Updates: Summer and Fall 2019

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Written By Tong Wang

Can’t believe how quickly the first half of 2019 has flown by. It’s been wonderful playing two short contracts on the Eurodam and Noordam, meeting and bonding with new fantastic, inspiring, unique musicians; a lovely “Fairytales” cello recital with Leah Plave at Cafe Resonance featuring Janacek, Martinu, Kodaly, de Falla, Bloch, Prokofiev, and Dvorak; and finishing up the final semester at McGill. I was also awarded the Canada Graduate Scholarship to pursue my research on the cultural significance of Joe Hisaishi’s animation music for Studio Ghibli. More details on the project here:

Studio Ghibli Fantasies

”Cuteness Speaks up to Cynicism: Recreating Japanese Animation Music in North America“

In any case, lots of exciting news and events coming up for this summer and fall!

  • June 9 to 16: Orford Music Masterclasses

  • July 16 to August 11: MusicFest

  • August 11 to 17: competing in Orford Music Award

  • September 6: Solo Recital at Pollack Hall

  • September 21: Opening Concert for the Westmount Park Heritage Festival

That’s it for now. Looking forward to more concerts, projects, and collaborations in Montreal and beyond! The next Zenkora concert, the Montreal chapter, is in its initial planning stages and will hopefully be well underway throughout the fall. I will also continue to work on my Studio Ghibli project and aim to perform, record, and present my music and research at a residency with the Kyoto Arts Center, details to be confirmed soon.

Now back to practicing!

Haines, AK “Upper Dewey Lake trail”, 2019.

Haines, AK “Upper Dewey Lake trail”, 2019.

Tong Wang

Tong Wang is a Canadian artist leading innovative initiatives across areas of performance, research, and community engagement. Her projects explore the role of art in relation to identity, culture, and current social-political issues. As a soloist and chamber musician, Tong has performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, and ensembles across North America and Europe. As a multidisciplinary artist, she has written the libretto of a new opera, “Labyrinth of Tears”, funded by the Canada Council, FRQSC, and SSHRC, participated in the Napoule Arts Foundation Residency in France, and published an award-winning photo-essay in the literary magazine Carte Blanche. Her other projects include the creative performances “Song of Praise”, “Ghiblilane”, “Once Upon a Pumpkin”, and research on the aesthetic of “cuteness” in popular and classical music. Tong recently toured a recital on multiculturalism, “我们Us” in Lunenburg, Montreal, Basel, and presented the interactive concerts “We’re Not Really Strangers” and “My Neighbours Totoro and Claude!” at the Verbier Festival. In 2022, Tong launched the Windwood Music Festival in Airdrie, Alberta to engage with and support rural farming communities through classical chamber music. In 2023, Tong will be touring with Duo Perdendosi across eastern US & Canada, as well as with Duo Incarnadine in Turkey and China to premiere a new commission by Alice Ho, Four Impressions of China. Using diverse mediums, Tong aims to share the power of art to reach across time, languages, borders, and cultures to connect people and kindle a shared understanding.

https://tong-wang.com
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