The Bard Chinese Ensemble and Music Director Shutong Li return for their annual winter concert featuring vibrant contemporary works that celebrate cultural heritage and artistic innovation. The ensemble is very pleased to collaborate with two dancers from the Bard Dance Program for the final piece, The Charm of the Long Braid.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Livestream on YouTube at youtube.com/live/1ejDvHvAQkE
Join us for an afternoon of passionate performances, storytelling, and musical exploration!
PROGRAM
Kong Zhixuan 孔志轩
Ode to Qilin concerto for suona 《唢呐协奏曲 “麒麟颂”》
Hiu-Man Chan, suona
Cheng Ching-nam 鄭靖楠
Hong Kongers Add Oil! 《同聲同氣同奏樂》
Kong Su-Leong 江賜良
Green Bamboo 《竹・青》
Guan Naizhong 关乃忠
The Charm of the Long Braid 《魅力大辫子》
Jingyi Mao and Gjon Rezaj, dancers
About the Soloists
Hiu-Man Chan, suona
Hiu-Man Chan is in his second year as a student of the Master of Arts in Chinese Music and Culture at Bard College, where he studies Suona and Guanzi. Originally from Hong Kong. He has also been a freelance musician of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and Macau Chinese Orchestra. Chan achieved a Silver Award in the Senior Professional Category of the 4th Singapore Nanyang International Music Competition for Suona and graduated from Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he pursued dual specializations in Suona and Guanzi. Chan has often performed all over the world, having covered Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, USA and Bahamas.
Jingyi Mao and Gjon Rezaj, dancers
Jingyi Mao is a senior at Bard College, majoring in Theater Performing Arts and Film Production. Originally from China, she has over ten years of training in Chinese dance, Latin dance, and Modern dance. At Bard, she performed in the Bard Dance Program's Tārā and showcased solo performances in Xinjiang and classical dance at the annual Cultural Show. Jingyi brings her dance expertise into theater, enriching each stage production with her distinctive artistic vision.
Born in 2005, American actor and dancer Gjon Rezaj is a sophomore at Bard College studying Theater and Performing Arts. He was born in The Bronx, New York and has lived there for most of his life. He’s a member of the National Honor Society of Dance Arts and graduated from Bronx Envision Academy High School in 2023 with an Arts Endorsed Advanced Regents Diploma. He has taken classes in hip hop, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and modern dance styles. Having been given the great privilege to perform with composer Guan Naizhong, Gjon explores the role of Mario alongside Jingyi Mao with this Chinese orchestral suite to convey a passionate story of love and social class.
about the bard Chinese ensemble
The Bard Chinese Ensemble is comprised of the Conservatory’s Chinese instrument majors, along with various students of Western instruments joining each semester to create a unique new sound for traditional and new Chinese repertoire. With increased enrollment in Chinese instrument majors each year since 2018, the Ensemble is composed of over 20 musicians from both the undergraduate double-degree program and the master of arts in Chinese music and culture.
