CHineseINK

This is Version SY 2.0 based on a draft by Shen Nalin.

Date:                26 September 2009

Time:                10.00am to 5.00pm

Venue:              Te Papa – the National Museum of New Zealand

                        Wellington

 

BACKGROUND

The ancient Mid-autumn Festival has been celebrated in China on the 15^th  day of the 8^th  month of the Lunar Calendar for thousands of years.   It is also a very important spiritual and cultural event throughout Asia and originated as a celebration of  harvest in a region even now heavily dependent on agriculture.

Wellington Chinese Culture Day 09 is a whole-day celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Wellington – showcasing traditional Chinese activities associated with the harvest.  By doing so, the organisers hope to promote Chinese arts and culture in a contemporary fashion relevant to all the people of New Zealand.

Activities include:

·        Cultural performances by community groups.

·        Live modelling of traditional costumes.

·        Calligraphy and painting demonstrations.

·        Tea and moon cake making and tasting demonstrations.

·        Professional Chinese musicians in concert performing original works.

 

·        A photographic display to  showcase modern Chinese history, highlighting the significant developments over the past 60 years  - from the first Chinese National Day on the 1^st  October 1949. and the dramatic changes as a result of economic reform and the mixing of western culture into contemporary Chinese society.

The organisers consist of various Chinese communities in Wellington who, through this exciting event,  hope to connect a mainstream audience to the rich art and cultural heritage of modern China.

We invite everyone to attend our version of the Moon Festival,  enjoy the Celebration Concert and also participate in the festivities celebrating China’s 60th National Day.

PROGRAMME

Part I: The Moon Festival 2009

Background Display: A multi-media presentation of the historical background, rich culture and traditional customs associated with the Mid-autumn Festival.

The fun-filled day events also includes: live demonstrations of Chinese painting/calligraphy, traditional dress, tea making and tasting cultures suited for all age groups. Moon cakes tasting and art performance will provide entertainment for the whole family.

Time:  10:30am – 2:30pm

Venue: the Wellington Foyer, Level 2, Te Papa

Events:

·        Pictures / Multimedia Display

·        Chinese painting/calligraphy demonstration by artists.

 

Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm

Venue: the Wellington Foyer, Level 2, Te Papa

Events:

·        Chinese traditional dress fashion show.

·        Chinese traditional music (Guzheng, Erhu and Bamboo flute)

 

Time:  1:15pm – 2:15pm

Venue: Meeting Room off Te Marae, Level 4, Te Papa

Events:

·        Photo/Painting display of related to the Moon Festival

·        Moon Festival related stories.

·        Moon cake and tea  tasting.

 

Time:  1:15pm – 2:30pm

Venue: Te Marae, Level 4, Te Papa

Event:

·        Chinese Culture Day show with performances from Chinese communities.

 

Part II: 09 Wellington Chinese Culture Day Opening

A short opening show will hold at Te Papa Forecourt. This out door performance includes Chinese traditional Lion Dance, folk drums dancing and Chinese kungfu performance.

Time: 12:00pm – 12:30pm

Venue: The Papa Forecourt

Events:

·        Chinese traditional Lion Dance

·        Folk Drum Dance

·        Chinese kungfu performance

·        Chinese traditional Dragon Dance

 

Time:  1:00pm – 1:15pm

Venue: the Te Marae, Level 4, Te Papa

Event:

·        Maori welcome  (xx proper name)

·        Formal launch ceremony.

 

Part III: The Celebration Concert

Time:  3pm – 5:30pm

Venue: The Soundings Theatre, Level 2, Te Papa

To celebrate the 60^th National Day of China,  a concert featuring internationally renowned musicians as well as top performers from the local community. The programme includes song, dance and instrumental performance  in a  truly unforgettable finale to Chinese Culture Day Wellington 09.

Stars include:

• Gao Ping (Composer & Pianist),
• Tingzheng Wang (Sheng soloist),
• Xingxing Wang (Soprano),
• James Meng (Tenor),
• Wei Wensheng (Chinese painter),
• Xu Jingwen and Qi Huan (ballet dancer).

 

 

Organiser:

Chinese Students and Scholars Association of Wellington

Wellington New Chinese Friendship Association

Chinese Students’ Association of Victoria University of Wellington

New Zealand Chinese Association Inc

 
Biographies of Musicians and Artists

Gao Ping Composer & Pianist

“Gao Ping is one of a new generation that is breathing new life into the classical tradition. An evening with Gao Ping’s music is a true adventure” (Frederic Rzewski)

A representative figure of the “sixth generation composers” in China, composer/pianist

Gao Ping was born in the city of Chengdu in the Sichuan Province of China.

