Now in its eighth year, the Pan-Asian Music Festival has established itself as one of the most important Asian music festivals in the U.S. It is dedicated to promoting an understanding and appreciation of music in contemporary Asia through an annual series of concerts and academic activities. Each year the festival features an art form or geographical region. Jindong Cai, Director of Orchestral Studies for the Stanford Department of Music, is the founder and artistic director.
Friday, February 3, 8:00 pm
The Magic of Asian Zithers: Three Masters, Three Instruments, and Three Traditions
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $10/5
7:00 PM: Pre-concert discussion with guest artists from China, Japan, and Korea Chinese guzheng, Japanese koto, and Korean gayageum have the same roots but developed differently. The opening concert of the Festival showcases these three instruments featuring three masters who have traveled to the US for the Festival: Chinese guzheng master Yuan Sha, Japanese koto master Kazue Sawai, and Korean gayageum master Ji Aeri.
Saturday, February 4, 8:00 pm
Asian Masters Encounter the Western Tradition
Featuring the Stanford Symphony Orchestra
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $10/5
Jindong Cai, conductor
7:00 PM: Pre-concert discussion with conductor Jindong Cai and guest artists A master showcase: Yuan Sha, Kazue Sawai, and Ji Aeri join forces with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra to perform three concertos written for guzheng, koto, and gayageum. Also on the program is Prokofiev’s beloved Piano Concerto No. 3, featuring 2011 Stanford Concerto Competition winner Nathan Cheung as piano soloist. $10 general; $5 students; free for Stanford students with ID.
Sunday, February 5, 8:00 pm
Generation NeXT in Asian Music: Bay Area Ethnic Asian Ensemble Showcase
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $10/5
This powerful gathering of youth ensembles from the Bay Area demonstrates how young American musicians of various Asian backgrounds are inspired by their ancestral cultures. It includes the California Chinese Youth Symphony (performing on traditional Chinese instruments); Berkeley's Korean Traditional Drumming Ensemble, EGO; and the Sawai Koto Ensemble of San Francisco.
Friday, February 10, 8:00 pm
Old Traditions, New Approaches, New Sounds
Featuring the Stanford New Ensemble and Guests
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $10/5
7:00 PM: Pre-concert discussion with guest artists This eye-opening, tradition-challenging concert demonstrates innovative new approaches to the performance of Asian musical instruments. It features Kojiro Umezaki on Japanese shakuhachi, Faraz Minooei on Persian santur, Yunxiang Gao on Chinese pipa, and Jin Hi Kim on Korean digital komungo with video.
Saturday, February 11, 8:00 pm
Re-imagining the Musical Tradition
Featuring the Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $10/5
This program focuses on the transformation of ancient performance styles from Japan, China, and Korea. From Japan, the celebrated Master Tosiko Yonekawa II offers three pieces that allow listeners to experience the transformation of ziuta, a chamber music style of shamisen music, in which the performer sings while playing the instrument. From China, this performance features Zhou Long's Pipa Concerto, The King of Chu Doffs His Armor, in which the pipa is played in the traditional manner, but is accompanied by a symphonic orchestra using contemporary techniques. And, from Korea, Jin Hi Kim presents her personal modernization of the ancient komungo instrument using electronic and digital technology. Kim performs Eternal Rock, a concerto she composed specifically for the digital komungo. $10 general; $5 students; free for Stanford students with ID.
