SUNDAY AUGUST 3rd
4:00 PM - 10:30 PM
CAMERON BANDSHELL
BEACON HILL PARK
VICTORIA BC
~ FREE PERFORMANCES ~
RUBY SINGH'S VOX.INFOLD
Ruby Singh's Vox.Infold is a Juno-Nominated Vancouver supergroup elevating Indigenous, Black and South Asian voices and featuring:
RUBY SINGH: Ruby Singh is a multi award winning artist whose creativity crosses the boundaries of music, poetry, photography and film, engaging with mythos, ecology, justice and fantasy. In 2022 Singh received the Lieutenant Governor’s Jubilee Award for excellence in Art and Music. In 2023 he received his inaugural Juno nomination for Vox.Infold, and he won both the WCMA award for best Global Music Artist of the Year, and BC Touring Council's Artist of the Year.
TIFFANY AYALIK & INUKSUK MACKAY (PIQSIQ): With roots in Nunavut's Kitikmeot and Kivaliq regions, Tiffany Ayalik and Inuksuk Mackay grew up in Yellowknife, where dark winters and environmental extremes shaped their aesthetic. They studied and practice katajaq, Inuit-style throat singing, blending it with modern practice to weave complex emotional landscapes.
RUSSELL WALLACE: Russell Wallace is an award-winning artist from Lil’wat First Nation. His music can be heard on soundtracks for film, television and theatre/dance productions across Canada, and he received the Lieutenant Governor’s Art and Music Award in 2022 for artists, the same year in which Wallace’s music was featured at Biennale Arte 2022-The 59th International Art Exhibition in Venice. He works with many choirs in Vancouver and has been the Director of Indigenous Vocal Ensemble at Vancouver Community College.
KHARI McCLELLAND: Khari McClelland is a musician (known for his work with the Gospel trio The Sojourners) and music historian. He has garnered accolades for his multimedia theatre productions (The Freedom Singer, Now We Recognize) and CBC television works (1-hour episode of Absolutely Canadian with Jodie Martinson) depicting his research into the music of slaves who travelled the underground railway to Canada.
TIFFANY MOSES: Tiffany Moses is a Dene vocalist and audio engineer currently living in Vancouver, BC. Inspired by a love of music she has been singing since she was a young girl following her grandfather into the bush. Musical influences include jazz singers such as Billie Holiday and Nina Simone as well as classical composers such as Vivaldi and later trip-hop bands Portishead and Massive Attack. Tiffany is also active as a music educator, leading workshops on music production and live looping.
PIU: Priyanka Chakrabarti, who performs under her artist name ‘Piu’, is a Vancouver based vocalist, composer, and producer. Born in India, Priyanka has been a life long student of Indian classical music and started her musical journey at a young age as a vocalist. With a passion for exploratory electronic fusion, her genre bending music traverses between cultures and identities, a reflection of how she moves in the world. Using her voice, and analog sounds, Priyanka weaves Raga into her compositions as an offering.
Performing together, Vox.Infold redefine a capella performance with an immersive audio-visual experience featuring video art by Ruby Singh and the award-winning Chimerik.
“Mesmerizing, vibrant… Singh isn’t just crossing genres, he’s straddling astral planes ...Vox.Infold is an immersive experience of looped beats, breathing and vocals that deserve placement on a Dune soundtrack.” – The Globe and Mail
"Ruby Singh keeps on dropping dynamic sonic experiments. The cross-cultural a cappella project brings together vocalists from indigenous, inuit, black and south asian background to unite myriad musical traditions in new and unique ways." - The Vancouver Sun
https://rubysingh.bandcamp.com/album/vox-infold
~
SAMUEL ROHRER:
After music and arts studies in Berne and Boston, Samuel Rohrer quickly established himself within the acoustic improvisational scene of continental Europe, working alongside esteemed contemporaries with early releases on the seminal ECM Records imprint before setting up his own label Arjunamusic. His musical journey evolved as he started exploring electronics, working alongside electronic music legends such as Max Loderbauer, Ricardo Villalobos and Tobias Freund – gaining traction with his Ambiq project.
Playing a combination of percussion, modular synthesizer and keyboard-based instruments, Samuel has performed at major jazz festivals around the world. He is a genuinely unique figure within the European music landscape, defining a world of his own by navigating a balance between improvisational acoustic and electronic music forms.
“Rohrer has developed his very own procedures and aesthetics to create a new form of captivating music that is consequently built from the deeper grounds of rhythm…opening up truly new dimensions.” – London Jazz News
https://arjunamusic-records.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-lovers
~
ELISA THORN
Elisa Thorn graduated from the UBC School of Music in 2011, and since that time has become a much sought after addition to the Canadian creative music scene, known for her skilled use of extended techniques, electronic effects, and unconventional uses of harp.
Her music, which combines influences of post-rock, jazz, classical and indie, is propelled by two artistic objectives: firstly, how to create music that is both abstract and accessible; and secondly, how to lead a band with harp in a way does not compromise sensitivity with it’s boldness, or aesthetic beauty with it’s curiosity.
Interested in the intersection between composed and improvised music, she is involved with many projects including HUE, The Giving Shapes and Gentle Party, who released an album under the Phonometrograph label that was longer-listed for the Polaris Prize in 2017.
https://elisathorn.bandcamp.com/track/the-garden
~
EVA PEKÁROVÁ
Eva Pekárová is a Film Composer, Musician, and Multidisciplinary Artist based in Vancouver, Canada. Originally from the small town of Piešťany, Slovakia, she began her piano studies there at the age of 4.
Eva’s diverse background drives her to be interested in and tackle a wide range of genres and instrumentation in her musical practice. She is most interested in innovating musical genres with the unexpected, playing with musical boundaries, and is known for her melodically strong work. Currently, she is in the finalizing stages of an innovative album focusing on traditional Eastern European Instruments while taking on various film projects.
