invited the acclaimed singer-songwriter Pura Fé to contribute vocals to their score for the epic feature film and 5-part series Bones of Crows, directed by Marie Clements. Interacting with the chamber ensemble that Zubot conducted in real time, Fé completely inhabited the music’s tense atmospherics and sweeping emotional range; most of her improvisations were one-take magic. Zubot and Fé return to this sonic landscape for the challenging, spirit-animating collaboration Chamber of Bones.

Pura Fé is an artist, activist, and storyteller of Tuscarora and Taino heritage, known for her impassioned vocals, slide guitar fireworks, and powerful songs that touch on folk, gospel, and blues traditions. In 1987, she co-founded the renowned Indigenous women’s a cappella group Ulali, and since 1995 she’s been releasing solo albums and collaborating with the likes of Indigo Girls and Robbie Robertson.

With multiple JUNOs, WCMAs, and National Jazz Awards on the mantle, Jesse Zubot is known for virtuosic violin playing, cutting edge production style, and collaborations with avant-innovators like Darius Jones and Joe Fonda, indie artists Dan Mangan and Stars, and the incomparable Tanya Tagaq. In recent years, he’s created enveloping scores for films like Indian Horse and Monkey Beach.

Pura Fé and Jesse Zubot are joined by an incredible cast of local string players and improvisors: Parmela Attariwala, Meredith Bates, Trent Freeman, Marina Hasselberg, Nikko Whitworth, and Joshua Zubot. 

Marina Hasselberg

Boundless inquisitiveness sits at the very heart of award-winning cellist Marina Hasselberg’s rich artistic practice. Over the past decade, she’s traveled a distinctive route that has variously led her through early music, free improvisation, the fringes of pop songcraft, electronics, contemporary chamber music, and an array of interdisciplinary collaborations that resist classification.

Hasselberg’s deep and meticulous explorations have culminated in a solo practice that blends disparate elements from various musical realms. Her forthcoming album Red (Redshift Records) sees her insightful interpretive vision colliding with her improvisatory prowess. Recorded by violinist and JUNO and Polaris-winning producer Jesse Zubot, the disc leads listeners through an eclectic, electronics-infused, and deeply personal collection that weaves compositions by everyone from Domenico Gabrielli to Linda Catlin Smith, together with spontaneous performances that feature Hasselberg amidst a cast of her frequent collaborators: Aram Bajakian, Kenton Loewen, Giorgio Magnanensi, and Zubot.

https://marinahasselberg.com/

Ortman is the recipient of the 2023 Institute of American Indian Arts Fellowship, 2022 Forge Project Fellowship, 2022 United States Artists Fellowship, 2022 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists, 2020 Jerome@Camargo Residency in Cassis, France, 2017 Jerome Foundation Composer and Sound Artist Fellowship, 2016 Art Matters Grant, 2016 Native Arts and Culture Foundation Fellowship, 2015 IAIA’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts Social Engagement Residency, 2014-15 Rauschenberg Residency, and 2010 Artist-in-Residence at Issue Project Room. Ortman was also a participating artist in the 2019 Whitney Biennial. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.