A Musical Dialogue Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Center on US-China Relations

Join the Asia Society for an evening of music, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations and the rich tradition of artistic collaboration between China and the United States. This anniversary concert features masters on the sheng, guzheng, and banjo, who all radiate infectious joy as they bend the rules of their traditional instruments.

 

Wu Tong, the renowned sheng player and vocalist, and a charter member of the Silk Road Ensemble, will perform the U.S. premiere of his new chamber piece, “Water Way,” and collaborate with renowned American visual artist Clifford Ross. Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations, says “‘Water Way’ evokes the spiritual power of Buddhism and the beauty and importance of water to our world.”

 

Abigail Washburn, a Grammy award-winning, Mandarin Chinese-speaking banjo player, and Wu Fei, a guzheng virtuoso and composer who recently relocated to Nashville, will kindly take a break from recording their first duo album to perform for us. Classical training, folk traditions, and a love for improvisation find harmony in their performance.

 

The Silk Road Ensemble’s album “Sing Me Home,” which features both Abigail Washburn and Wu Tong, recently won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. You can listen to the song “Going Home” from the album in the video below.