Traditional Iranian & Armenian Music

Featuring Ramin Jamalpour on Piano & Sina Ettehad on Kamancheh (Iranian Spike Fiddle)

Roedde House Museum in collaboration with the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) is pleased to present our musical series “Music of the World”. 

Join us in the parlour of Roedde House Museum as we take chamber music back to its originally intended intimate setting. We hope that through this concert series you will be introduced to a diversity of musical instruments and styles reflective of the diversity of the Canadian experience as well as a new appreciation of different types of classical music!

Refreshments will be provided. 

This month’s concert features traditional Iranian & Armenian music performed by Ramin Jamalpour on piano and Sina Ettehad on the Kamancheh (Iranian Spike Fiddle). Experience a selection of original repertoire, as well as Iranian and Armenian folk songs arranged by Ramin and Iraj Sahbayi. The performance will include improvised connecting sections and mood painting, adding depth and texture to the music. We hope this performance opens new worlds to you as we continue our exploration of Music of the World!

Artist Bios

Ramin Jamalpour – Piano

Composer, pianist, and artist, Ramin holds an ARCT Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music with First Class Honors and a Bachelor in Visual Arts. He was a pianist of the Tehran Symphonic Orchestra and Choir, Radio and Television Choir in Tehran for ten years.

From 1996 to 2000, he completed composing and conducting courses under Prof. Aghajanian, Altounian, and Moradian in Armenia. At the same time he had several piano recitals, one of them recorded and broadcasted on the German Television network.

His performances include recitals and concerts in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Tehran.

In 2019, he published 12 virtuoso pieces for piano; this year, he has published a collection of 14 Iranian Folk songs.

Sina Ettehad – Violin, Kamancheh, Composition

Sina Ettehad began his musical journey at the age of 12, learning violin and music theory under the guidance of Master Atabaki. Four years later, he delved into the ancient Iranian fiddle, the Kamancheh, studying with Master Ardeshir Kamkar. After moving to Canada, Sina continued his musical education at Vancouver Community College (VCC). As a core member of the Gomaan Ensemble, Sina is actively involved in several musical groups, including the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, Kereshmeh Ensemble, and Zaryab Ensemble, which fuse Persian and Flamenco styles. He also plays in the Wind Band, known for its blend of Jazz and Middle Eastern music. Over the past eight years, Sina has composed and performed for various film and theatre productions. A significant milestone in his career came in 2010, when he and the Kereshmeh Ensemble performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra — marking the first collaboration of a Persian ensemble with the VSO. This concert featured the renowned Iranian singer Ali Reza Ghorbani and received outstanding reviews. Shortly thereafter, Sina and the Kereshmeh Ensemble toured Canada, concluding with two live recording sessions for CBC. In recent years, Sina has initiated a fusion music series called “Fusik.” He is also passionate about teaching and currently offers lessons at his private studio in North Vancouver.

About Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO):

The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, founded in 2001, was one of the first professional concert orchestras devoted specifically to performing new intercultural music on a grand scale. It is currently the only ensemble of its kind in Canada, and one of only a handful that exist in the world. The VICO brings together musicians and composers from many cultural and artistic communities in the Greater Vancouver area, including Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Indian, Persian (Iranian), Latin and South American, Vietnamese, African, North American and European. The ensemble includes Western strings and winds (violin, viola, cello, contrabass, oboe, flute, clarinet) alongside Chinese erhu, sanxian, zheng, and sheng/suona; Persian kamanche, tar/setar, and tombak; Vietnamese dan bau; percussion from many world music traditions; and a variety of other instruments as required.

Since repertoire for the VICO’s unusual and diverse instrumentation does not already exist, creating new work is an integral component of all our programming. Developing new commissions (over 50 new Canadian works since 2001, and counting!) provides a necessary framework for bringing musicians and composers together to learn from each other, in a uniquely collaborative process. We build bridges of imagination. We approach diversity as a fascinating challenge and a creative call to action. We create and perform music that transcends borders and breaks down barriers, modeling a pathway for integrating non-Western traditional instruments, sounds and techniques into contemporary Canadian classical music.

Since its inaugural performance in 2001, the VICO has developed and performed over 50 new intercultural pieces by ground-breaking Canadian composers such as Elliot Weisgarber, Trichy Sankaran,Jin Zhang, Mark Armanini, Farshid Samandari, Moshe Denburg, Nikki Carter, Ed Henderson, Larry Nickel, Jeffrey Ryan, Rita Ueda, Lisa Cay Miller, Jim Hiscott,   Lan Tung, Michael O’Neill, John Oliver, Grace Lee, Neil Weisensel, Joseph “Pepe” Danza,  Niel Golden, Stephen Chatman, Rodney Sharman, Dorothy Chang, Neelamjit Dhillon, Jennifer Butler, Kara Gibbs, and Leslie Uyeda.

Reminders:

Ticket holders should arrive no later than 10 minutes before showtime to secure seats.
Seating is limited.

Parking:

Limited street parking is available on Robson and in the West End. Parking spots are scarce in the neighbourhood, so give yourself some extra time or use public transportation. (Closest Skytrain station: Burrard. We are on the #5 Robson bus route).

DONATE & SUPPORT:

Donations collected go towards the continuation this Series and directly supports the artists we engage. You can support by donating HERE.