Special Events
Celebrating All We Are
Fri Aug 4, 2023 | 4 PM - 8 PM
Vancouver Art Gallery
“Through our diversity what does our world sound like?” – Hussein Janmohamed
A Performance by Hussein Janmohamed, Rachel Viccaji, Shruti Ramani, Renee Fajardo, Sarah Jo Kirsch, Faizal Jiwa and Jack Foster.
Celebrating All We Are is a vocal performance event curated by esteemed composer and musical innovator Hussein Janmohamed. The Gallery becomes a site for a work—ever-in-progress—in which Janmohamed and invited vocalists draw from their pluralistic cultural backgrounds to create unconventional and innovative musical experiences, where we can be seen and heard for ALL THAT WE ARE.
This intercultural performance is co-created with a group of remarkable vocalists: genre-defying singer Rachel Viccaji; mezzo-soprano and educator Renee Fajardo; soprano and arts pundit Sarah Jo Kirsch; Hindustani and jazz vocalist Shruti Ramani; and multi-instrumentalist, vocalist Faizal Jiwa, and baritone vocalist Jack Foster. This performance weaves together Indigenous, South Asian Gujarati, experimental, popular and improvised traditions. By intertwining musical histories that are traditionally perceived as distinct, the ensemble invites audiences to hear new sonic landscapes that unearth the potential for collective diversity and harmony.
WHERE: This site-specific event is designed as a spatialized performance in the Gallery’s Rotunda, with vocalists arranged on every floor.
WHEN: The performance is part of our Free First Friday Nights, when admission to the Gallery is free from 4–8 PM. Advance booking is highly recommended to guarantee entry into the Gallery.
Development of this intercultural collaboration is supported by the Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society (VIM House).
Repertoire
Piece: “Moon of Open Hands”
Composer: Russell Wallace (Lil’wat vocalist and composer)
Piece: “Taaliyo Na Taale”
Composer: Avinash Vyas
A Gujarati Garba originally from the film Mangal Fera (1949)
Piece: “Dancing Queen”
Composer: Andersson/Ulvaeus/Anderson
Originally performed by ABBA
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Hussein Janmohamed
Jazz and Hindustani musical sensation
Hussein Janmohamed is a singer, curator, music director, composer and educator. He is Ismaili Muslim of South Asian East African descent. His work bridges gaps in music education and group team building by using a participatory approach to music creation that is accessible to all. Hussein leads transformational experiences for people to build bridges across diverse lived experiences through music. Hussein recites traditional Ismaili devotional poetry and is an active community arts educator leading the revitalization of musical traditions through cross-cultural creation and collaboration.
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Sarah Jo Kirsch
Soprano and arts pundit
Sarah Jo Kirsch is a soprano/vocalist steeped in the world of Western European song, oratorio, opera and experimental music traditions. They have premiered dozens of new works by Canadian composers, created their own sound- and text-based electroacoustic works, and shared knowledge about wholistic vocalization and the evolution of organized sound.
Renee Fajardo
Filipino mezzo-soprano and educator
Renee Fajardo is a Filipino opera singer and producer, currently based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. She has performed across the Philippines, the UK and Europe, and is an active collaborator in the music and theatre communities in Canada. She is the current Education Manager at Gateway Theatre and the Artistic Producer at Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre.
Rachel Viccaji
Genre-defying vocalist
Rachel Viccaji has been a vocalist and actor in Pakistan since she was 17, performing in musicals and with her own band. Rachel brings a blend of experiences with her, being born to parents of two different minority religions and Anglo-Indian descent. She is most known for her work on Coke Studio, Pakistan as a featured artist and team lead for backing vocals as part of the house band. Rachel recently moved to Vancouver, completed a diploma course for Film, Television and Voice Over at Vancouver Acting School and is building connections in the creative community.
Shruti Ramani
Trailblazing Hindustani and jazz vocalist
Shruti Ramani is an innovative and emerging artist in the Canadian jazz scene. She hails from Mumbai, India where she secured a degree in Hindustani music under the mentorship of Dr. Ritu Johri from the Agra Gharana. She acquired a Bachelor’s in Jazz Studies (Performance) with a specialization in voice from Capilano University. Her original music is an eclectic combination of Indian and jazz traditions. She composes and arranges music that fuses the two traditions to create dynamic pieces for both large and small ensembles. She leads a dynamic new collaborative ensemble named Raagaverse with respected musicians Jodi Proznick, Noah Franche-Nolan and Nicholas Bracewell.
Faizal Jiwa
Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist
Faizal Jiwa is a vocalist whose influences are everything around him: sounds made by other voices in nature, animals, echoes, machines, instruments, etc. His love for traditional jazz, blues, soul and choral music have led him to explore the more frantic, obtuse, cacophonic, microtonal music from around the world that makes most people change the channel. His freedom from tradition encourages him to add worldly flavours to any musical landscape.
Jack Foster
Baritone and literary advocate
Jack Foster is a vocalist, writer and drag artist living in so-called Vancouver, British Columbia. A self-proclaimed deviant, Jack’s musical practice blends classical training with pop, punk, and jazz influences to create nights of joy through shared nostalgia. In addition to his solo work, Jack is an active member of the Vancouver choral scene. His writing and original music deal with themes of queer loneliness and gender expression.