As a part of the 2026 China Now Music Festival, Chasing Dreams, the Bard East/West Ensemble celebrates America’s 250th anniversary by performing pieces from their recent tour. Returning home from a tour in China that took them to 8 cities for 15 performances, the ensemble will showcase their cross-cultural sound through unique arrangements of works by Aaron Copland, Astor Piazzolla, and Jiang Ying, among others. The China Now Music Festival is co-presented by the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music and the Central Conservatory of Music, China.
Photography by Chris Kayden
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Zhang Zheng 张征 (b.1978), composer
Feng · Ya · Song《风·雅·颂》Luk Wai Chun 陸尉俊 (b.1993), composer
Moments Between Ledges and Frets for Pipa and Ensemble《彈指品相間》
Yang Jin, pipaWang Danhong 王丹红 (b. 1985), composer
Forever Shandan-dan《永遠的山丹丹》INTERMISSION
Traditional Folk Song 传统曲目
arr. Ren Tongxiang 任同祥, Wang Fujian 王甫建 Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix《百鸟朝凤》 Aaron Copland 阿隆 科普兰 (1900–90)
arr. Xinyan Li 李昕艳 Appalachian Spring《阿巴拉契亚之春》Astor Piazzolla 阿斯托尔 皮亚佐拉 (1921-92)
arr. Xinyan Li 李昕艳 Oblivion《遗忘》 Libertango《自由探戈》Jiang Ying 姜莹 (1919-92)
arr. Xinyan Li 李昕艳 The Silk Road《丝绸之路》
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The Bard East/West Ensemble (BE/WE) is a bold and original group that fuses Chinese and Western musical traditions to create a new model of cross-cultural performance. Founded by conductor and educator Jindong Cai, the ensemble features a Western string quintet alongside seven traditional Chinese instruments, including dizi, erhu, pipa, ruan, suona, guzheng, and sheng, supported by Chinese and Western percussionists.
BE/WE has appeared at major U.S. venues including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The group has collaborated with acclaimed soloists such as Guo Yazhi, Wu Man, and Duo Chinoiserie.
Its repertoire includes original works and dynamic new arrangements by renowned composers like Zhou Long, Tan Dun, and Xinyan Li. Committed to cultural exchange, BE/WE seeks to foster US-China understanding through music—and in July 2026 completed their second tour of China following their inaugural June 2025 tour of China.
The 2026 China Now Music Festival is presented in collaboration with the Central Conservatory of Music, China.
