OTTAWA—The Orchid Ensemble presented a show for kids this week as part of the Ottawa 2010 Chamberfest’s Young People’s Concert series, but the adults in attendance outnumbered the children by about five to one.

Such is the popularity of this delightful group from Vancouver.

The trio’s unique sound is created by Lan Tung on erhu (a Chinese two-stringed fiddle), Jonathan Bernard on marimba and percussion, and Haiqiong Deng on guzhang (Chinese zither). Tung calls the erhu “one of the most important instruments in Chinese music” although the instrument did not originate in China.

Describing their sound, Bernard says, “We have a unique thing, there is nowhere else in the world where there’s an established ensemble with these three instruments. And that’s also very Canadian and west coast I think, because Canadians are pretty highly evolved when it comes to mixing and integration of different cultures. We are an example for the rest of the world.”

Indeed it is the uniting of the three instruments, one African and two Asian, that has made the group’s sound one-of-a-kind.

“We realized that the marimba really fills out the base register in this ensemble,” says Bernard.

“It gives it a nice warm earthy kind of tone for the zheng and erhu to sit on top of. And of course I have a chordal capacity as well as melodic. And then of course, all the other percussion—pitched bells and metals just add a wide spectrum of colour and sound.”

Part educational and part entertainment, the presentation included music from some of China’s 56 ethnic groups such as Uyghurs, Mongolians, and the Jewish people of Kaifung. The Daoist legend, “Pangu and the Story of Creation,” was orated interspersed with musical sounds, and there were explanations about the origins of each player’s instrument.

The group has been using the Pangu piece since the early days when they were collaborating to develop a music and storytelling show. “We were working with a storyteller named Tony Montague, and he introduced that piece to us. And in fact, that piece had been introduced to him by some Vietnamese musician friends of ours,” Bernard explains.

Over the years Orchid Ensemble has continued to present shows for children. The group is British Columbia’s spokesperson for the Canadian Commission of UNESCO’s program ASPNET (Associated Schools Project Network in Canada). They were chosen because they have done many presentations to kindergarten to grade12 students across Canada. They also play south of the border.

“We’re also engaged in a relationship with the Milwaukee Symphony and they have us come every year to do K to 12 shows around Milwaukee,” says Bernard.

“For example, we were just brought in by the Lotus World Music Festival (longest running World music festival in the U.S.) in Bloomington, Indiana, where we did a whole week of school shows. They have an educational residency there.”

The group has a long interest in intercultural music that keeps their sound fresh. They commission composers to write for them and like to present the works of Canadians.

“We are fortunate that we can play at folk festivals, chamber festivals, jazz festivals, and world music festivals. So we can present contemporary compositions to a folk music audience, and we can present folk music to a classical audience, so for us it’s all about breaking down boundaries between genres,” Bernard says.

Tung started playing the erhu at age 10. Her school was starting a Chinese orchestra, so of course the choices were all Chinese instruments.

“I had wanted to play music for as long as I can remember, so when this opportunity came up and it was free, I asked my parents if I could join. My father said ‘Sure, choose the erhu,’ because he likes the Chinese folk songs played on the erhu.”

Tung says she wasn’t daunted by the difficulty of learning to play an instrument with no frets. She didn’t care if her playing was in tune when she first started out. She felt she had been given a toy that she would learn to play. Although she practiced a lot her parents didn’t push her to practice because of the awful sound made by the instrument when played by a beginner. Within a few weeks she could play a short, simple melody. However, she says laughingly that she “played out of tune for years.”

Tung has been collecting fiddles from many different countries such as Iran, India, and Egypt. She also has a coconut-shell fiddle from Thailand, a folk erhu from Taiwan, a tin-can erhu from the south coast of China, a four-string erhu from Mongolia, and a fiddle from Bulgaria.

In addition to playing in the 12-year-old group, each musician is involved in other projects or has solo presentations.

Orchid Ensemble also played this week as part of Chamberfest Late Night at St. Brigid’s series. The group moves on to Toronto’s Harbourfront for a 29 July show but will be back in Ottawa for Music in the Park in Gatineau on August 4.

For tickets to Chamberfest events call the box office at 613-234-6306. The complete 2010 Festival schedule and performer information is at chamberfest.com.