Year of the Snake: A Lunar New Year Celebration
Ring in the Lunar New Year with an enchanting evening of music that’s sure to inspire joy and good fortune! Join beloved comedian Dashan, renowned conductor Naomi Woo, and your TSO for a symphonic celebration in honour of the Year of the Snake. This can’t-miss concert weaves together a captivating blend of classic and festive favourites, with performances that are as meaningful as they are mesmerizing. Experience the ethereal sounds of the guzheng, masterfully played by Wu Fei, and enjoy acclaimed violinist Stella Chen as she performs an excerpt from the ever-popular Butterfly Lovers Concerto, a piece cherished for its sweeping melodies and emotional depth. Celebrate the richness of tradition and welcome the new year with these and other festive favourites.
Program
Program NotesKa Nin Chan
Welcoming Spring
Zhanhao He Chen Gang
Excerpt from The Butterfly Lovers, Violin Concerto
Mendelssohn
Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 21
Zhou Tian
Seeker's Scherzo from Concerto for Orchestra
Intermission
Huang Ruo
Excerpt from Folk Songs for Orchestra
Tan Dun
Zheng Concerto (2007)
Shawn Moore
Ode to the Red Cliffs
Li
Spring Festival Overture
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Performers
Mark Rowswell “Dashan” 大山
Naomi Woo
Wu Fei
Stella Chen
Yang Yang Dance Studio
Dashan (a.k.a. Mark Rowswell) has been called “the most famous foreigner in China,” where he has worked as a media personality and cultural ambassador for more than 30 years. Born and raised in Canada, Rowswell began studying Chinese in the mid-1980s, first at the University of Toronto and later at Peking University. While in Beijing, he became interested in xiangsheng, a revered form of traditional comedic dialogue in China, and was soon appearing on national television under the stage name “Dashan”.
Repeated performances to hundreds of millions of television viewers turned Dashan into a household name across China, and his media career expanded from comedy to dramatic acting to hosting cultural, diplomatic, educational, and commercial programs, as well as live events. Over time, Dashan came to be seen as an all-round cultural ambassador between China and the West, and as a symbol of finding common ground between cultures—“a foreigner but not an outsider,” according to the People’s Daily.
Dashan is the only non-Chinese performer to have appeared four times on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, the largest annual television extravaganza in China, with an estimated audience of more than a billion viewers. Dashan also served as Canada’s Team Attaché during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and as Canada’s Commissioner General for Expo 2010 in Shanghai. In 2006, he was inducted into the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour. In 2012, Dashan was named Goodwill Ambassador to China by Canada’s prime minister.
In 2018, the University of Alberta conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters degree on Rowswell in recognition of his contribution to cross-cultural communication. In recent years, Dashan has returned to his comedic roots, combining traditional Chinese comedy with Western stand-up in his groundbreaking solo show, Dashan Live. Chinese audiences know the character Dashan from TV, and over this 60-minute performance, Dashan shares hilarious behind-the-scenes stories of his 30 years between the East and West.