The FILMharmonique Orchestra, under the baton of Co-Artistic Director Francis Choinière, will bridge Eastern and Western musical traditions on Jan. 30 with Butterfly Lovers, a concert that aims to capture the richness and vibrancy of both musical styles. At the heart of the diverse program is the world première of Christian Thomas’s Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra “Dragon.” A true amalgamation of both cultures, as Thomas has created a Western-style orchestral concerto for the traditional Chinese pipa, a pear-shaped plucked string instrument similar to the lute. More importantly, Thomas’s concerto was written for and dedicated to Liu Fang, a Chinese-Canadian…
