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.
THE LIVING WORLD (生生不息)
THE LIVING WORLD is a music and media arts performance inspired by nature, the landscape, and mythical creatures, reflecting our shared curiosity of the world around us. The Sound of Dragon Ensemble will premiere new works by composers Chihchun Chi-sun Lee (Taiwan/Korea), Edward Top, Elizabeth Knudson, and Tim Brady (Montreal), combining Chinese and Western instruments: Charlie Lui – dizi, Paolo Bortolussi – flute, Lan Tung – erhu, Zhimin Yu – ruan, Jonathan Bernard – percussion, Itamar Erez – guitar, Sungyong Lim – cello, Mark Ferris – violin, and Dailin Hsieh – zheng. Under the leadership of Taiwanese conductor Chih Sheng Chen, the musicians will perform against a backdrop of animated visuals created by Li Tung. This concert will prepare the Sound of Dragon Ensemble for a return tour to Asia in the fall.
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Half an Hour of Our Time
Influenced by Jean Cocteau and Francis Poulenc’s one-act opera, La voix humaine, James Kudelka’s Half an Hour of Our Time was originally commissioned by Moonhorse Dance Theatre in 2008. Performed in silence, this duet for a woman and a man is dense with incident. Everything that has bound this couple is now unravelling before us.
Kudelka is one of Canada’s most acclaimed choreographers, who doesn’t let just anyone host his work. This is a rare opportunity to experience his brilliance in one of the city’s most intimate venues. Space is limited, so get your tickets now.
Apr 17 + 18, 7pm
Left of Main (211 Keefer St, Historic Chinatown, MST Territories/Vancouver)
Pay What You Choose – $10-$50
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Mechanical Hymns
Mechanical Hymns is an exhibition of factory machines repurposed into custom-made instrument(s). The cathartic and droning machine hymns recreate soundscapes from the artist’s childhood experience of visiting her mother at a garment factory featuring the sounds of machines, women’s voices in multiple languages conversing in harmony all at once (but often seen as noise and disruptive), and a cassette player running droning religious music in the background – an interesting contrasting of the meditative with aggressive machines.
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LOVE YOU WRONG TIME
A hilarious, no-holds-barred song cycle featuring two friends looking for love while contending with the fetishization of Asian women.
Using music, true stories, bar games, and stand up, Maddie Bautista and Deanna H. Choi’s inventive, interactive show serves as a battle cry in the wake of mass violence against Asian femmes, creating a space for rage, grief, tenderness and ruthless comedy. It’s a good time, with teeth.
This smart, hilarious comedy sold out before the opening of its world premiere—don’t miss your chance to see it at The Cultch!
Winner of 2 Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Outstanding Sound Design & Composition, Outstanding Performance in an Ensemble)
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where you go
Continuing our work with Indigenous choreographer Olivia C Davies, we return to tell more of the story of Where You Go weaving together voices, dance, lighting and costume design, to create an immersive journey through love, friendship and devotion. Davies’ writes: “In a world where the only event that keeps you moving forward is the potential that you will meet your beloved once again, haunted by words said and unsaid, and by regrets and hopes unfulfilled, abandoning the struggle for power in a field of possibility after the loss, they wander here where damages are repaired, love knows no bounds and the only way to go is up. Climbing forever up towards the stars that only shine for them, falling ever so softly back to the earth to start all over again. This pair of star-crossed lovers, reunited in the Afterlife, carry forward the agreement of the heart, ’til death do us part.’”
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30th Anniversary Concert and Reception
Celebrate Standing Wave’s 30th Anniversary at the Annex with what is sure to be Vancouver’s new music event of the year! This extraordinary evening will feature no fewer than five world premieres by composers with deep ties to the ensemble: Peggy Lee, Nicole Lizée, Matthew-John Knights, Russell Wallace, and Jacqueline Leggatt. These brand new works showcase the innovative spirit that has defined Standing Wave for three decades. Join us for an unforgettable night of cutting-edge music, and stay for a celebratory reception to toast the ensemble’s remarkable legacy. Tickets are limited, so secure yours early!
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