Vancouver harpist Vivian Chen brings musical storytelling to Christmas with Chor Leoni
The musician describes the 65-voice men’s choir’s seasonal concert as “magical”
Vivan Chen.
Chor Leoni presents Christmas with Chor Leoni on December 16, 17, and 19 at 8 pm; December 17 and 19 at 5 pm; and December 17 at 2 pm at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church
VIVIAN CHEN remembers the first time she ever saw and heard a harp: she was 10 years old when her family was visiting Vancouver from Taiwan, and, although exact details are somewhat blurry, they came upon a harpist playing by the sea. “I don’t remember which piece she played, but with the strings and the ocean… I just thought ‘Wow, that’s beautiful. I wish I could do that,’” Chen says in an interview with Stir. It just so happened that back in Taiwan, there was a music centre dedicated exclusively to the harp that Chen walked by every single day. Her mom signed her up for lessons, which she continued upon moving to the West Coast later that year.
Chen went on to graduate first place from the UBC School of Music and complete her master’s degree of music in harp performance on full scholarship. She plays a variety of genres with several local ensembles, including Elektra Women’s Choir and Vancouver Opera; prior to the pandemic, she had her own chamber group, the Elysian Trio. Among her many career highlights was performing solo and chamber pieces in the Formosa New Wave concert at the 2017 13th World Harp Congress in Hong Kong. More recently, Chen performed Canadian composer Caroline Lizotte's “Suite Galactique for solo harp” at the prestigious Taiwan National Theater.
“My first impression of the harp was that it was just so amazing, and I’ve played it so much that it’s just part of my life,” Chen says. “I love how it sounds. When I’m performing a piece I like to think of it as storytelling or describing a scene. If I keep thinking about the notes I get too nervous, so it’s like I’m inside a story.”
Chen will bring that musical storytelling to the stage at Christmas with Chor Leoni. The 2022 edition of the seasonal performance of the 65-voice men’s choir features everything from beloved carols (such as “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and the ensemble’s signature candle-lit concert-closing sing-along, “Silent Night”) to two world premieres commissioned by Chor Leoni and three new arrangements.
Christmas with Chor Leoni. Photo by David Cooper
Audiences will hear “Auld Lang Syne” arranged by Saunder Choi; the catchy Hanukkah tune “S’vivon” arranged by Nancy Grundahl; and Melissa Dunphy’s soothing “Halcyon Days”. Choi’s “Auld Lang Syne” is based off of Mairi Campbell's version that was featured in the iconic first Sex and the City movie. “S’vivon”, written originally for a treble choir, includes a klezmer-like violin part, while the piano section suggests the spinning of the dreidel. For “Halcyon Days”, Dunphy and Philadelphia poet Jacqueline Goldfinger took thematic inspiration from “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” of the 1944 musical Meet Me in St. Louis, which gives a sense of peace amid dashed hopes and separation from loved ones.
“Cold Moon” is a new carol by fast-rising B.C. composer Nicholas Ryan Kelly, a past finalist in Chor Leoni’s C4 composer competition. The piece includes a quotation from “Carol of the Bells” and explores the alienation many people feel “amid the culture of overstimulation, overconsumption, and forced merriment that surrounds the holidays”, Kelly says in a statement. “Through this exploration, it finds solace amid the more introspective aspects of the season—the long, quiet nights and the sense of renewal that can come with the new year if we let ourselves rest.”
Also having its debut is “A Fantasy of Carols” by Don Macdonald, Chor Leoni’s composer in residence, whose works have garnered three Leo Awards among numerous other honours. “A Fantasy of Carols is a meditation and celebration that explores traditional Christmas favourites such as Ding Dong Merrily on High, What Child is This?, O Holy Night, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and O Come All Ye Faithful,” Macdonald states. “Three fantasy sections feature carols that overlap in a rich tapestry and these sections are followed by a focus on one or two carols that eventually build to a jubilant climax. Audiences will have to listen closely to catch these carols as they weave in and out of non-traditional musical settings. The rare combination of choir, harp, piano, and violin allows for many subtle variations of tone colour that enhance this dreamlike yet festive mood.”
Joining Chen as Christmas with Chor Leoni musical guests are violinist/fiddler Cameron Wilson, who performs with Van Django, Hard Rubber Orchestra, and Mariachi del Sol; and pianist Tina Chang, who performs with Vancouver Opera, Arts Club Theatre, and City Opera. Chor Leoni vocalist Keith Sinclair, a guitarist whose musical arrangements are performed around the globe, is back, his being an especially jaunty take on “Jingle Bells”.
This year’s Christmas with Chor Leoni marks a return for Chen, who has performed the Yuletide show with the singing lions in the past. It’s a concert she’s especially fond of for its sheer diversity of moods and styles.
“I think the selection of music is great because often when I play a Christmas concert, it can at times be very serious or at other times be all goofy—Christmas music that’s more fun; Chor Leoni is a mix of both,” Chen says. “You can enjoy new music and have effects that are more experimental or avant garde, but there’s always an aspect of serenity and hope that you can feel in the music.
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