St. John | San Juan Concert Series: Lute Legends Collective
Free (admission by donation)
- Ronnie Malley, oud
- Lucas Harris, lute
- Wen Zhao, pipa
The St. John | San Juan concert series presents The Lute Legends Collective, an ensemble that performs the music of ancient plucked string instruments. Though the oud, lute, pipa, and others, each instrument with a distinct set of techniques and sounds, collective members unite their instruments onstage in a cross-traditional musical experiment.
The concerts begins at 3pm Sunday, March 23. Admission by donation. St. John | San Juan is located at 20th and Capitol Way (Intercity Transit bus route 13), Olympia, with accessible entry off the parking lot at 19th Avenue.
About Lute Legends Collective
The Lute Legends Collective is a performing association of musicians who represent ancient plucked-string traditions.
Each member of our collective is a committed carrier of an ancient musical tradition, whether it be the virtuosic modal improvisation of the Middle East, the intricate polyphony of the European Renaissance and Baroque, or the picturesque musical depiction of nature from China. Though instruments such as the oud, lute, and pipa each have evolved a distinct set of techniques and sounds, we delight in recognizing that most of our instruments are long-lost cousins. The Lute Legends Collective is our way of reuniting them onstage in a cross-traditional musical experiment for the twenty-first century.
The Collective's directors are lutenist Lucas Harris and pipa player Wen Zhao, who met in 2004 performing together for the Tafelmusik Four Seasons Mosaic project, and shortly afterwards performed a duo recital. They have been friends and collaborators ever since, performing together as a duo in Canada as well as China. In 2008 they released the duo CD Lute Legends: Ancient Airs From East and West.
In 2012, this duo expanded with the addition of the Middle-Eastern oud, the "grandfather" of the lute and pipa, and thus was born the Lute Legends Ensemble. This trio played in various Toronto venues and was an invited guest of Vancouver Early Music and other festivals.
Enter the Lute Legends Collective in 2022, a model that opens up exciting new possibilities. We have now expanded our membership to include more plucked instrument traditions, including those of the Indian sarod and the African kora. A flexible format allows the group to perform in various sizes and combinations according to the needs of particular projects.
https://lutelegends.com/