The Carleton College Chinese Music Ensemble, under the direction of Gao Hong, will present a free public performance in the College’s Concert Hall on Sunday, Feb. 27 beginning at 3 p.m.
Members of the Chinese Music Ensemble include: Shao Min Tan ’12 (Singapore), Qi Li ’11 (China), and Kim Elizabeth Bauer ’13 (Olympia, Wash.) on the erhu; Song Kai Poh ’14 (Singapore) on the guzheng; Ava Navaseron ’12 (Singapore) on the dizi; Gabriel Keller ’13 (Mendota Heights, Minn.) on the zhongruan; Rachel Sklar ’11 (Newton Lower Falls, Mass.) on cello; Melody Zhou ’13 (China) on piano; Yonas Hailu ’13 (Denver) on guitar; and percussionists Coleman Durkin, ’13 (Northfield, Minn.), James Beck ’12 (Iowa City, Iowa), Guan Guan ’12 (China), Xinxin Xie ’12 (China), and Daoji Huang ’13 (China).
The Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble was established seven years ago and has since performed to much acclaim at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Mall of America, the University of Minnesota, The Confucius Institute’s China Day 2010 event at Northrop Auditorium, the National Conference for Silk Road Scholars at the University of Minnesota, the Organization of Chinese Americans’ annual Chinese New Year Celebration, Winona State University, the Land O'Lakes Company's Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Concert Series, and the Chinese Minghua Language School in St. Paul. Locally they have performed the inaugural performance for Northfield Library’s Carnegie Concert Series, at Northfield High School, Northfield Middle School, St Olaf College, and Carleton's international festival, gallery openings, and Chinese New Year celebrations.
Lecturer in Chinese musical instruments and music performance activities coordinator at Carleton College, Gao Hong began her career as a professional musician at age 12. She graduated with honors from the Central Conservatory of Music, China's premier music school, where she studied with pipa master Lin Shicheng. She has received numerous awards and honors, including First Prize in the Hebei Professional Young Music Performers Competition in China and an Asian Pacific Award, and fellowships from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Meet the Composers Inc. in New York and the Jerome Foundation. In 2005 Gao Hong became the first traditional musician to be awarded the prestigious Bush Artist Fellowship, and in 2008 she became the only musician in any genre to win three McKnight Artist Fellowships for Performing Musicians. As a composer, she has received commissions from the American Composers Forum, Walker Art Center, the Jerome Foundation, Zeitgeist, Ragamala Music and Dance Theater, Theater Mu, IFTPA, and Twin Cities Public Television. She has performed throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and the United States and has participated in such events as the Lincoln Center Festival, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, and the International Festival. She has performed countless United States and world premieres of pipa concerti with organizations such as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Heidelberg Philharmonic, and the Women's Philharmonic (San Francisco). She also is a Guest Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Gao Hong's personal website can be found at http://www.chinesepipa.com.
The Carleton College Concert Hall is located on First and Winona Streets in Northfield. For more information, including disability accommodations, contact Gao Hong at (507) 222-4475.