The Naadaleela Ensemble will be pushing the boundaries of music at the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival.

“It’s all brand-new music that no one has ever made before,” says Naadaleela ensemble percussionist and composer Curtis Andrews. “So, when you come to see our group, you’re going to hear and see something that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”.

Composed of musicians from different cultural backgrounds, the group is known for exploring music from ancient cultures across the Silk Road. They fuse South Indian, Chinese, Persian, Taiwanese and Indonesian music together with Western classical, contemporary music and jazz.

“We came together to explore new musical collaborations between the members with the goal being original music that was informed by our cultural interests,” says Andrews who along with his bandmates formed the Naadaleela Ensemble in 2021.

The ensemble’s performance will take place on June 30 at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (formerly the Vancouver Art Gallery north plaza).

Music no one has ever made before

The Naadaleela Ensemble looks to stand out from other groups because of the instruments the group uses in their performances. Andrews who plays the mridangam and kanjira, drums from South India, explains that the Chinese stringed instruments zheng and erhu and the Persian flute ney are rarely played together with the mridangam.

Although the original goal of the ensemble was simply to assemble a repertoire for public performance, Andrews says they later set their mind on securing more funding to work with dancers.

He highlights one piece he enjoys called Swarajathi. Written by the ensemble’s South Indian singer Vidyasagar Vankayala and arranged by Andrews, the song is influenced by the dance traditions of South India.

“The lyrics of Swarajathi are prayers written over 1,000 years ago to praise the mother goddess in India,” he says. “We even had a dancer the last couple of times we played it. I quite enjoy that piece, because it uses all kinds of musical materials, such as solo percussion, speaking rhythms and singing rhythms.”

Andrews says it’s these novel experiences he gains from performing with the group and from the audience that bring him delight.

“First, I obviously enjoy the music when I play with my friends and when we improvise, seeing what new things we come up with,” he says. “But the other thing is the experience of the audience afterwards, because it’s something a lot of them have never heard before. So, hearing their experiences and impressions of the music is also enjoyable.”

Nevertheless, there are challenges to overcome. Andrews explains that every instrument has limitations to some degree and playing them together required many adjustments.

“It takes us a few months of regular rehearsals to get together, figure out which instruments blend if we put them together, how to make one instrument louder, or if we should all play at the same time, or if the range of each instrument is suitable for the range of the voice,” he says. “Since all the instruments are from acoustic musical traditions, we also need to figure out how to amplify everything on stage during our live performances.”

From theatre to outdoor stage

The most memorable moment Andrews has had with the Naadaleela Ensemble until now was their first performance that they recorded for the Indian Summer Festival.

“We recorded it at the Orpheum Theatre, which is one of the most magnificent theatres in Vancouver with very ornate decorations,” he says. “It felt very awesome to be in that and play the music.”

As the group continues to seek new performance opportunities, this summer will be the group’s first time performing at the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival. Andrews says the festival will also provide them with a new chance to break away from their usual shows.

“I’m curious to see how the Taiwanese people in the audience are going to receive the performance,” says Andrews. “It’ll also be an outdoor festival-type stage, which is something we typically don’t do because normally we’re in theaters. So, I’m sure it’ll be an interesting and fun experience.”

For more information on the Naadaleela Ensemble’s performance at the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival, visit : www.tccfestival.ca/naadaleela-ensemble