Building on past
seasons dynamic programming and impressive placements in the
prestigious American Prize, the University of Delaware Symphony
Orchestra (UDSO) is planning a spring concert tour of China, including a
featured performance in the premiere Shanghai Oriental Art Center
known as the Lincoln Center of China.
James Allen Anderson,
associate professor and director of orchestral studies, is known for
engaging, creative programming so much so that under his leadership
the UDSO and UD Chamber Orchestra won The American Prize in Orchestral
Programming Maestro Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award
(college/university division) for the 2015-16 season. Other recent
seasons have featured performances of masterpieces such as
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6 and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, as well as works from contemporary composers such as Jennifer Higdon, Robert Moran and Joseph Vella.
This month, Anderson leads the 80-member UDSO on a 12-day tour of
China, with an impressive concert program that includes a world premier
piece by composer Mark Hagerty, Beyond these Horizons, featuring
international guest artists 6-Wire Ensemble and percussionist Chen
Zimbalista. The program also includes Robert Morans Points of Departure; Leonard Bernsteins On the Waterfront: Symphonic Suite; and Mao Yuan and Liu Tieshans Yao Peoples Dance. The
concerts are part of a collaboration with musicians from East China
Normal University and Xi-An Conservatory, giving UD students an
immersive cultural and musical experience.
6-wire founding member and Trustees Distinguished Professor of Music Xiang Gao,
a native of China, has produced a tour that will be a significant
musical event and signal cultural experience for the students. Having led numerous UD trips to China in previous years,
Gao, along with local concert tour company Beijing Sunshine Zero Sports
and Culture Ltd., were uniquely suited to create a once-in-a-lifetime
experience for UD students, as well as to introduce Chinese audiences to
the Department of Musics programs and talented student
musicians. Along with this, it will help UD reach out to many UD alumni,
friends, parents, partners and collaborating institutions in China and
to make new connections for the future.
Local audiences can preview the tour performances at a send-off
concert at 7 p.m., Monday, May 28, in Thompson Theatre at the Roselle
Center for the Arts on the Newark campus.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for UD faculty/staff/alumni and
seniors; and $5 for students. Advanced ticket sales are available
through the REP box office at 302-831-2204. At-the-door tickets, if
available, are cash or check only.
Friends and family of the UDSO can help support the China tour through UDs Crowdfunding at https://udel.givecorps.com/projects/47227-help-the-ud-symphony-orchestra-go-to-china
6-wire
Trustees Distinguished Professor of Music Xiang Gao and Cathy Yang
formed the crossover duo 6-wire in 2010 combining the ehru, the
two-stringed Chinese violin, and the four-stringed Western violin, both
essential leading instruments. 6-wire has toured the United States and
Asia, writing and playing world music, crossover chamber music and jazz,
collaborating with an array of musicians, and performing with a variety
of instrumentations, including zither, guitar, bass saxophone, piano
and percussion. Newark audiences have frequently seen 6-wire perform as
ensemble-in-residence for the Master Players Concert Series. http://6-wire.com/
Chen Zimbalista
Israeli percussionist Chen Zimbalista has dazzled audiences around
the world with an enchanting array of rhythmic sounds that he cajoles
from more than 40 instruments, played with his lightning quick hands,
some of them at the same time. His music a euphonious blend of pulses
and beats defies classification. A true feast for the senses, his
programs are taken from the classical, jazz and ethnic repertoire. http://zimbalista.com/
Mark Hagerty
Mark Hagerty is an award-winning, highly individualistic American
composer who pursued classical training as an instrumentalist, singer
and composer, and then determined his own path, outside of any tradition
or institution. He has been developing two compositional practices in
parallelone that extends historic, particularly pre-classical forms,
and a second that sets all traditions aside in favor of forays into more
extreme forms and modes of expression. In all cases, he strives for a
deep connection with performers and listeners, and his music has found
enthusiastic audiences internationally and across the United States. He
is currently working in larger forms and exploring the melding of sound
sculpture with more intimate musical expression. Inspirations include
science and nature, the poetry of Wallace Stevens, backpacking in
Vermonts Green Mountains, the art music of India and his two favorite
cities, Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro. http://www.hagertymusic.com/
Article by Megan Everhart; photo by Evan Krape
