Wu Man continues North American Tour with the Shanghai String Quartet; Program features Multimedia Work

Wu Man continues North American Tour with the Shanghai String Quartet; Program features Multimedia Work

As part of a tour that takes them from Portland, Maine to Corpus Christi, Texas, Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet (violinists Weigang Li and Yi-Wen Jiang, violist Honggang Li, and cellist Nicholas Tzavaras) present “A Night in Ancient and New China,” a program showcasing the extraordinary range of Chinese folk and contemporary music. The concert includes contemporary arrangements of Chinese folk tunes by violinist Yi-Wen Jiang, solo pipa works by Wu Man, and a version of Ghost Opera by Tan Dun arranged for chamber ensemble. The program also features a new commission: the multimedia work “Red Lantern” by the Chinese composer, Zhao Jiping, in collaboration with his son, Zhao Lin. This work is drawn from several of Zhao Jiping’s film scores, including Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, and Farewell My Concubine, which are among the most celebrated soundtracks in Chinese cinema.
Tour dates:

Thursday, February 18: Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
Saturday, February 20: O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota
Saturday, February 27: Wolfe Recital, Corpus Christi, Texas
Sunday, February 28: San Antonio Chamber Music, San Antonio, Texas
Tuesday, March 29: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Thursday, March 31: University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine
Friday, April 1: Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut
Sunday, April 3: Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts
Friday, April 8: Duke Performances, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Saturday, April 9: Flato Markham Theatre, Markham, Ontario
Sunday, April 10: Cornell University, Cornell, New York

“Four Chinese Paintings,” Wu Man’s first composition for Western String Quartet, receives West Coast premiere at Kronos Festival

In early February, Wu Man returned to San Francisco, where she served as Artist-in-Residence for the Kronos Quartet’s second annual hometown music festival – Kronos Festival 2016: Explorer Series – celebrating musical cultures and traditions from around the globe. During the residency Wu Man heard the West Coast premiere of her first composition for Western string instruments, Four Chinese Paintings, which she composed for the Kronos’s Fifty for the Future project; and hosted four concerts, including a performance for families, with the Kronos Quartet and other guest artists. Ending the festival on a high note, Wu Man, who has collaborated with the Kronos Quartet for more than 20 years, became the second inductee into the “Kronos Hall of Fame,” joining Terry Riley.

Kung Fu Panda 3 Soundtrack features Wu Man

The animated film Kung Fu Panda 3 by DreamWorks, in movie theaters now, features performances by Wu Man.  The film soundtrack includes pianist Lang Lang, erhu player Guo Gan, cellist Jian Wang, and a 40-member Chinese pop choir performing “Kung Fu Fighting,” lead by conductor Eric Whitacre.  Actor Jack Black, the voice of Po, leads a cast that includes Angelina Jolie as Tigress, as well as Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Kate Hudson, Randall Duk Kim, Jackie Chan, and Seth Rogen.
Click here to watch Wu Man’s behind the scenes interview.

Silk Road Ensemble’s New Album “Sing Me Home” features Wu Man’s “Green”

Since 2000, the Silk Road Ensemble – a musical collective formed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma – has brought together more than 70 performers and composers, including Wu Man, for performances, recordings, and the creation of new music. The ensemble’s newest recording Sing Me Home, a companion album to the documentary feature The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, features a piece composed by Wu Man titled “Green (Vincent’s Tune)” performed by the SRE with Grammy award-winning vocal octet Roomful of Teeth. Wu Man composed the piece in 2003 based on a melody sung by her then four-year-old son Vincent. Wu Man wrote in the liner notes, “I composed this piece from Vincent’s tune as a means to remember those wonderful times we spent together and I named the piece “Green” after my favorite color. Green represents the spring when everything grows and life renews itself full of energy and enthusiasm.” The recording will be available on April 22 through Sony Music Masterworks, and is currently available for pre-sale on Amazon. The album will also be available for pre-sale on iTunes on February 12.

Wu Man is keynote speaker at the National Chinese Language Conference presented in Chicago by the Asia Society on Thursday, April 28

Wu Man opens the ninth annual National Chinese Language Conference (NCLC), co-organized by the Asia Society and the College Board, with a pipa performance and speech. The conference takes place in Chicago, IL, from April 28-30. The NCLC is the largest annual convention in the United States dedicated to Chinese language and cultural education and the educational partnership between the U.S. and China. Over 1,200 educators attended the 2015 NCLC, and the conference has cumulatively attracted nearly 9,000 attendees. Other featured speakers include Ian Cheney, Andrew Coe, Monica Eng, Howie Southworth, and Martin Yan.