Bard Conservatory of Music’s US-China Music Institute Presents The Sound of Spring: A Chinese New Year Concert with The Orchestra Now
Bard College US-China Music Institute concert conducted by Jindong Cai. Photo by Karl Rabe.
The US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music presents The Sound of Spring: A Chinese New Year Concert conducted by Director of the US-China Music Institute Jindong Cai with The Orchestra Now (TŌN) performing. This special annual event, marking one of the most important holidays in the Chinese lunar calendar, showcases some of the best Chinese American artists and solo artists in America today, Chinese music, and traditional instruments. Performances will take place on Friday, January 28, 2022 at 8pm in The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College and on Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 3pm in the Rose Theater of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City. To purchase tickets for the January 28 Fisher Center concert, visit fishercenter.bard.edu, call 845-758-7900 (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm), or email [email protected]. For tickets to the January 29 Lincoln Center concert, please visit ticketing.jazz.org, or call 212-721-6500.
This year’s concert will celebrate the Chinese Year of the Tiger. As we have done with great success in our previous concerts, we aim to create the most authentic Chinese New Year musical event to reflect both traditional and contemporary music of China. Amazing artists and exciting music, like the most played Chinese symphonic piece, Yellow River Concerto, will inspire the audience to overcome obstacles and meet the future with hope.
The first half of the program features “Ode to Pear Blossoms” from The Royal Consort of Tang, a newly created Peking opera, which combines modern sounds with traditional form, as well as two pieces honoring the great Yellow River, which has been referred to as the cradle of Chinese civilization and has a strong place in the cultural imagination. The second half of the concert showcases the lyrical sounds of the traditional Chinese pipa, the exciting suona, and beautiful vocal music in celebration of the Chinese New Year and its spirit of family, togetherness, and looking ahead with optimism.
“This program represents a selection of pieces that show how Chinese music and Western music can interact with one another, from the formal elements of the traditional instruments and the modern Western orchestra, to the musical elements of diverse compositional styles, to the thematic elements of setting, history, and story-telling,” writes Jindong Cai. “Music transcends culture, and I always say that it is the best way for people to understand one another, no matter who they are or where they are from. Obstacles are all around us, both from nature and from the political environment. But through music we have a language that can connect people together and to help us see beyond our differences.”
The concert features vocalists Song Feihong (Peking Opera), Esther Maureen Kelly (soprano), and José Rubio (baritone); Yazhi Guo (suona and guanzi); Ju Xiaofu (piano); and Zhou Yi (pipa).
Post Date: 12-27-2021
This year’s concert will celebrate the Chinese Year of the Tiger. As we have done with great success in our previous concerts, we aim to create the most authentic Chinese New Year musical event to reflect both traditional and contemporary music of China. Amazing artists and exciting music, like the most played Chinese symphonic piece, Yellow River Concerto, will inspire the audience to overcome obstacles and meet the future with hope.
The first half of the program features “Ode to Pear Blossoms” from The Royal Consort of Tang, a newly created Peking opera, which combines modern sounds with traditional form, as well as two pieces honoring the great Yellow River, which has been referred to as the cradle of Chinese civilization and has a strong place in the cultural imagination. The second half of the concert showcases the lyrical sounds of the traditional Chinese pipa, the exciting suona, and beautiful vocal music in celebration of the Chinese New Year and its spirit of family, togetherness, and looking ahead with optimism.
“This program represents a selection of pieces that show how Chinese music and Western music can interact with one another, from the formal elements of the traditional instruments and the modern Western orchestra, to the musical elements of diverse compositional styles, to the thematic elements of setting, history, and story-telling,” writes Jindong Cai. “Music transcends culture, and I always say that it is the best way for people to understand one another, no matter who they are or where they are from. Obstacles are all around us, both from nature and from the political environment. But through music we have a language that can connect people together and to help us see beyond our differences.”
The concert features vocalists Song Feihong (Peking Opera), Esther Maureen Kelly (soprano), and José Rubio (baritone); Yazhi Guo (suona and guanzi); Ju Xiaofu (piano); and Zhou Yi (pipa).
Post Date: 12-27-2021