Name: West Coast String Summit 2024
Start: 2024-05-25T17:00:00-07:00
Location: The Ironworks

Vancouver Improvised Arts Society, in partnership with Vancouver New Music, The Only Animal Theatre Society, KW Studios and NOW Society present:
West Coast String Summit
May 25 & 26, 2024
Concerts at 8pm each night at The Ironworks & 8east
Slow Social on May 25 from 5-7:30pm at The Ironworks
Improvised Music/String Workshop on May 26 from 2-3:30pm at 8east
Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for free throughout all events
There will be a bar serving alcoholic drinks for purchase (cash/card)
FEATURING:
Laura Ortman (Brooklyn) • Chamber of Bones: Jesse Zubot & Pura Fé with Strings (Tuscarora/Taíno & Vancouver) • Marina Hasselberg (Vancouver) • Toni-Leah C. Yake (Vancouver) • Anju Singh (Vancouver) • Julia Ulehla (Vancouver) • And, more!
VENUES:
The Ironworks (235 Alexander Street)
8EAST (8 East Pender Street)
***Both venues are wheelchair accessible and offer gender neutral & wheelchair accessible washrooms***
TICKETS:
•Tickets for May 25th concert at The Ironworks $12-23 in advance and $15-25 at the door.
Advance tickets available on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/west-coast-string-summit-2024-tickets-836187307747 and at the door.
•Tickets for May 26th concert at 8EAST by donation. Available at the door.
CONCERTS:
Saturday, May 25; 8pm – The Ironworks, Main Room (235 Alexander Street)
Laura Ortman • Chamber of Bones: Jesse Zubot & Pura Fé with Strings • Marina Hasselberg
Sunday, May 26; 8pm – 8east (8 East Pender Street)
A night of improv & wrap party with local and visiting artists.
SLOW SOCIAL:
Saturday May 25; 5-7:30pm — The Ironworks, Back Room (235 Alexander Street)
Toni-Leah C. Take • Anju Singh • Julia Ulehla
WORKSHOP:
Sunday, May 26; 2-3:30pm – 8east (8 East Pender Street)
Improvisation as a process of discovery; a workshop for bowed string instrument musicians with Lan Tung
Free workshop. Space is limited. Please RSVP to reserve your spot at [email protected].
improvisedarts.ca • newmusic.org • nowsociety.org • theonlyanimal.com •kwstudios.ca
Back for its second year, the West Coast String Summit, presented by Vancouver Improvised Arts Society, in partnership with Vancouver New Music, The Only Animal Theatre Company, KW Studios, and NOW Society, brings an annual celebration of creative music and the power of strings to The Ironworks and 8east in Vancouver, BC.
VIAS will host its second annual West Coast String Summit and residency on May 25th and 26th, 2024. Alongside community partners Vancouver New Music, NOW Society, and The Only Animal Theatre Society, VIAS will present two days of concerts, workshops, and a Slow Social that showcase contemporary improvising and experimental string players, composers, and bandleaders. The West Coast String Summit is a place to meet, collaborate, listen, learn, and create new connections within the experimental string world, which Western Canada, and Vancouver in particular, is known for worldwide. Sharing ideas through composition, improvisation, and dialogue, artists and audiences will benefit from hearing diverse local and visiting musicians perform their genre-defying works by gaining inspiration for what is possible on traditional stringed instruments and a deeper understanding of the cultures they come from.
VIAS is thrilled to be presenting Brooklyn-based Apache experimental violinist and vocalist, Laura Ortman, who creates visceral, moving and powerful musical and multimedia performances. Pairing the immense talent and skill of renowned violinist, Jesse Zubot, and vocalist/guitarist, Pura Fé, backed by an 8-piece ensemble of highly sought after local string players, we are sure that this concert experience will bring immense inspiration to listeners. An opening set by acclaimed local cellist, Marina Hasselberg, will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase her recent album, Red, presenting both original compositions and improvisations using acoustic, prepared, and processed performance techniques.
This concert will elevate our community by showcasing two skilled and powerful Indigenous women who are absolute masters of their craft alongside equally astounding local string heroes, Jesse Zubot and Marina Hasselberg. Audiences and performers alike will be treated to art that asks them to reflect on their intersecting experiences by disrupting expectations and challenging the ways in which art is traditionally presented. Once again we will feature artists highlighting myriad musical qualities and concepts to showcase what can be achieved within the experimental string world. In addition to our evening concerts at The Ironworks and 8east, the 2024 West Coast String Summit is offering several opportunities for our expanding community of string lovers to gather in social and educational settings: A free public workshop at 8east, led by renowned erhu artist, Lan Tung; a Slow Social (in partnership with The Only Animal) featuring music by Tony-Leah C. Take and Anju Singh and readings by Julia Ulehla; And, a collaborative improvised music wrap party and concert (in partnership with NOW) featuring local and visiting musicians. We believe sharing our experiences in social settings where dialogue is possible is important to growing a caring and compassionate community and will allow us to deepen our understanding of each other while immersing ourselves in artistic adventures.
The Only Animal’s Slow Socials, is an ongoing series of gatherings that invites our communities to connect to joyful climate futures through relaxed textile creation, environmental readings, and musique d’ameublement ('furniture music'). Join our team in crocheting, knotting and knitting a set piece for our traveling Slow Practice installation, bring your own craft work, or catch up on some social coziness before the mainstage events. Materials provided, no previous craft experience needed. For Slow Social #4 we'll be hearing themed readings by Julia Ulehla alongside musical performances by Toni-Leah C. Yake and Anju Singh.
Presented by The Only Animal, in partnership with Vancouver Improvised Arts Society and The Public Swoon.