The China Now Music Festival, “Chasing Dreams,” closes its ninth season with Zhou Long’s Men of Iron and the Golden Spike, a powerful symphonic oratorio honoring the thousands of Chinese laborers who came to America in the 1860s to build the Transcontinental Railroad, and the U.S. premiere of Li Shaosheng’s five-movement symphonic suite Chasing the Sky, honoring humanity’s pursuit of space exploration.
Photography by Patrick Li
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Li Shaosheng (b. 1988), composer
Chasing the Sky for orchestra
1. Celestial Journey 梦天
2. Questioning the Sky 问天
3. Flying Apsaras 飞天
4. Exploring the Sky 巡天
5. The Heavens Move with Tireless Vigor 天行健
The Orchestra NowIntermission
Zhou Long (b. 1953), composer Su Wei (b. 1953), librettist
Men of Iron and the Golden Spike 《铁汉金钉》
1. Prologue 序曲
2. The Endless Sea ⼤海苍茫
3. “Coolie Work Chant” and “Song of the Chinese Railroadmen” “苦力号⼦子”与“华工之歌”
4. These Chinese 这些中国人
5. My Name is . . . 我的名字叫……
6. Snow on New Year’s Eve 风雪大年夜
a. Snow on New Year’s Eve 风雪大年夜
b. The Longevity Lockets 年夜饭与长命锁 7. Avalanche 大雪崩
a. Ah Lun’s Sacrifice 阿伦牺牲
b. How High the Sierras, How Deep the Pacific 塞拉岭⼭山⾼高啊, 太平洋⽔深 8. Belated Golden Spike 迟来的金钉⼤典 9. Epilogue 尾声
Lucy Fitz Gibbon, soprano
Ziqi Wang, mezzo-soprano
Yi Li, tenor
Yue Wu 吴越, baritone
Andrew Munn, bass
China Now Chorus
The Orchestra Now
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
ABOUT THE COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS
The 2026 China Now Music Festival is presented in collaboration with the Central Conservatory of Music, China.
