Theatre-goers were treated to a special night at the Orpheum in Vancouver on Thursday, June 13. Tla'amin singers and drummers were invited to perform three pieces created by Tla'amin member Drew Blaney, with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) accompanying them. Pacific Region International Summer Music Association (PRISMA) co-founder Arthur Arnold conducted the arrangements by Tobin Stokes and Yoanita Kartadihardja, with 14 PRISMA Academy students also performing.
This is the first year Tla'amin and PRISMA were invited to take part in The Path Forward, which is an annual concert curated by the VSO Indigenous Council that features Indigenous artists and musicians from the Coast Salish Territory of the Musqueam Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. The night was in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day and part of VSO's work toward reconciliation. According to PRISMA, several months ago, when the organization was planning its PRISMA Academy extension in Vancouver in collaboration with the VSO and VSO School of Music, the idea was floated to do something there, with Tla'amin involved.
"You could hear the enthusiasm of everyone at the end of the pieces; it was pretty overwhelming," said Arnold. PRISMA and Tla'amin have been partnering for the past eight years for PRISMA on the Beach, a free outdoor concert at Willingdon Beach, which takes place this year on June 22 . "To do that [perform] in the Orpheum with the VSO for such a dedicated crowd was just marvelous," sai.
