Sound Symposium XXII: Duane Andrews, Ink & Echo, junctQín

Duane Andrews

Duane Andrews casts a wide net in the musical ocean. He discovered Sound Symposium while growing up in Carbonear and making occasional visits to St. John’s, where Harbour Symphonies and throwing pianos off cliffs seemed normal at the time. He is most active these days with The Hot Club Of Conception Bay and you can go deeper into what he does at duaneandrews.ca.

Ink & Echo

Ink & Echo is a groundbreaking intercultural ensemble debuting at Sound Symposium XXII with a multimedia performance that bridges traditional Eastern aesthetics and contemporary sonic exploration. The ensemble features an international cohort of acclaimed virtuosos: award-winning guzheng artist Jing Xia, renowned for her genre-blending approach to the Chinese zither; multi-instrumentalist of Ouroboros and Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra fame Nicole Hand; celebrated soloist, renowned member of the Atlantic String Quartet, and principal violist of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Kate Read; and highly accoladed St. John’s percussionist, composer, and producer Bill Brennan.

This performance premieres a new work by composer Jing Zhou, whose distinct style fuses bold musical ideas with her Chinese heritage. Inspired by ancient poetry and the visual philosophy of Chinese ink painting, the piece explores the interplay of "dots and lines" through structured composition and spontaneous improvisation. Enhancing this immersive experience, AI-generated ink paintings—created in response to classical verse—will be projected as a visual dialogue, guiding the conceptual framework of the music. Ink & Echo invites the audience into a layered space where ancient poetry, modern technology, and cross-cultural expression converge.

junctQín
junctQín (pronounced ‘junction’) consists of pianists Elaine Lau, Joseph Ferretti, and Stephanie Chua.  The name of the collective is taken from junctio – the Latin word meaning to join, and from Qín – the Chinese character for keyboard instrument.  junctQín’s goal has been to recast the idea of the piano as more than a solo recital instrument.  The ensemble has discovered and re-introduced works for multiple hands from the 20th and 21st centuries alongside commissioning new works for piano six-hands, unusual keyboard instruments such as toy pianos, melodicas, and synthesizers, as well as those featuring everyday objects and live-electronics.
Praised by Musicworks Magazine for their “...unfaltering, polished performance [that] is a testament to years of work as a unit,” the ensemble has commissioned and premiered over forty works by Canadian and international composers and interdisciplinary artists since its inception in 2009.  Their performances have been featured at venues and festivals including the Canadian Opera Company’s Four Seasons Centre, Open Ears Festival, NUMUS, and the Toronto International Electroacoustic Symposium.
Recent highlights include the release of the interactive digital platform PLAYrePLAY (playreplay.ca) featuring three new works by Nicole Lizée, Germaine Liu, and Lieke van der Voort; as well as a record release with Quatuor Bozzini.