Proclamation By Melvin Carter Mayor of the City of St. Paul, Minnesota.
April 3rd, 2022 "Gao Hong Day"
Music Of Gao Hong
A CELEBRATION OF 50 YEARS OF MAKING MUSIC WITH FRIENDS
A DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHINESE PIPA AND MUSIC FROM AROUND THE WORLD
FULL PROGRAM PDF
Audience Reactions
HOSTED BY ROZ TSAI
"Floating Over the Clouds" & "Quiet Forest, Flowing Stream"
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
Sowah Mensah from Ghana; Gao Hong, from China; Enrique Toussaint, from Mexico City, Minnesota-born Marc Anderson.
"Nostalgia" (World Premiere)
GAO HONG, PIPA , GABRIEL CAMPOS ZAMORA, CLARINET
ERIK WHEELER, CELLO, NIKKI MELVILLE, PIANO
"The Battle of Chu and Han" (World Premiere with Dancers)
GAO HONG, PIPA, GUS HOLLEY, ZHONGRUAN
SHEN PEI, CHOREOGRAPHY, LIN ZHICHENG & QIAN ZHONGYI, DANCERS
"Call Of Your Ghost" & "Jumprope"
DESSA, ABY WOLF & GAO HONG (World Premiere)
"Improvisation" Dedicated to her Mentor, Lin Shicheng (World Premiere)
GAO HONG, PIPA
"Reminiscences of My Hometown: Double Concerto for Pipa, Bassoon and Orchestra"
GAO HONG, PIPA & YE YU, BASSOON
KENWOOD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, DENNIS FRIESEN-CARPER, CONDUCTOR
"Celebration - Pipa Concerto with Mixed Chinese and Western Orchestras
(World Premiere)
GAO HONG, PIPA, DENNIS FRIESEN-CARPER, CONDUCTOR
KENWOOD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA,
CARLETON COLLEGE CHINESE MUSIC ENSEMBLE
About the Concert:
This April 3, Gao Hong celebrated her 50th year of being a performer; her accomplishments as a composer, improvisor and educator; and the 100th anniversary of her late teacher, Lin Shicheng’s birth. The celebration showcased her deep connections and collaborations with an array of diverse cultures and her own compositions. Special guests included rapper/singer Dessa, Minnesota Orchestra members Gabriel Campos Zamora (Principal Clarinet) and Erik Wheeler, (Cello), pianist Nikki Melville, her multicultural group Speaking in Tongues, (Gao Hong with Master Drummer, Sowah Mensah from Ghana, bassist Enrique Toussaint from Mexico, and local percussionist Marc Anderson); the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra with bassoon soloist Ye Yu; her award-winning student, Gus Holley; and the award-winning Carleton College Chinese Music Ensemble.
As a performer, Gao Hong had the good fortune of studying with the most famous pipa master, Lin Shicheng, at the Central Conservatory and throughout the rest of his life. She was his only student other than his son to tour and record with him. Their joint album, Hunting Eagles Catching Swans, was recorded in Minneapolis during their 1996 US tour and rereleased in 2020 by ARC Music in the UK. It was a Top 10 pick for Best World Music Albums Around the World by Songlines Magazine and climbed many charts throughout the world. The album was awarded two gold medals (Best Album and Best Instrumental) by the 2021 Global Music Awards and received stellar reviews worldwide. Since coming to America, Gao Hong has played worldwide as a soloist, with chamber ensembles, and as a guest soloist with prestigious orchestras (the SPCO, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, China Central National Orchestra and many others) and on many world premieres. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Teatro Colon, San Francisco Jazz Festival and at prestigious festivals throughout Europe, Australia and China.
As an improvisor she has teamed with top musicians from other cultures including those from India, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Ghana, Somalia, and Mexico; and top players of bluegrass, klezmer, jazz, blues, Hawaiian and western classical music. In this concert she was excited to introduce audiences to her brand new collaboration with the amazing rapper/singer/writer Dessa.
Though her earliest composition was for solo pipa, she has since gone on to writing pieces for choir, chamber ensembles and symphonies with commissions being awarded by the Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Sinfonia, Kenwood Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis, VocalEssence, the Minneapolis Pops, and others. This concert featured two world premieres: Nostalgia for pipa, clarinet, cello and piano; and a new version of her popular overture Celebration performed by the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra and members of the Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble. Other pieces included two new collaborations with Dessa, her new pipa concerto, Reminiscences of My Hometown with the Kenwood Symphony; Quiet Forest, Flowing Stream with her multicultural group Speaking in Tongues, and Battle of Chu and Han with Gus Holley.
This concert also showcased her dedication to education. As soon as she arrived in America, she began teaching students K-college and later founded the Carleton College Chinese Music Ensemble. She featured one of her top Carleton students, Gus Holley, in a performance of her Battle of Chu and Han. Gus has won several international awards and became the only non-Chinese player to ever win a gold medal in a major competition in China. The Carleton College Chinese Music Ensemble also won a silver medal in the prestigious Dunhuang Cup competing with Chinese music ensembles from throughout the world.
This performance is made possible in part by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Cosponsored by Asian Media Access, Alliance of Minnesota Chinese Organizations, Boston Scientific, Carleton College Department of Music, Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, Legacy Adult Daycare, Minnesota Center for Community Services, University of Minnesota China Center, Yucai Chinese School.
