The Bard Chinese Ensemble presents its fourth and final concert of the 2025–26 academic year as part of the US–China Music Institute’s annual conference, GUZHENG TIANXIA 古筝天下: Chinese Music in the West.
Featuring works by Zhang Zheng, Xu Lingzi, Luk Wai Chun, Wang Jianmin, and Wang Danhong, the program highlights diverse contemporary voices rooted in tradition yet shaped by modern aesthetics. The ensemble is joined by distinguished soloists, including renowned Hong Kong guzheng artist Xu Lingzi, Yuan Sha, Professor of Guzheng at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and Shiyao Zhang, pipa GA from the Central Conservatory of Music.
Photo: Karl Rabe
The Bard Chinese Ensemble is the Conservatory’s large mixed ensemble of Chinese and Western instrument players. Each year, its instrumentation evolves, offering students from a wide range of Western instruments the opportunity to engage with the unique technical and artistic challenges of performing alongside traditional Chinese instruments.
Each performance features specially arranged music from China, including reimagined works from the Chinese orchestral repertoire as well as new adaptations of contemporary compositions. The ensemble’s programming reflects an ongoing collaboration with living composers, bringing forward rarely heard works and expanding the possibilities of cross-cultural ensemble performance.
This concert is free and open to the public. Advanced registration is kindly requested. Please register on the Conference Registration Form here.
PROGRAM
Feng · Ya · Song (Ballad, Court Hymn, Eulogy) 《风·雅·颂》
Zhang Zheng (b. unknown)
Shang Su concerto for guzheng 《觞诉》
Xu Lingzi (b. 1957)
Xu Lingzi, guzheng
Moments between Ledges and Frets concerto for pipa and chamber ensemble 《弹指品相间》
Luk Wai Chun (b. 1993)
Zhang Shiyao, pipa
Night Mooring at Maple Bridge guzheng concerto 《枫桥夜泊》
Wang Jianmin (b. 1956)
Yuan Sha, guzheng
Four Seasons in Lingering Garden symphonic poem 《四季留園》
Wang Danhong (b. 1985)
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Xu Lingzi, Guzheng Xu Lingzi is a distinguished guzheng virtuoso, educator, and National First-Class Performer, China’s highest artistic rank. A graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, she has served on its faculty and as a soloist with the China National Traditional Orchestra, and is currently Professor of Chinese Music at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. As a soloist, she has performed across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including at Vienna’s Musikverein. She has collaborated with major ensembles such as the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. An active educator, she has lectured widely and received honors including the China Gold Record Award.
Yuan Sha, Guzheng Yuan Sha is a distinguished contemporary guzheng virtuoso, Changjiang Scholar, and professor at the Central Conservatory of Music. She has performed as a soloist at major national events and is widely recognized as a leading figure in modern Chinese guzheng art. Notably, her recording of Lotus Emerging from the Water was included in China’s lunar mission, becoming the only guzheng piece to travel to the moon and return. As an educator, her students have won numerous national awards, and she has received multiple honors for teaching excellence. Yuan is also active internationally, presenting performances and lectures at institutions such as Lincoln Center, MIT, and Juilliard.
Shiyao Zhang, Pipa Shiyao Zhang is a second‑year master’s student majoring in Pipa at the Central Conservatory of Music, currently serving as a Pipa Graduate Assistant at the US‑China Music Institute. Admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music in 2020, studying under Associate Professor Liu Xiaojing; recommended for admission to the master’s program at the Central Conservatory of Music in 2024, studying under Professor Zhang Hongyan, a renowned Pipa performer and educator.