Studio Ghibli Concert "GHIBLILANE" - by UTAU2

What is it about Studio Ghibli films that touches the deepest, most tender parts of our souls?

The magic? The wonder, sincerity, simplicity? To see and hear and feel and imagine again with a child’s curiosity, to travel back down memory lane, to taste the sweetness of that precious nostalgia in our dreams, laughter, innocence, fantasy, truth … let us share together this most earnest power of endearment with Totoro, Kiki, and Chihiro.
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Program

Toroto’s Fantasy
Joe Hisaishi. arr. Chu

Ballade No. 2
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Kiki’s Potpourri 
Joe Hisaishi. arr. Chu

Ballade No. 2
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

“Sing with us Too” 
tba*

Chihiro’s Rhapsody
Joe Hisaishi. arr. Chu

*collaborate poetry project - read below for further details to get involved!

Location: KIN. 397A St Catherine West
April 16, 2021 @ 6pm and @ 8pm
Tickets: $35 adult $30 student
Capacity: 25 seats

Spirits, wanderers, dreamers, Ghiblilane! UTAU2 makes its appearance at Kin, Montreal to take listeners down a memory lane of curiosity, wonder, and imagination. Accompanied by animated visuals, installation, dim-lit candles and poetry readings, the GHIBLILANE project pays tribute to the musical works of Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi throughout his long-time collaboration with Studio Ghibli. Reserved to a select audience of 25, GHIBLILANE endeavors to create a concert experience that is touching, memorable, and uplifting during such strange times— a reminder that silver linings can be found in every corner of the world.  

UTAU2, (“utau” in Japanese meaning “to sing” and “2” for duet) brings together the talents and musical chemistry of Canadian pianists Tong Wang and Stanford Cheung. Equally at home in two-piano and four-hand repertoire, UTAU2 focuses on concert programs that incorporate artistic elements and genres that reach beyond the classical music periphery. UTAU2’s mission to bring forth new, rarely-performed and undervalued repertoire to the spotlight remains a core mandate of the duo’s artistic statement. GHIBLILANE marks UTAU 2’s inaugural debut.

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OPEN CALL “Sing with us Too”

Calling all human beings <3: What’s your favorite Ghibli quote?

We’ll collect your submissions to co-create a poem to be read together by ALL OF US at the concert on April 16th! These quotes will be placed in secret envelopes with guided prompts for each individual to reflect on and respond to throughout the concert. This envelope will be your own little time capsule to keep, forming the whole of our collective magical inclusive diverse imaginative warm fantastical Ghiblilane world.

Let’s go~ Let’s sing together :’)

Journal Ponderings “Hey Let’s Go!”

Once You’ve Met Someone, You Never Really Forget Them.
— Spirited Away

Ghibli Episodes

My Neighbor Totoro
”My Neighbor Totoro”
”I’m So Glad”
”Catbus”
“The Huge Tree in the Tukamori Forest”
“The Path of Wind”
“Moonlight Flight”
”Hey Let’s Go”

Kiki’s Delivery Service 
”On a Clear Day”
”A Town with an Ocean View”
”A Very Busy Kiki”
”If I’ve Been Enveloped in Tenderness”

Spirited Away
”One Summer’s Day”
”Procession of the Spirits”
”Sootballs”
”The Dragon Boy”
”The Sixth Station”
”Always With Me”
”Waltz of Chihiro”

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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