In 2022, the Society of We Are Canadians Too launched the Jade Music Fest to celebrate Chinese-language music in Canada. The annual festival, which runs from Wednesday (November 5) to Saturday (November 8), also offers a platform for Canadian musicians with Chinese ancestry who may want to perform in their heritage languages.
Two of those Canadian musicians are respected songwriters Van Lefan and Jacq Teh. They will bring their distinctive singing styles to the Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street) at 7 p.m. on Thursday (November 6) for a concert called Voices of Our Generation.
In this ticketed event, Lefan and Teh will celebrate the music that shaped their parents’ and grandparents’ lives by singing Mandarin classics of the ’70s and ’80s. They’ll also perform folk music passed down through generations.
The concert reflects the Jade Music Fest’s goal of fostering connections between first-generation immigrants who moved to Canada as adults and the 1.5- and second-generation, who are products of the Canadian school system.
Van Lefan’s “Whispers in the Wind” includes Mandarin and English lyrics.
Lefan immigrated to the Lower Mainland from Taiwan with her family when she was 11 years old. This makes her a member of the 1.5 generation. Lefan has released two indie studio albums, What Holds Us Together and Unsent Letters to Whom It May Concern, and each record includes some bilingual songs with Mandarin and English lyrics.
The Toronto-based Teh’s father was born and raised in Myanmar and her mom came from Vietnam. Both are Hokkien speakers with Chinese ancestry and they met in Canada. The second-gen Teh’s EP, “Crush”, blends Hokkien and Mandarin with English. She also wrote three songs on Sammy Jackson’s Juno Award-winning album “With You”.
In addition to her much-in-demand songwriting, Teh is also a highly regarded improvisational jazz singer. She teaches vocal jazz classes at the University of Toronto.
Jacq Teh’s “Like You” includes Mandarin and English lyrics.
Event details
The Jade Music Fest will present Van Lefan and Jacq Teh at Voices of Our Generation. The concert will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday (November 6) at Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island. For tickets and more information, visit the Jade Music Fest website.
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