Gao Ping’s music has met success in Europe, Asia, Russia, across the Americas, New Zealand, and Australia.  In demand as a composer and pianist, he has received commissions and performances from the Zurich-based Ensemble Pyramide, pianist Frederic Rzewski, Ursula Oppens, Frederic Chiu, James Tocco, violinist Arnold Steinhardt, the New Zealand String Quartet, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and the Taiwan National Chinese Orchestra.

His compositions have appeared on venues such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Gaudeamus International Music Week in Amsterdam, Ravinia Music Festival, Kita-Kyushu Chamber Music Festival in Japan, Asia/Pacific Music Festival in Wellington (2007), the Amati Music Festival in New York, the Cincinnati MusicX Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit, and the Beijing-Modern International Music Festival.

Gao Ping’s chamber music on Naxos label was critically acclaimed and was described by a German critic as “music which wants to be heard with ears of a child, full of wonder and amazement…. deep and vulnerable.” It was selected as the Top Ten Best Classical Records by “the Listener” in 2006. 

His piano piece “Night Alley” was commissioned and performed as the compulsory work for the 4th China International Piano Competition in 2007.

In May, 2008, he premiered his Piano Concerto with NZ Symphony Orchestra. “The Listener” called “a major concerto.”

Dr. Gao is a composition lecturer in the School of Music at the Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand. He has worked with musicians such as Joel Hoffman, Frederic Rzewski, James Tocco, Zhou Guang-Ren, and his father Gao Weijie.

 

Shen Nalin Composer

Born in southwest of Sichuan, in 1983, Shen Na Lin studied composition at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music with Prof. Gao Wei Jie and Yao Yi Rang. During the late ‘80s he was active in radio, film and television, including working as a broadcaster of classical music program in the Music Radio of Guangdong. In 1994 he moved to New Zealand and worked at Auckland AM 1476 and AM 990 Chinese Radio for five years before enrolling at the School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington, where he studied with Jack Body, and graduated in 2000 with Master of Music with Distinction. In 2001 and 2002 he was granted a Postgraduate Scholarship for PhD study and a Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarship. For his PhD studies he is composing an opera based on the dramatic life and writings of Chinese poet.

 He has composed chamber and orchestral music for piano, strings, orchestra, voices and compositions using Chinese instruments including The Mortal World for sheng, zheng, suona and percussion, and The Cold Dream for zheng, sheng, strings and percussion He completed his First Symphony in 1988. His more recent work has been influenced by traditional Chinese music, the string quartet: Zha Xi De Lei influenced by Tibetan folk songs and the chamber works Sheng Sheng Man and Hymn to the Virtue of Win. Shen Nalin has received awards from the Autumn Musical Festival of Chengdu, the 21st Annual Composition Contest 1990 Composers Guild USA, the fifth Guangzhou Musical Festival, and the Composer’s Competition of Victoria University of Wellington. His compositions had been performed at The 2002 Melbourne Festival Australia, the Asia Pacific Festival in Wellington in February 2007 and the ISCM-ACL World Music Days

 

 

Xingxing Wang Soprano

Wang Xingxing originates from Chongqing, China. She came to New Zealand in 2003 to study, and completed her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the New Zealand School of Music under JennyWollerman in 2007.

 

Xingxing appeared as the leading role Kim in the Napier Operatic Society’s productionMiss Saigon in 2009. Her operatic role included Yuner in the world premiere of the opera Fatal Desire by Shen Nalin, conducted by Gao Ping in the 2007 Asia Pacific Festival held in Wellington. In competitions, she was the Rockfire Cup winner in Wellington Aria competition 2007. In 2008 she was the recital class winner of the Napier Performing Arts Competitions, and was awarded 2nd place in the Napier Computer System Aria competition, and the most outstanding competitor in the Senior Vocal competition. Xingxing has been invited to sing the New Zealand National Anthem in Parliament in both 2007 and 2008. She has appeared in various concerts as a soprano, recitalist, Guzheng player, and has been a member of the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus for NBR New Zealand Opera since 2007.

Xingxing runs a private music studio in which she teaches singing, piano and Guzheng. She is on a project of translating Western vocal pedagogy books into Chinese.

 

Ling (Sonia) Green Piano teacher

Originally from China, moved to New Zealand in 2001 to continue her studies in music. In 2004 she completed her Masters in piano performance at Victoria University.  As a student she has won many competition awards. Since her graduation she has played tours with the Vector Wellington Orchestra and also a CD recording with the NZ

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