Bard Conservatory of Music’s US–China Music Institute and the Central Conservatory of Music, China, Present “The Sound of Spring:” A Chinese New Year Concert with The Orchestra Now (TŌN)

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY — The sixth annual “The Sound of Spring” concert celebrating the Chinese New Year will be held on January 25 and 26, 2025, at the Fisher Center at Bard College and Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Both performances will begin at 3 pm. The Orchestra Now performs under the baton of conductor Jindong Cai, with featured soloists Wang Lei, professor of Sheng at the Central Conservatory of Music; Yan Guowei, winner of the Golden Prize at the China Music Golden Bell Award for Erhu; Zhang Jingli, a renowned percussionist; and Bard graduate student and pipa virtuoso JinOu Anastasia Dong, presenting a musical celebration to usher in the Spring Festival.

Each year, “The Sound of Spring” showcases exemplary symphonic works from the modern and contemporary repertoire, often featuring concertos for traditional Chinese instruments. This year, Maestro Jindong Cai, director of the US–China Music Institute, introduces the pipa concerto “Sisters of the Grassland,” a milestone work in the development of Chinese ethnic music. Based on Wu Yingju’s animated film of the same name and inspired by Inner Mongolian folk songs, the piece portrays the heroic efforts of two Mongolian sisters, Longmei and Yurong, as they courageously battle a blizzard to protect their flock. Composed in 1972 by Wu Zuqiang, Wang Yanqiao, and Liu Dehai, the piece established the precedent for pipa concertos with orchestral accompaniment. In January 1979, shortly after the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Seiji Ozawa conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a performance of “Sisters of the Grassland” during their historic visit to China, followed soon after by its US premiere.

The concert will also feature multiple works by contemporary Chinese composers, including three concertos for Chinese instruments and orchestra. The erhu concerto “Ink Plum” by renowned artist and educator Yu Hongmei, inspired by Wang Mian’s poem “Ink Plum” from the Yuan Dynasty, combines classical poetry with modern compositional techniques with a grand yet nuanced effect. The concerto will be performed by Yan Guowei, associate professor of Erhu at the Central Conservatory of Music, who is celebrated as one of China’s top ten young Erhu performers and a recipient of the prestigious “Golden School Badge” award from the Central Conservatory.

The percussion concerto “Cang Cai,” composed by Tang Jianping in 2003, merges the sounds of Chinese Peking Opera and with crashing cymbals. The work will be performed by Zhang Jingli, a distinguished percussionist and professor at the Central Conservatory of Music. Zhang has served as principal percussionist of the China Symphony Orchestra and the China Philharmonic Orchestra and is a frequent judge at international percussion competitions.

This year’s concert will also feature the world premiere of “Majestic Gallop” by composer and Visiting Professor of Chinese Music at Bard College Xinyan Li. A concerto for sheng and orchestra, the piece will be performed by Wang Lei, professor at the Central Conservatory of Music and sheng virtuoso. The piece is inspired by the vast grasslands of Hulunbuir, galloping horses, and the simple life of herders, showcasing the expressive power of the sheng and incorporating Mongolian long tunes.

In addition to the classic “Spring Festival Overture” and the aforementioned concertos, the concert will present two symphonic works: “East and West III: Tao for All” by Zhang Shuai, and “The Majestic Land” by Li Shaosheng. Zhang’s “East and West III” draws inspiration from the Tao Te Ching and reflects the composer’s deep philosophical insights into Taoism, nature, and life. Li’s “The Majestic Land” will close the concert. The work portrays the grandeur of China’s landscapes throughout the day, from the sunrise over Mount Tai to the starry sky above China’s 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).

This year’s “The Sound of Spring” will once again feature a pre-concert demonstration with Chinese traditional instruments, offering the public the opportunity to engage with instruments and meet musicians starting at 2pm, an hour before each concert.


Sixth Annual “The Sound of Spring” Chinese New Year Concert 
PERFORMANCE DETAILS

Saturday, January 25, 2025, 3 pm
(Pre-concert event in the Fisher Center lobby at 2 pm)
Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
Tickets $25
http://barduschinamusic.org/events/spring-25-bard

Sunday, January 26, 2025, 3 pm
(Chinese traditional instrument demonstrations and Spring Festival activities at 2 pm in the Rose Theater Lobby)
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
10 Columbus Circle, New York, 5th Floor
Tickets: From $25
Ticket Purchase: Online at https://ticketing.jazz.org/ or by phone at 212-721-6500 (or in person at the box office to avoid service fees)
http://barduschinamusic.org/events/spring25
About the US–China Music Institute
The US-China Music Institute was founded in 2017 by conductor Jindong Cai and Robert Martin, founding director of Bard College Conservatory of Music, with the mission to promote the study, performance, and appreciation of music from contemporary China and to support musical exchange between the United States and China. In partnership with the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the Institute has embarked on several groundbreaking projects, including the first degree-granting program in Chinese instrument performance in a US conservatory and a master of arts in Chinese music and culture, a unique multidisciplinary opportunity for graduate-level academic study and performance of Chinese music outside of China. Planned is the construction of a permanent home for the US-China Music Institute on the Bard campus in upstate New York. The Chinese Music Pavilion will be a landmark for the study and appreciation of Chinese music in the United States and throughout the West. barduschinamusic.org

About Conductor Jindong Cai
Cai Jindong Cai is the Director of Bard’s US-China Music Institute, Artistic Director of the China Now Music Festival, and Professor of Music and Arts at Bard College. Previously, he was a professor of music performance at Stanford University. Born in Beijing, Cai is a leading Chinese musician in the field of Western classical music, with over 35 years of professional experience in the United States. A renowned conductor, writer, and educator, Cai has conducted top orchestras in both China and the U.S., and has received numerous accolades, including three Modern Music Awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). With his wife, Sheila Melvin, Cai has coauthored many articles on the performing arts in China, as well as two books, Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became Chinese and Beethoven in China: How the Great Composer Became an Icon in the People’s Republic.

About The Orchestra Now
Founded in 2015 by conductor and educator Leon Botstein, The Orchestra Now (TŌN) is a graduate program of Bard College that trains the next generation of music professionals to become creative ambassadors of classical music. TŌN offers a three-year master’s degree in curatorial, critical, and performance studies and a two-year advanced certificate in orchestra studies. TŌN’s home base is the Fisher Center at Bard, where it performs multiple concerts each season and takes part in the annual Bard Music Festival. It also performs regularly at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other venues across New York and beyond. The orchestra has performed with distinguished guest conductors and soloists including Leonard Slatkin, Gil Shaham, Fabio Luisi, Joan Tower, Vadim Repin, Tan Dun, and JoAnn Falletta. Among TŌN’s many recordings are albums featuring pianists Piers Lane, Anna Shelest, and Orion Weiss; Buried Alive with baritone Michael Nagy; and the soundtrack to the motion picture Forte. Recordings of TŌN’s live concerts from the Fisher Center can be heard on Classical WMHT-FM and WWFM The Classical Network, and are featured on Performance Today, broadcast nationwide. ton.bard.edu

This event was last updated on 01-17-2025

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