The 2017 Sonic Boom Music Festival is Around the Corner!

Returning for its 30th year of contemporary classical music, The Sonic Boom Festival promises, as usual, to entertain and delight. Every year, Vancouver Pro Musica continues to bring artists and new music together for four brilliant evening performances that are not to be missed. This year, this truly unique musical experience will run from March 16-19, in three acoustically beautiful venues in Vancouver-the Orpheum Annex, Western Front and Pyatt Hall.

Sonic Boom Festival 2017 showcases original compositional works by some of British Columbia`s most interesting composers, being performed by some of the best musicians of the Lower Mainland. This four day musical event is comprised of four evening concerts with a Student Composer Masterclass. This year, the festival features Composer-in-Residence Dorothy Chang, Ensemble-in-Residence Erato Ensemble and Featured Artist Marina Hasselberg, and an eclectic mix of ensembles of one to four players.

Described as "evocative and kaleidoscopic" (Seattle Times), the music of Composer-In-Residence, Dorothy Chang has been praised for its colourful and often impressionistic scoring, as well as for its dramatic intensity and expressive lyricism. Her music is rooted in the Western art music tradition but often reflects the eclectic mix of musical influences from her youth, ranging from popular and folk music to elements of traditional Chinese music.

Dorothy's catalog includes works for solo, chamber and large ensembles as well as collaborations involving theatre, dance and video. Her music has been featured in concerts and festivals across North America and abroad, and has won her several awards and honours, including awards from the American Society of Composers, the International Alliance for Women in Music, and the National Society of Arts and Letters. She has also served on the music faculty at Indiana State University and since 2003 has been a Professor of Music at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. www.dorothychang.com

Sonic Boom Festival 2017 Ensemble-in-Residence is the Erato Ensemble, an art-song chamber ensemble formed in 2006. Erato's mission is to combine traditional art-song with chamber music, creating a new genre. In its ten year existence, Erato Ensemble has created or premiered over 70 new works, many by Canadian composers. In addition, the ensemble is committed to programming existing Canadian works, and is an official affiliate ensemble of the Canadian Music Centre. The ensemble's idiosyncratic combination of voice and instruments in various combinations provides a unique listening experience for their audience, and a diverse palette for composers. http://www.eratoensemble.com/

Along with being the Artistic Director of NOVO Ensemble, Featured Artist Marina Hasselberg is an active and passionate chamber musician specializing in new and baroque music. An advocate for new works, especially those by Canadian composers, Marina has commissioned and premiered many new pieces with several more being written for future premieres. Marina's love of all the arts, especially dance, film and theater, is leading to the creation of inter-disciplinary works that cross genre boundaries. http://marinahasselberg.com/

Pro Musica Society of Vancouver (aka: Vancouver Pro Musica) was founded in 1984 and is a non-profit organization of BC composers mandated to promote and foster musical life in the Province of British Columbia. In particular, the society supports growth and collaboration between composers and performers by sponsoring, promoting and producing concerts that showcase original, contemporary classical music created by BC composers and feature BC musicians performing such works. Vancouver Pro Musica's three main yearly productions are the Sonic Boom Festival, Electroacoustic Festival, and the Further concert series. To experience some of Vancouver Pro Musica's past musical events, please visit: https://soundcloud.com/vancouver-pro-musica

Sonic Boom Festival 2017 | March 16-19, 2017 |

March 16: 7:30 pm - Mixed Ensembles concert #1 at PYATT HALL

March 17: 7:30 pm - Mixed Ensembles concert #2 at PYATT HALL

March 18: 7:30 pm - Featured Artists Concert - Marina Hasselberg at WESTERN FRONT

March 19: 10:00 am - Student Composer Master Class w/Composer-in-Residence Dorothy Chang at the Martha Lou Henley Classroom at VSO School of Music

March 19: 7:30 pm- Ensemble-in-Residence Concert - Erato Ensemble at ORPHEUM ANNEX

Tickets can be purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2816803.

VSO School of Music's Pyatt Hall (843 Seymour Street, Vancouver). Map: http://goo.gl/maps/80ytm

Orpheum Annex (823 Seymour Street, Vancouver). Map: http://goo.gl/maps/9ptff

Western Front (303 - 8th Ave E, Vancouver, BC). Map: https://goo.gl/OzuWsh

VSO School of Music's Martha Lou Henley Classroom (843 Seymour Street, Vancouver). Map: http://goo.gl/maps/80ytm

For more information (including concert programs) please visit www.vancouverpromusica.ca.

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