The Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra from China

2015 Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival, February 20–21

The 2015 Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival will showcase the China Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra will be in residency at Stanford University from February 18th to 22nd, 2015. During this period, it will give two symphonic concerts on February 20 and 21 in the Bing Concert Hall, focusing on music by Chinese composers. One of the highlights of the orchestra’s residency at the Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival is a collaboration with the San Francisco Opera for a preview performance of the newly commissioned opera Dream of the Red Chamber.

The China Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1982 in Shenzhen, the fishing village near Hong Kong that Deng Xiaoping made one of China’s first “Special Economic Zones” in 1979 and which has since developed into one of the most prosperous and exciting cities in China with 13 million people. The orchestra has developed in parallel with the city, attracting talented young musicians from around the world, and is especially well known in China for performing the work of contemporary Chinese composers. This will be the Shenzhen Symphony’s first visit to the United States and it will perform an outstanding program of Chinese music to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Sheep. Featured soloists including violinist Suli Xue from the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto and pipa player Cong Zhao from the Chinese National Orchestra performing Flying Fairies of the Silk Road for pipa and orchestra.

Another highlight of the Shenzhen Symphony’s program – performed exclusively at Stanford – is the collaboration with the San Francisco Opera (SFO) and the performance of a scene from the forthcoming opera Dream of the Red Chamber, which the SFO will premiere in 2016. Under its general director David Gockley, the SFO has been in the forefront of commissioning new operas. The Dream of the Red Chamber is a beloved classic authored by Cao Xueqin; in China, it is said that you do not ask if someone has read the 18th century Qing Dynasty novel ­– you ask how many times he or she has read it. This is the first time the novel has been adapted for Western-style opera and the SFO has assembled an all-star creative team, with music by world renowned Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng (Madame Mao, Silver River); an English-language libretto by the composer and Tony Award-winning Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly and Chinglish); and stage direction by the US-born, China-based director and playwright Stan Lai (Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, A Dream Like a Dream). Amy Owens and Joseph Dennis from New York will be the soloists performing Scene II from Act I.

In conjunction with the performance of a scene from the opera, the Pan-Asian Festival will feature a not-to-be-missed symposium that brings together members of this stellar creative team and David Gockley to discuss the creation of the opera.

During the orchestra’s residency at Stanford, the Shenzhen Symphony will also reach out to the Silicon Valley Chinese community to perform a Chinese New Year Concert in San Jose’s Flint Center on February 22nd. The program will include the Yellow River Piano Concerto featuring legendary pianist Yin Chengzong, and the West Coast premiere of Ask the Sky and the Earth, a dramatic cantata that reflects the experiences of the millions of zhiqing, or “sent-down youth,” young urbanites who were sent “up to the mountains and down to the countryside” to work for years in rural areas during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).

Now in its eleventh year, the Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival has established itself as one of the most important Asian music festivals in the U.S. It is dedicated to promoting an understanding and appreciation of music in contemporary Asia through an annual series of concerts and academic activities. Jindong Cai, Gretchen B. Kimball Director of Orchestral Studies in the Stanford Department of Music, is the founder and artistic director. For more information about the Pan-Asian Music Festival, please visit: www.panasianmusicfestival.stanford.edu

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Friday, February 20, at 7:30 PM, Bing Concert Hall
China Dream by the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra

  • A Chinese New Year’s Day celebration, featuring violinist Suli Xue from the LA Philharmonic performing the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, and opera singers Amy Owens and Joseph Dennis performing a love duet from the opera Dream of the Red Chamber, in collaboration with the San Francisco Opera.
  • Pre Concert Talk at 6:30 by composer Bright Sheng and conductor Jindong Cai
  • Tickets are $30 general/$20 student/$10 for students with Stanford ID.

Saturday, February 21, at 7:30 PM, Bing Concert Hall
“Chinese New Year Concert” by the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra

  • A concert spectacular by one of the most renowned orchestra from China, performing some of the most popular symphonic works to celebrate the Year of the Sheep. Vocal and instrumental soloists are Suli Xue, Cong Zhao, Amy Owens, and Joseph Dennis
  • Tickets are $30 general/$20 student/$10 for students with Stanford ID.

SYMPOSIUM AND PANEL DISCUSSION

Friday, February 20, 12:30-2:30 PM, Stanford Humanities Center
Symposium and Panel Discussion:
Opera: Dream of the Red Chamber

In collaboration with the San Francisco Opera and in conjunction with the performance of a scene from the opera Dream of the Red Chamber, the Pan-Asian Festival will bring together world renowned Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng; Tony Award-winning Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang; the U.S.-born, China-based stage director and playwright Stan Lai; and San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley, to discuss the making of the opera. Moderated by journalist and writer Sheila Melvin, it is a unique symposium with a stellar creative team.

This event is free, but an RSVP is required for admission. Sponsored by the Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival, the Confucius Institute, and East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival is sponsored in part by:
The Albert Yu and Mary Bechmann Foundation, the Lan Lan Fei Trust, the Pacific Arts and Culture Exchange, Stanford University’s School of Humanities and Sciences, Department of Music, Center for East Asian Studies, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, and the Confucius Institute.

Tickets:
To purchase tickets by phone, call: 650.725.3787.
To purchase tickets online, visit: http://tickets.stanford.edu
Or visit the official Pan-Asian Music Festival website: http://panasianmusicfestival.stanford.edu