Canadian pianist Sophia Liu joins the VSO's celebratory Lunar New Year event, February 12
Prior to the concert, the Orpheum hosts traditional art-making activities and lion dancing
Sophia Liu. Photo by Frances Marshall
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra presents Lunar New Year With the VSO at the Orpheum on February 12 at 7:30 pm, with community partners North American Chinese Culture Promotion Society and Shawn Image
ACCORDING TO THE Chinese lunar calendar, the Year of the Horse begins on February 17—and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has put together a special Lunar New Year program prior to the occasion.
On February 12 from 6:15 pm to 7:20 pm, there will be an open house–style Family Zone in the Orpheum Lobby. A variety of traditional Chinese activities will be set up, ranging from incense art to sugar painting. Folks can try a hand at writing the “Fu” character (which symbolizes fortune), creating Chinese New Year prints, designing fans, and learning song brocade handicraft skills (working with intricately designed silk fabric). There will also be booths highlighting traditional Chinese pastries, paper cutting and window decorations, and ink painting. The Vancouver Hanfu Club and the North American Chinese Culture Promotion Society—one of the event’s presenting partners—will be onsite, too.
Once the activities come to a close, a prelude concert by the VSO School of Music’s all-ages Azalea Chinese Music Ensemble will kick off the musical side of the evening on the Orpheum mainstage from 6:30 pm to 7 pm. The group features a wide variety of traditional Chinese instruments, from the xiao (a notched flute) to the erhu (a two-stringed violin). Then at 7:05 pm back in the lobby, a traditional lion dance will take place. The centuries-old folk practice is said to bring good luck and fortune for the year ahead.
At 7:30 pm, the VSO will begin its performance on the mainstage, led by conductor Naomi Woo. Among the compositions the musicians will play is Hong Kong–born, Vancouver-based composer Chan Ka Nin’s “Welcome Spring”, which honours the titular season, often described as an auspicious time. Woo has a special tie to the piece, as she conducted its premiere by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2023.
“Welcome Spring” shares a program with the overture from Chinese classical composer Li Huanzhi’s musically complex Spring Festival (see a Bangkok Metropolitan Orchestra rendition of the vivid work below) as well as Vietnamese-American contemporary composer Viet Cuong’s hopeful work “Next Week’s Trees”. Other more well-known pieces in store include the “Hoe-Down” theme from Aaron Copland’s celebratory ballet Rodeo and Franz Liszt’s high-energy Romantic composition Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. Canadian pianist Sophia Liu will join the orchestra as a soloist for the latter work.
Liu was born in Shanghai, raised in Japan, and moved to Montreal as a young artist to pursue her musical training. Just 17 years old, she has already made a mark on the international music scene with prestigious competition wins and performances with orchestras in Tokyo, Venice, Berlin, Hawaii, and beyond. 
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