Two Surrey virtuoso musicians, Patricia Shih and Nikita Pogrebnoy, will perform Sunday night at the second Sound of Dragon Music Festival in Vancouver.
The two violinists, half of the Borealis String Quartet which includes violinist Yuel Yawney and cellist Sungyong Lim, will perform Friday, April 22 at 8:30 p.m. at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews (at Pacific Boulevard and Davie Street).
After the successful premiere in 2014, the bi-annual Sound of Dragon Music Festival features collaborations of Vancouver’s Chinese music community, local music scene innovators, and special guests from Taiwan.
Shih became a pupil of violinist Josef Gingold at Indiana University at age 14. He described her as "one of the greatest talents that I have ever taught." She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Sylva Gelber Award for the most outstanding young Canadian musician and the Mozarteum prize in Salzburg.
Pogrebnoy graduated from Russia's St. Petersburg Conservatory with highest honors. He came to the United States by the invitation of Victor Rosenbaum, the director of the Longy School of Music, who after hearing his performance, awarded him a full scholarship to study in Cambridge, Mass.
Founded in Vancouver in the fall of 2000, the Borealis String Quartet has toured extensively in North America, Europe and Asia and performed to enthusiastic sold-out audiences in major cities, including New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Rome, Mainz, Shanghai, Taipei, Beijing, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver, where they were invited to perform at the Aboriginal Pavilion during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
The Sound of Dragon Music Festival, which takes place April 21-24, celebrates diverse music with Chinese roots or influences, from traditional, classical, contemporary, jazz, world, fusion, to experimental music. The festival includes food, movies, free events and an art exhibition at the Roundhouse.
For a schedule of events, visit http://soundofdragon.com/
Half-day tickets (afternoon or evening) are $25 for adults or $20 for students/seniors/children, full-day tickets are $40 for adults or $30 for for students/seniors/children and festival passes (Friday to Sunday) are $70 for adults or $50 for students/seniors/children.
For tickets, visit http://bit.ly/1rgvjc2