ASIAN
AMERICAN
VOICES
The opening event of Asian American Voices presented two major works by New York-based composer Huang Ruo: A Dust in Time, composed in 2020 in response to the pandemic; and a preview of excerpts from the oratorio Angel Island, composed in 2021 to honor the stories of immigrants from China. View program information and photos from the concert below.
Photos by Karl Rabe
program
Opening Conversation: Huang Ruo and Jindong Cai
A Dust in Time, passacaglia for strings (2020)
THE ORCHESTRA NOW
Jindong Cai, conductor
INTERMISSION
Angel Island: oratorio for voices and string quartet (preview excerpts)
DEL SOL QUARTET
CHINA NOW FESTIVAL CHORUS
Jindong Cai, conductor
About the Program
Huang Ruo. Photo Max Lee
The opening concert of the fourth annual China Now Music Festival features brings two major new works by this year’s composer in residence, Huang Ruo, to the Fisher Center at Bard College. Born in China in 1976 and based in the United States, Huang has become a major figure in contemporary American music. Huang’s work includes Chinese and Western influences in many genres and traditions; it often explores important historical and social subjects and integrates them into multidimensional soundscapes.
The Orchestra Now will perform Huang’s 2020 reflection on the pandemic, A Dust in Time. This meditative work was inspired by Tibetan sand mandalas, intricate circular designs composed in colored sand which are ritually swept away once completed. “This special piece is created for the people affected by the pandemic, giving them a piece of music to reflect, to express, to mourn, to bury, to heal, to find internal peace, strength, and hope.” - Huang Ruo
Del Sol Quartet. Photo Lenny Gonzalez
The San Francisco-based Del Sol Quartet and the China Now Festival Chorus will offer a preview of excerpts from the new oratorio Angel Island, which sets to music the haunting Chinese poetry inscribed on the walls of the Angel Island immigration station in San Francisco in the early 20th Century. The inscriptions were made by immigrants from China who had embarked for America full of hope for the future, only to find themselves detained behind the walls of the Angel Island detention center due to the Chinese Exclusion act (1882-1943), a federal law prohibiting the immigration of all Chinese laborers. Some individuals remained on the island for years. Their voices can be heard in the poetry they left behind, now set to music in Huang’s latest work.
The concert will begin with a conversation between Jindong Cai and Huang Ruo about the social and cultural inspiration behind Huang’s music.
Read about Covid-19 Health and Safety Policies at the Fisher Center in their FAQ’s page, HERE.
Angel Island: Oratorio was commissioned by the Del Sol Performing Arts Organization, with support from the Hewlett Foundation “50 Arts Commissions,'" with additional funding by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation and the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation.