The Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary

Inaugurated in the 2004-2005 season, the Pan-Asian Music Festival is dedicated to promoting an understanding and appreciation of music in contemporary Asia. Jindong Cai, the festival’s founder and artistic director, states: “It has been a remarkable ten years during which we have explored many of the rich and diverse musical cultures from Asia. With the festival as our looking-glass, we hope to continue bringing people and traditions from East and West together through music.”

The 2014 Pan-Asian Music Festival begins on February 1 with a traditional Chinese New Year Concert by the Stanford Symphony Orchestra with renowned guest soloists, followed by a unique, two-weekend long celebration of traditional Tibetan and Mongolian music and dance by two visiting ensembles, the Tibetan Opera, Dance and Music Troupe of Qinghai and the Mongolian State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. Four soloists from the Mongolian National Opera will join forces with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Chorus in performances of Verdi’s Requiem.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE—PERFORMANCES

Saturday, February 1
Chinese New Year Celebration Family Concert
2:30 pm
Bing Concert Hall
General admission $10

Featuring the Stanford Chinese Music Ensemble and Stanford Symphony Orchestra with guest artists, conductor Jindong Cai will present this open rehearsal for the evening’s Chinese New Year concert in a family-friendly format. The family concert will provide a joyous opportunity for parents and children of all ages to welcome the Year of the Horse.

Chinese New Year Concert
7:30 pm
Bing Concert Hall
General $30, student $15
Celebrate the Year of the Horse with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jindong Cai and world-class soloists. The festival’s artist-in-residence, renowned pipa player Cong Zhao, performs the Little Sisters on the Grassland Concerto. Violinist Suli Xue of the Los Angeles Philharmonic plays Chinese folksongs arranged for violin and orchestra, and internationally acclaimed Taiwanese-Austrian pianist Rueibin Chen performs the beloved Yellow River Piano Concerto.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Music, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, and the Confucius Institute at Stanford.

Saturday, February 22
Tibetan Opera, Dance and Music Troupe of Qinghai Family Concert
2:30 pm
Bing Concert Hall
General admission $10
This specially programmed event for families and children of all ages highlights the Tibetan Opera, Dance and Music Troupe of Qinghai. Audiences can sample the rich cultural traditions of Tibet through music and dance performed by this talented 40-member ensemble.
This event is part of the Bing Nursery School Performance Series.

Impression Shambhala, Music and Dance from Tibet
7:30 pm
Bing Concert Hall
General $20; student $10
The Tibetan Opera, Dance and Music Troupe of Qinghai has visited Nepal and Thailand and now marks its first ever visit to the U.S. The first part of the program focuses on ceremonial chants and dances, some of which are generally performed only inside Tibetan Buddhist temples. The second part of the program explores folk dance, singing, and other traditional performing art forms. This concert takes its name from Shambhala, a mythical spiritual kingdom in Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Co-sponsored by the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford and the Stanford Tibetan Studies Initiative.

Saturday, March 1
Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet Family Concert
2:30 pm
Bing Concert Hall
General admission $10
This specially programmed event for families and children of all ages highlights guest artists from the Mongolian State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. Audiences can explore the vivid cultural life of Mongolia through music and dance. The program includes traditional instrumental music, throat singing, and dance.

Mongolia Gala
7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall
General $20; student $10
In collaboration with the Mongolian Ministry of Culture and the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, this memorable evening presents 30 of the finest performers from Mongolia, from traditional folk musicians and dancers to Western-style opera and ballet performers. Mongolia’s performing arts culture is deep and diverse—including its own age-old traditions and the classical repertoire of the West brought by the Soviet Union in the 20th century—and its performance standards are world-class.
Co-sponsored by the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford and the Stanford Tibetan Studies Initiative.

As part of the collaboration with the Pan-Asian Music Festival, four soloists from the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet will be featured in the Stanford Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Verdi’s Requiem on February 28 and March 2.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE—ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL EVENTS

Saturday, February 1
China Cultural Forum: National Form and International Aspirations
11 am-1pm
Bing Concert Hall Studio
Free admission

This panel discussion explores the long-term issue of national forms of China in the international context. The evening’s music event revolves around the orchestral performance of the Yellow River Piano Concerto, a classic that expresses the revolutionary ethos by blending folk, indigenous, and local elements into a Western orchestral genre. Four scholars/critics will discuss the assumptions, innovations, and practices that modernize the folk and regional heritages.
Co- sponsored by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Confucius Institute at Stanford.
Panelists:

• Emily Wilcox, specialist and professor in Chinese traditional dance and music at the 
University of Michigan
• Christine I Ho, PhD student in art history at Stanford. Area of specialty: national painting and 
socialism
• Sheila Melvin, Chinese arts writer and critic
• Moderated by Ban Wang, Professor of Asian Languages and Comparative Literature at StanfordLunch will be served. Admission is free, but a reservation is required. Register online at http://panasianmusicfestival.stanford.edu 


Saturday, February 22
Symposium: Arts and Music from Tibet
11 am-1 pm
Bing Concert Hall Studio
Free admission
This symposium will feature musicians and scholars from Tibet. Professor Jiayong Qunpei of China’s Minzu (Minority Nationalities) University will discuss music from Tibet, especially the Tibetan opera tradition. Reshi Tsering Tan, a popular and well-respected Tibetan recording artist, will share his experience as founder of the Shangri-La Folk Music Preservation Association. SFMPA is a non-profit organization devoted to making field recordings of traditional Tibetan music, especially fast-vanishing religious music. Dr. Robert W. Clark, Coordinator of the Stanford Tibetan Language Program, will discuss Tibetan Buddhist visual art. Select Tibetan musicians from the Tibetan Opera, Dance and Music Troupe of Qinghai will demonstrate various types of Tibetan traditional and monastic music.
Lunch will be served. Admission is free, but a reservation is required. Register online at http://panasianmusicfestival.stanford.edu
Co-sponsored by the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford and the Stanford Tibetan Studies Initiative.

Saturday, March 1
Symposium: Arts and Culture in Contemporary Mongolia
11 am-1pm
Bing Concert Hall Studio
Free admission
Guest speakers include:

• Bayanmunkh Dorjpalam, Director of Cultural Heritage Program of Mongolian Arts Council
• Tsetsentolmon Baatarnaran, Researcher and Teacher of Mongolian State University
• Munkhzul Chuluunbat, General Director of Mongolian State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet.Lunch will be served. Admission is free, but a reservation is required. Register online at http://panasianmusicfestival.stanford.edu

  Co-sponsored by the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford and the Stanford Tibetan Studies Initiative.

For information and updates, visit:
http://stanfordpanasianmusicfestival.stanford.edu
Or contact stanfordpamf@stanford.edu

Tickets:
To purchase tickets by phone, call 650.725.2787.
To purchase tickets online, visit: http://tickets.stanford.edu 
Or visit the official Pan-Asian Music Festival website: http://panasianmusicfestival.stanford.edu

Sponsors and partners of the Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival:

• Center for East Asian Studies at Stanford
• Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Stanford and the Confucius Institute at 
Stanford
• Department of Music at Stanford
• Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford and the Tibetan Studies Initiative
• School of Humanities and Sciences
• The Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China
• Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
• Mongolian Ministry of Culture
• Qinghai Province Department of Culture and Media
• Shangri-la Folk Music Preservation Association
• Albert Yu and Mary Bechmann Foundation