David Braid Nine Dragons (2022)
David Braid Five Kazakh Impressions (2022) — Canadian premiere!
David Braid Three Pieces from "Dark Butterflies” (2021)

The Penderecki String Quartet joins internationally-renowned Canadian pianist/composer David Braid and baritone Lee Tsang (head of Classical Music Performance at the University of Liverpool in the UK) for this Guelph Musicfest special concert. This is a unique opportunity to experience something very special in Canada.

In this inspiring collaboration with multi-Juno Award-winning Canadian composer David Braid, Lee Tsang expresses his dual heritage through legends, folk and contemporary practices, and redefines the role of poet as a vocal and physical performer.

Nine Dragons Fantasy is an intriguing hybrid work – a kind of dramatic electroacoustic concerto reimagined for Poet-Baritone, String Quartet, and Logic Pro. The work draws on Kowloon/Jiulong Mountain Songs and is an artistic contemplation of hybridity itself, with tuneful and mysterious transformations occurring across time and space.

Join our artists as they learn to ‘sing’ once more, as they discover what Black Fish can tell us, as they experience Elevation, as they respond to the Sounds of Butterfly Wings.

Experience the joy of the Bamboo Dragon in Dark and Light, be entranced by the tales of Orchid Moon and of a Beloved Ten Thousand Times Missed.

Listen to the Drum with its Mountain Song, heed the Guardian of the Dragon Skin, and perhaps you too can discover the Way of the Ninth Dragon.

In addition to Nine Dragons, the concert will include two more works, including the Canadian premiere of David Braid’s Five Kazakh Impressions (2022)—Five Miniatures inspired by Kazakhstan composed for the Kazakh State String Quartet and premiered in December 2022 in Almaty, Astana and Karaganda commemorating 30 years of diplomatic relations with Canada. Performed this time with the Penderecki String Quartet.

There will also be David’s Three Pieces from “Dark Butterflies” (2021)—Music inspired by recent travel and experiences by the composer in Central Asia. Performed by Peter Shackleton (clarinet), Jeremy Bell (violin), David Braid (piano), and Katie Schlaikjer (cello).

Hamilton native David Braid is a superlative jazz pianist with a serious "Classical” side and talent for film scoring. He is a nine-time nominee and three-time Juno award winner. His first classical composition was nominated for Classical Album of the Year, and his first film score won two Screen Awards for Best Original Score, Best Original Song, etc. In short, he's an outstanding performer and composer who has been justly recognized for it. But sadly, for Canadians, he now spends most of his time working and performing in Europe.

It is fortunate that he was invited to perform at Wilfred Laurier University with Lee Stang (who has come to Canada from Liverpool). Nine Dragons will be performed at Laurier, however, the complete program will only be presented in Canada by Guelph Musicfest.