Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man gives a workshop on improvisational techniques to Bard students at the second annual conference of the U.S.-China Music Institute, at Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, the United States, March 12, 2019. Educators and performers from the U.S., Canada and Europe Tuesday wrapped up a two-day conference in New York on the developments and challenges of teaching Chinese music in the West. The event, themed "Tradition and Discovery: Teaching Chinese Music," was presented by the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music in partnership with China's Central Conservatory of Music, the Music Confucius Institute at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and the Center for Chinese Music and Culture at Middle Tennessee State University. (Xinhua/Zou Guangping)

The US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music will hold its inaugural Chinese New Year concert on January 26, 2020, at the Lincoln Center to welcome the Year of the Rat, according to the institute.

The Sound of Spring concert will gather some of the greatest Chinese instrument players in today's music world, including erhu master Yu Hongmei, pipa master Zhang Hongyan, percussion instruments master Wang Jianhua and suona artist Zhang Weiwei.

Besides a number of classic melodies celebrating the Spring Festival, the concert will also mark the debut of a symphony featuring the instrument sheng, a mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes.

Composed by Li Yuejin from the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing, the new symphony will be led by Wang Lei, China's first doctoral student in sheng performance. 

Cai Jindong, director of the US-China Music Institute of Bard, and professor Chen Bing from CCOM will co-conduct the concert.

"The concert is not just a celebration of the Chinese New Year. Moreover, we hope to offer an authentic feast of Chinese music in collaboration with the masters from the CCOM," explained Cai.

Established in 2017, the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music aims to promote the study, performance, and appreciation of music from contemporary China.