TAN DUN in CONCERT with the Dunhuang Ancient Music Ensemble
Join us on Sunday, May 12 from 6:00-7:30 pm at China Institute in America's 100 Washington Street entrance for a rare opportunity to hear composer/conductor Tan Dun perform new musical pieces with the Dunhuang Ancient Music Ensemble. Tan Dun will discuss his creative process and inspirations throughout the program.
Tickets: $100 including Post-Concert Reception and Meet-and-Greet with the Artists $35 General Admission $20 Students
Tan Dun's fascination and countless hours of research to translate and unearth "the ancient sounds of Dunhuang" culminated in the creation of his Dunhuang Ancient Music Ensemble. With the Ensemble and the music they will present, the artists will share musical stories that have lived in the hearts and minds of the Eastern World for thousands of years and are now finally able to be heard. Inspired by the powerful history of spiritual and cultural exchange of China's Mogao Caves, as well as the groundbreaking musical history discovered in the Dunhuang murals from the 4th-14th centuries, Tan Dun spent ten years locating, visiting, researching, and documenting the lost musical manuscripts of the Library Cave and the over 40 instrument illustrations found on its walls. The instruments illustrated in such paintings tell the story of a neglected part of music history that is little known by the outside world. With his research and unique musical reconstruction, Tan Dun seeks to redefine the history of music and to offer audiences the opportunity to hear the sound of Dunhuang from more than 1,000 years ago. In helping recreate these sounds, Tan Dun has spent years researching and replicating instruments found on the cave walls as well as transcribing the ancient musical manuscripts found in the Library Cave.
For questions, please contact Jianqing Zhang at jzhang@chinainstitute.org