Eva has a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design with a specialization in Film, Video, + Integrated Media. She has also studied film scoring and worked with a live orchestra under Vasilis Milesis in Athens, Greece. Her extensive research and professional engagement with film production gives her a unique edge as a film composer.
Eva’s current project is an album giving voice to traditional Slavic Instruments, particularly the Fujara from her home country of Slovakia. Eva’s creative approach to the music in this album involves a commitment to innovation through genre and instrumental application.
The Fujara holds great cultural significance to Eva’s home country, and is tied to both folk music and ancient hand-crafting techniques. Folk instruments should be protected and they should have the opportunity to evolve in new ways as music evolves as well. Eva hopes that by innovating their application her album will serve to both share it with diverse audiences and create space for the Fujara on the modern stage.
By reimagining the traditional instruments of our past in ways that elevate their importance for our future, Eva imagines a collaborative coming together of musicians and audiences alike. To celebrate our diverse backgrounds, deepen our appreciation, and creatively approach the way we interact with ancient instruments moving forward.
https://soundcloud.com/evapekarova/collective-agency-momentum-documentary-1
~
FAUN.A
Faun.a is a musician combining organic and electronic instruments with our environments, to create songs to daydream to.. Started as a looping project in 2017, faun.a continually shifts and shapes into new forms, using atomospheric sound as the template. Currently exploring the sounds that surround us and attaching them through geopoetics, relationship to land, adding to the ever expanding noise.
https://faunasongs.bandcamp.com/album/salish-coast
~
ZÜGELLOS
Originally from Galicia way back when the shtetles still stood, Zügellos roamed the countryside until retiring to the far reaches of a land called Lekwungen. Here the fair peoples sold and rationed out their own herbal remedies unworried about the dark times behind them, or the dark times ahead. In this environment, Zügellos found their calling – altering waveshapes and ear canals for the pleasures of the unknown.
https://www.mixcloud.com/Xenophrenic_Recordings/z%C3%BCgellos-wonderment-2024/
~
Lək̓ʷəŋən Traditional Dancers
The Story of the Lək̓ʷəŋən Traditional Dancers as told by Lyla Dick.
Back in 1978, late uncle Ray Peter from the Cowichan tribe started the dance group at the friendship centre along with our late father Jim and late Bob Malcom and uncles Butch and Skip Dick. He taught us the songs we use today and still sing them the way he did.
That group stayed together for about 5 years and then stopped. Our Dad and Mom didn’t want it to stop so they brought it home to here and started teaching some of our family around here. It was then that late Flora Joseph gave mom and dad the Paddle Welcome song.
After dad passed in 1999, Mom (Bernadette) wanted us to keep going on with the group because it was important to her and Dad to keep it breathing and alive. So today, under Momma’s guidance, we (Lyla and Beth) keep the group going strong over the last few years. With many performances like the recent Royal Tour, we’ve been able to perform for the Queen as well when she was here a few years back and other government officials along with schools at all levels and festivals.
There are about 25 in our group when we are all together, the youngest being Baby Jesse at 8 and Momma being our oldest going to be 79 this year, truly blessed we are to have her along with all the amazing kids.
The group is highly sought after to represent the Lək̓ʷəŋən people at significant events throughout the region. They have performed to welcome visiting royalty, the Lieutenant Governor and the Prime Minister, Mayor and Councils and many others. One of their favourite performances is to greet Indigenous people from around the world.
~
Beacon Hill Park is Victoria's largest park located between the James Bay and Cook Street Village neighbourhoods, roughly a 15-minute walk from downtown, 5-minute walk from the Legislature (which is a major bus terminus, including the #70 and #72 routes from the BC Ferry Terminal). Parking is limited in the park, so we encourage alternate modes of transportation. Additional handicap parking will be created by the City of Victoria in the traffic loop on the east side of Douglas Street across from 250 Douglas Street near Avalon Road. There will be no concession on site, so please ensure you bring enough water and food for your stay. Please help the festival volunteers with clean-up after the event and "pack-it-in-pack-it-out". There are mosquitos around the Cameron Bandshell at dusk, so please also come prepared with insect repellent as needed.
~
Wonderment takes place on the unceded territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən peoples, the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations. Beacon Hill Park, where this particular event takes place, is traditionally called míqәn (MEE-qan) which means “warmed by the sun”. This seaward slope was a popular place for rest and play – a game similar to field hockey, called Coqwialls, was played here. At the bottom of the hill was a small, palisaded village that was occupied intermittently from 1,000 until approximately 300 years ago. The settlement was here for defence during times of war, and it was also important for reef net fishing. The starchy bulbs of the wildflower, Camas, were an important food source gathered in this area. The hill here is also known as Beacon Hill.
~.
Wonderment 2025 is supported by the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, the BC Arts Council, the Capital Regional District, and the City of Victoria. This event in particular is supported by the Open Space Gallery, who are loaning their high-lumen laser projector and large projection screen for the evening performances. We are also grateful for the supports of Exclaim!, The Georgia Straight, The Capital Daily, DL Sound, Long & McQuade, Modo Carshare Cooperative, Sunbelt Rentals, and the Inn at Laurel Point.
~
SCHEDULE:
4:00 PM - Lək̓ʷəŋən Traditional Dancers
4:30 PM - Zügellos
5:30 PM - Faun.a
6:30 PM - Eva Pekárová
7:30 PM - Elisa Thorn
8:30 PM - Samuel Rohrer
9:30 PM - Ruby Singh's Vox.Infold
The event ends by 10:30pm.
You may also like the following events from Wonderment:
Also check out other
Entertainment events in Victoria,
Music events in Victoria,
Arts events in Victoria.
