Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra
The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) was founded in 2001 and is one of the world's first concert orchestras devoted specifically to performing new intercultural music on a grand scale. It is currently the only professional ensemble of its kind in Canada.
Through composition, performance and educational outreach, VICO supports the development of Canadian composers and musicians of diverse backgrounds (including Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Indian, Persian (Iranian), Latin and South American, Vietnamese, North American and European), and fosters the creation of musical works that fuse and transcend cultural traditions.
Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra builds bridges of imagination and approaches diversity as a fascinating challenge and a creative call to action. VICO creates and performs music that transcends borders and breaks down barriers, modeling a pathway for integrating non-Western traditional instruments, sounds and techniques into contemporary classical music. VICO builds connections between performers and audiences of all ages and backgrounds throughout Canada and the world to create a diverse and inclusive contemporary Canadian classical music scene.
The ensemble’s annual activities include major concerts, a festival (Global Soundscapes), a free public educational series (Music of the Whole World), programs for high school and university students, workshops for professional musicians and composers, and more.
Since its formation in 2001, VICO has commissioned and performed over 50 new intercultural pieces by ground-breaking Canadian composers including Jeffrey Ryan, Rodney Sharman, Rita Ueda, Lisa Cay Miller, Jim Hiscott, Elliot Weisgarber, Jin Zhang, Mark Armanini, Farshid Samandari, Lan Tung, Trichy Sankaran, Michael O’Neill, John Oliver, Grace Lee, Neil Weisensel, Moshe Denburg, Nikki Carter, Ed Henderson, Larry Nickel, Stephen Chatman, Leslie Uyeda, and Farangis Nurulla-Khoja.
A recipient of the City of Vancouver Cultural Harmony Award, Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra has been described as “the United Nations of music” (CBC Radio) and “music that sounds like Vancouver looks” (Georgia Straight).
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