André Thibault

Recognized as a World Music pioneer in Canada, André Thibault is a surprising and multi-talented musician. Originally from Montreal, he has always been interested in all forms of music and is a specialist in North America with unusual musical instruments.

André Thibault plays quite well, the flute like a percussion instrument, the guitar like the rhythmic maracas, the bouzoki as well as the oud. He is also well trained in flamenco, jazz, blues and classic guitar techniques. As a musician of international caliber, he also explores effortlessly, Brazilian and African rhythms, music from China and Cuba, Arabian or Celtic sounds as well as modern and traditional works.

With his talent, André has toured the world in the company of great musicians collaborating in particular with North America's West Coast musicians such as: Cordes en Folie, Asza, Jou Tou and Silk Road Music.

André is also a co-founder of Silk Road Duo with Qiu Xia He which is one of the rare professional Chinese music ensembles that he has been touring with for over 15 years. He enriches Silk Road Duo with his particular technique and sensibility weaving a colourful fabric between his ancestry, his music and traditional Chinese folk music.

Press Review

ImaginaAsian Concert 2006
Silk Road Music with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Pierre Simard, Conductor

Review by Kenneth Delong for the Calgary Herald

Each year, as part of Asian heritage month, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra puts on a concert devoted to the musical traditions of the far east.

This year's event, similar in general outline to previous concerts, nevertheless contained some interesting new ele-ments that made it especially satisfying for the listener. Notable was the guest appearance of Silk Road Music, a group of six musicians, four of Asian origin and two from the West. Their style of music and their way of presenta-tion is a fascinating mixture of western and oriental cul-tures, the songs presented in a multilingual fashion, and the instrumental element moving seamlessly among musi-cal traditions ranging from China to Celtic. Central to the spirit of the group is Qiu Xia He, a spirited young lady who is a superb virtuoso on the pipa, a type of Chinese guitar or lute.

Whether the music is soulful or playfully rhythmic, Qiu Xia He was able to plumb the musical center of every piece she played,a remarkable show of innate talent and technical expertise.

Her western male alter ego, André Thibault, was also impressive for his expressive playing and general high spir-its on stage.

The group performed several pieces by it self, ranging from Mongolian and Chinese folk melodies to faux Celtic music, performed surprisingly idiomatically on Chinese instruments.

The remainder of the program included works performed by the CPO under the able direction of Piere Simard, who was also the arranger of three of the items, including a piece by Gustav Holst and composers from Vietnam and Korea.

Of greater musical interest were the works actually com-posed for a symphony orchestra by composers whose cultural roots are in the far east, but whose musical train-ing is western. This included a symphony movement on Taiwanese melodies by Maon Shuen Chen and the fi nal work by Jin Zhang, a conductor/composer working in the Vancouver area. This last was a clever, attractive work enti-tled Spring in the Snow Mountains, which featured some splashy playing by the Silk Road Music.

Filling out the program was an appearance of the Mount Royal College Conservatory Trio, sporting two members of Asian background who play Western music in a completely idiomatic way.

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