Our Recommendations
Indulge your appetite for arts and culture.
With so many exciting arts and culture events happening you can feel overwhelmed. The Music on Main Team is here to help! We’ve carefully chosen a list of wonderful digital and live events to discover and experience. Whether you’re looking for a theatrical diversion or a blockbuster art show, some new dance or a classical concerto, our recommendations is a list of must-see events whenever you’re looking for a hit of culture. Make sure to check back often, as we are always scouting fun events that we think you’ll love!
Our Recommendations are must-see events, some from our Vancouver home base and a few from across the globe that we think you’ll enjoy. We’re your trusted source that you’ll want to come back to every time you’re looking for something new and exciting to discover. If you’re looking for only Music on Main events check here.
Circa (Australia)
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, along comes Duck Pond, Circa’s irreverent take on the timeworn classic Swan Lake. Throw out any preconceived notions of balletic preciousness, tutus and frou-frou, and embrace the exquisitely controlled chaos that is Australia’s preeminent dance-circus company.
Under the visionary direction of choreographer Yaron Lifschitz, Circa mixes it up, throwing in burlesque, heart-in-throat acrobatics, romance, and more than a little madness and mayhem to create a fully feathered concoction.
In Duck Pond, elements of Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet and Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved parable The Ugly Duckling leap headlong into the pool together. Performers leap, tumble, and proffer topsy-turvy takes on the roles of pining prince, black swan, and an army of yellow billed duck-dancers in sequinned flippers. The result is a circus marvel, glittering with theatrical magic and laughter, all cued up by the words “Once upon a time.”
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WONDERFUL JOE
“Paint gold in the part of me that is broken. Let my faultline shine, these golden precious scars are fine, divine, and mine.”
Joe and his dog Mister lose their home, and facing separation, head into the world for one last grand adventure together. The world seems broken, but Joe sees magic in the mundane, beauty amidst brutality, and life in the lost and lonely. He and Mister encounter Mother Nature, Santa Claus, Jesus and the Tooth Fairy, witness a troupe of homeless players in a cardboard theatre, and show a disenfranchised teen how to jump over the moon in a playground rocket ship. A seemingly simple tale of a simple man, Wonderful Joe is a love letter to imagination, hope, and the art of filling broken hearts with gold.
Ronnie Burkett brings this story to life with his signature style of beautiful puppetry and solo performance, with a glorious score and soundscape by John Alcorn.
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Amir Amiri
The Amir Amiri Ensemble collapse time with their blend of tradition and innovation. With dazzling virtuosity, the quartet take inspiration from their Persian musical roots while transcending borders and genres. In creating musical conversations with the past and present, the Amir Amir Ensemble explore the limitless creativity that abounds amongst its master musicians: Amir Amiri (santur), Abdul-Wahad Khayyali (oud), Reza Abaee (ghaychak), Omar Abu Afech (viola), and Hamin Honari (percussion).
CBC Recording Artist of the year Amir Amiri is a composer and champion of the santur, a 72-string hammered dulcimer that dates back to 500 BCE. Born in Tehran and now based in Montreal, Amiri has established himself as a fearless cultural innovator, collaborating with jazz, classical, and avant-garde musicians, dancers, and theatre artists. In his hands, he deftly weaves the classical and folk music of pre-Islamic Persia with today’s sonic possibilities.
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FLIGHT
Experience the magic of Jonathan Dove’s Flight, a modern opera inspired by the same
heartwarming and relatable story as Spielberg’s hit film The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks. If
you loved the movie’s touching tale of Viktor Navorski’s adventure in the airport, you’ll find Flight
just as compelling. With the true story of an Iranian immigrant as their creative jumping-off points, Flight and The
Terminal both centre on a main character marooned in a busy airport, navigating their way
through unexpected situations and discovering new connections along the way. Photo by David Cooper.
Sankofa Danzafro (Colombia)
“Dance is a voice in favor of equity. It helped us survive in times of slavery. It was our voice when we were denied the word. It became a narrative, a memory and a hope for the future.” – Rafael Palacios, choreographer
Created in celebration of Colombia’s 159th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery, The City of Others takes apart the country’s history and culture to examine its complex and often agonizing past.
For thousands of people, cities can be a place of hostility, loneliness, and discrimination. Palacios believes that for life to be positive and constructive for collective communities, it is necessary to embrace the extended family concept prevalent in rural communities: what I own is for everyone; under my roof, there is room for someone else.
With the second largest Afro-descent population in Latin America, Colombia’s diasporic communities have suffered discrimination and inequality. In The City of Others, twelve dancers and musicians occupy the stage, laying claim to political and social power, reconstituting the theatrical space as a site of democracy, equality, and wholeness. This is their city – it is everyone’s city.
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YUNCHAN LIM PIANO
The Rach 3 heard round the world” was how it was described when 18-year-old South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim astonished listeners with his rendition of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. His breathtaking performances at the Cliburn secured his place as the youngest person ever to take home the gold medal, and a star was born. He was dubbed an “immediate sensation” by The New York Times, and the official video of that Rach 3 performance has since garnered over 14 million views on YouTube. Moments after his victory, Lim revealed that the next piece he intended to learn for performance was J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. He has made good on that promise, and we’re thrilled to present him in his Vancouver debut playing Bach’s crowning keyboard achievement.
J. S. BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
“That rare artist who brings profound musicality and prodigious technique organically together.” — Marin Alsop
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