Musicians from the Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble and the National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing held a special concert as part of the NCPA's May Music Festival. The concert united five living composers, and presented works inspired by China's rich and profound cultural legacy.

With the theme of "East meets West," the concert has brought traditional Chinese instruments and Western chamber music to the same stage.

Performers presented works by composers Yao Chen, Niccolo Athens, Tan Dun, Chen Qigang, and Guo Wenjing, all whose inspiration is rooted in China's cultural legacy.  

One of the highlights was the world premiere of Athens' "Three Settings from the Book of Odes."

Guzheng artist Chang Jing, who's been actively pushing the limits of traditional Chinese music, inspired Athens to create this specially commissioned piece.  

She revealed that during self-quarantine last year, she gained a new understanding of the "Book of Odes," which is believed to be the oldest existing example of Chinese poetry. "In ancient China, poems, music and dance are interconnected. So the 'Book of Odes' fits perfectly into our performance," Shen told CGTN before the concert. 

As for bass-baritone Shen Yang, the vocal performer of the piece, it's been quite a challenge to find the right voice.

"Nobody really knows how it sounds like, because this part of music history has been lost, it hasn't been found yet. We're trying to follow the only reference we have, which is the text, the words," he told CGTN. 

He Wei, Tianjin Juilliard School's artistic director, who helped supervise the program, said the concert echoed with their mission in China: to bridge different cultures through music. The concert marked the beginning of a series of collaborations among the Juilliard School in New York, the Tianjin Juilliard School and the NCPA.

Founded in 1905, the Juilliard School is a world leader in performing arts education and has been enrolling students from China since the 1920s. In 2018 it launched its first overseas campus for music education in Tianjin.

"The institute is known for training 'artist citizens' who will go to the community and make a difference with their music," Alexander Brose, the CEO of the Tianjin Juilliard School, told CGTN when asked about what the Tianjin Juilliard School hopes to achieve with this education vision in China.  

In the future, Juilliard and the NCPA are expected to explore collaborative opportunities in performances, artistic training, public education and more.  

(Cover image: Musicians from the Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble and the National Center for Performing Arts perform in East Meets West concert on May 16 in Beijing. /CGTN)