Bard East/West Ensemble
巴德中西乐团
The Bard East-West Ensemble (BE/WE) is a New York–based cross-cultural music ensemble founded at the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music. Bringing together Chinese and Western instruments, performers, and musical traditions, the ensemble is dedicated to innovative performance, artistic collaboration, and cultural exchange. Following its successful 2025 China tour, BE/WE returns to China in 2026 for a new series of performances and collaborations.
巴德中西乐团（Bard East-West Ensemble, BE/WE）是一支来自纽约、成立于巴德学院音乐学院美中音乐研习院的跨文化音乐团体。乐团融合中西方乐器、演奏者与音乐传统，致力于创新演出、艺术合作与文化交流。继2025年中国巡演成功举办后，BE/WE将于2026年再次赴华，展开新一轮演出与交流合作。
Instrumentation
Chinese instruments
Dizi, Sheng, Suona, Erhu, Pipa, Ruan, Guzheng
Western Instruments
Violins (2), Viola, Cello, Bass
Percussion
Western and Chinese style
THE BARD EAST/WEST ENSEMBLE
巴德中西乐团成员
2025-2026 season
photo gallery: BE/WE in concert AT ZANKEL HALL AT CARNEGIE HALL
CHINA NOW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024, photos by fadi kheir
video: BE/WE WITH WU MAN in concert AT BARD college
CHINA NOW MUSIC FESTIVAL 2023
ABOUT THE BARD EAST/WEST ENSEMBLE
The Bard East-West Ensemble (BE/WE) is a dynamic and original music group that brings together the essence of Chinese and Western soundscapes to create a new model of cross-cultural performance. The ensemble’s founder and artistic director, Jindong Cai, has devoted his career as an orchestra conductor and educator to advocate for the development of Chinese music in the West.
The ensemble aims to combine Eastern and Western musical traditions, and is committed to performing arrangements and original works with unique instrumentation, thereby creating a new realm of musical expression. The core members of the ensemble are composed of a Western string quintet and seven Chinese instruments including dizi, erhu, pipa, ruan, suona, guzheng and sheng, with Chinese and Western percussionists.
The Bard East/West Ensemble has performed in many major venues on the East Coast of the United States. Between 2022 and 2024, BE/WE appeared at the renowned Kennedy Center and at the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C., and on the stages of Jazz at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City. The group has collaborated with world-class solo artists including winds virtuoso Guo Yazhi, pipa virtuoso Wu Man, and the guzheng/guitar combo Duo Chinoiserie.
BE/WE’s innovative repertoire includes commissions of new compositions and arrangements by celebrated composers including Zhou Long, Tan Dun, Xinyan Li, Hao Weiya, Mathias Duplessy, and many others.
Cultural exchange and cross-cultural understanding are at the root of BE/WE’s mission to improve US-China relations through the universal language of music. The ensemble plans to tour extensively in the US and China in 2026 and beyond, with a particular emphasis on youth and community outreach programs as well as public performances.
关于巴德中西乐团
巴德中西乐团（BE/WE）是一支充满活力与原创精神的音乐团体，融合了中西方声音的精髓，致力于打造跨文化表演的新模式。乐团由指挥家、教育家蔡金冬创立并担任艺术总监，他长期致力于在西方推广和发展中国音乐的事业。乐团以融合中西音乐传统为宗旨，专注于演奏经过特别改编的作品与原创曲目，凭借独特的乐器编制开创出全新的音乐表达方式。乐团的核心成员包括一组西方弦乐五重奏和七种中国传统乐器：笛子、二胡、琵琶、阮、唢呐、古筝和笙，并由中西打击乐演奏家共同参与演出。
近年来，巴德中西乐团活跃于美国东海岸的重要舞台。2022年至2024年间，乐团先后登上华盛顿肯尼迪艺术中心、驻美中国大使馆、纽约林肯中心爵士音乐厅以及卡内基音乐厅的舞台。乐团还与多位国际知名艺术家合作，包括管乐演奏家郭雅志、琵琶演奏家吴蛮，以及中西融合组合“东风二重奏”（Duo Chinoiserie）。
巴德中西乐团的创新曲目编排包括向著名作曲家委约的新作品与改编曲目，已合作过的作曲家包括周龙、谭盾、李昕艳、郝维亚、马提亚斯·杜普雷西等。
巴德中西乐团（BE/WE）以音乐为桥，致力于通过跨文化理解与交流，促进中美关系的和谐发展。2026年及未来，乐团将深入中美两地展开巡演，聚焦青少年与社区的艺术推广，同时举办丰富多样的公众演出，将融合中西的声音带给更广泛的观众。
PERSONNEL 艺术与制作团队
Jindong Cai 蔡金冬, artistic director Hsiao-Fang Lin 林小芳, tour manager Katrine Ottosen, production manager Beitong Liu 刘倍彤, production assistant Wenrui Shi 史文睿, Travel manager Xinyan Li 李昕艳, music arranger Weiber Consulting, PR and marketing
