Schedule

Thursday, October 3, 2024
7:30 p.m. Concert
9 p.m. Reception

Vibrant Voices: Musical Portraits from the Houston Asian American Archive is a unique and innovative concert experience that highlights immigrant experiences and triumphs in Houston. Join three young Houston-based composers — Victor Cui, Ethan Soledad, and Tian Qin — as they share vivid musical stories about three Houstonians: wound care doctor and post-war Vietnam refugee Nathalie Roff; writer, filmmaker, and former stand-up comic BanBan Cheng; and dancer and choreographer Cookie Joe. The composers researched Houston Asian American Archive's materials and oral history collections, which sparked their inspiration to create these compositions. 

Join Asia Society Texas, Houston Asian American Archive, and Musiqa for an evening celebrating Asian American experiences in Houston through music and oral history. Some of the interviewees will be present to deliver comments; a reception will follow the concert. Registration is required for this free event.

Performers

Soprano
Alexander Smither

Flute
Garrett Hudson

Clarinet
Maiko Sasaki

Violin
Jackson Guillen

Cello
Caio Diniz

Conductor
Jerry Hou

Vibrant Voices is made possible with the Houston Asian American Archive, the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global, and Anne Chao, co-founder and program manager for the Houston Asian American Archive. This concert is curated by Shepherd School of Music Shih-Hui Chen. 

About the Composers

Victor Cui is a composer who has always been attracted to sounds that are visceral, boisterous, and raw. His music reflects the nuanced soundscapes of nature, machines, and the modern metropolis. When You Die You Float is a new piece that draws on the story of Dr. Nathalie Roff, a Houston-based wound care doctor who escaped post-war Vietnam amongst boat people. 

Tian Qin is a Houston-based composer primarily inspired by visual art, text, nature, and sensation. First Name: Last Name is a new work that focuses on the theme of self-identification within the immigrant's experience, and is based on an interview with dancer Cookie Joe in the Houston Asian American Archive.

Ethan Soledad, a Filipino-American composer originally from Miami, Florida, aims to tell stories and express emotions in their rawest form. The Fact That We Belong is inspired by native Houstonian filmmaker BanBan Cheng. Soledad draws upon the many similarities in their life and artistic goals, both of them stressing the importance of representation and connecting with others in their work. 

About Houston Asian American Archive

Houston Asian American Archive's (HAAA) dual artist residency project is generously sponsored through a grant from the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global. Their mission is to explore the varied experiences of Asians and Asian Americans in the Houston community, and to understand both the challenges they have faced and the contributions they have made. We aim to capture all generations from all walks of life in order to create an inclusive portrayal of the Houston Asian and Asian American community. We intend this project to provide a documentary history linking these life stories to larger national, regional, and global narratives. 

The HAAA goal for the dual artist residency project was to explore art and music in conjuring immigration and diasporic experience in the public imagination. While HAAA has collected a large number of interviews of Chinese first and second generation immigrants, these have rarely been interpreted through the artistic lens. The musical format of Vibrant Voices: Musical Portraits from the Houston Asian American Archive enables us to highlight the HAAA from a seldom-explored perspective. Because the archive is focused largely on Houston, the compositions center on the diasporic experience of the Asian and mostly Chinese immigrants of Greater Houston. The time period revolves around the interviewees' life stories, which span from the mid-twentieth century to today.

About Musiqa

Musiqa is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. Founded in 2002 and led by four composers, the mission of Musiqa is to enrich and inspire our community through programs that integrate contemporary music with other modern art forms. Musiqa celebrates modern creative arts through interdisciplinary concerts that highlight modern music and its connections to literature, film, dance, art and more. With its innovative collaborations as well as artistic and educational programming, Musiqa strives to make modern repertoire accessible and vital to audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds. Each season, Musiqa provides at least seven public performances: four as part of our Music+ Concert Series performed at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Zilkha Hall, and the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston; and three as part of our free Loft Concert Series at the Contemporary Art Museum Houston.

Support for Musiqa's 2024-25 season is generously funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, the Brown Foundation, Inc., the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Performing Arts and Culture programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Syamal and Susmita Poddar. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, The Brown Foundation, Inc., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment Inc. Generous funding also provided by The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, and Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Wortham Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Clayton Fund, and the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming to Asia Society Texas.

Performing Arts and Culture Presenting Sponsors

Syamal and Susmita Poddar

Performing Arts and Culture Program Sponsors

Program Sponsor

Program Partners

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.