East Meets West, April 24, will be third virtual concert and forum; a dialogue between Chinese and Western music

Alfred University’s third East Meets West Virtual Concert and Forum will be held at 8 pm Saturday, April 24, hosted by the Confucius Institute at Alfred University.

Feedback from the first two monthly East Meets West events was enthusiastic with audience members calling the performances “delightful,” “inspiring,” and “engaging for musicians and non-musicians alike.” Audience members at the third event are in for a similar treat, as he Confucius Institute welcome Mei Han, an internationally-acclaimed master performer of the Chinese zheng; and Randy Raine-Reusch, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. A discussion hosted by Daisy Wu, faculty member of AU Performing Arts Division and CIAU Director, will follow.

The concerts and discussions are open to the public on the Zoom platform. Registration will be required for this Zoom event.

Please register here or scan the accompanying bar code. There will also be a registration link on the Facebook page of the Almond 20th Century Club Library.

Dr. Mei Han grew up in a military family during tumultuous times in China. She studied under some of the top zheng instructors in the country and was chosen to be a featured soloist with the Zhan You Ensemble in Beijing, the leading ensemble of its kind, at the age of 19. Later she became an ethnomusicologist, earning a PhD in British Colombia, exploring music from around the world, and developing new repertoires “for her instrument. Today she is Director of the Center for Chinese Music and Culture at Middle Tennessee State University and a member of Red Chamber, a Chinese plucked-string band, and of the Mei Han Art Ensemble.

Randy Raine-Reusch survived an abusive childhood in Canada to become world-renowned visionary. He has collected more than a thousand musical instruments from around the world, many rare and endangered, and he can play them all. Considered an innovator who extends the boundaries of music, he specializes in new and experimental music and serves as a mentor for emerging artists. He is a founder of the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Malaysia, and has served worldwide as a college lecturer and consultant for numerous museums and support organizations.

More information about the artists may be found at New Music for Zheng and New Directions for World Music

This series is organized by CIAU and is co-sponsored by the Performing Arts Division of Alfred University, the Music Department of China University of Geosciences (CUG) in Wuhan, the Almond 20th Century Club Library, the Cuba Circulating Library, the Hornell Public Library, the David A. Howe Library in Wellsville, and the Wimodaughsian Library of Canisteo.

 If you have questions or your organization would like to assist in promoting this series, please contact Daisy Wu or CIAU Assistant Director Susan Steere 607-382-4140 for further details.