Travel without leaving your seat

KHAC CHIPoster_highresIt is that dark time of year where locals  look for music to lighten their spirits.   This year the South Okanagan Concert Society has a special concert for you on Friday, January 17th, filled with colour and movement, story and music.   “Khac Chi:  Sounds of Vietnam”  features two of Vietnam’s premiere musicians in a performance of exquisite beauty and virtuosity.

Showcasing rare and unique musical instruments made from bamboo by the mountain peoples of Vietnam, this concert  takes you on an adventure in sound and gives rare insight into the wealth and sophistication of Vietnamese culture.    Curtains rise at 7:30 pm  at the temporary venue of Oliver Alliance Church (turn left off Highway 97 at the northern Welcome to Oliver sign.)   Flex pass tickets are on sale now at Beyond Bliss in Oliver, at Imperial Office Pro in Osoyoos and at the door.   A four admission pass costs only $60.   The four admissions are entirely flexible and can be used together or in combination.   Single admission is $20.   Young people 17 and under are welcome to attend the concert free.

The ensemble, a duo, is made up of Chi Khac Ho and his wife, Bic Hoang.   He creates haunting melodies on the Dan Bau (one string zither) and was a professor at the Hanoi Conservatory for over 20 years before coming to Canada.  He is a composer and a music researcher and has set out to bring traditional music to western audiences in ways those audiences can appreciate and enjoy.  This has meant coming up with lively new arrangements of Vietnamese traditional, folk, and contemporary tunes as well as creative stage antics to capture and enrapture the audience.

Bic Hoang is an exceptional vocalist, arranger and multi-instrumentalist as well as a music teacher.  She specializes on a number of very rare instruments from Vietnam’s rural and mountainous regions and is credited as being the first woman ever to play the koni, a two-string stick fiddle where silk threads are attached to a disc that is held in the mouth so that the mouth serves as the resonating chamber for the instrument.  She brings haunting lyricism, energetic rhythms and fascinating timbres to her performances and offers intriguing glimpses into the rich musical traditions from 4000 years of Vietnamese culture.  Many of her songs and stories are related to some of the 50 minority groups that populate Vietnam.  The culture is honoured by performing mostly on instruments indigenous to Vietnam.

Khac Chi have played at venues all over the world and have won many awards for superb musicianship.   Khac Chi has also released three CDs.

There will only be one performance.  Don’t be one of those who can only wish they had been there when they listen to the reviews of those who were.   Be one of those enthralled by the stories and heart stopping virtuosity of this exceptional duo.

Call Maureen at 250 495 7978 to arrange for transportation by van if you are worried about winter driving conditions and know this performance is one you just can’t miss!