On November 1-2, the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards will host a concert-symposium-exhibit celebrating the legacy of Chao Yuen-Ren, a pioneering Chinese-American polymath and Cornell alumnus (Class of 1914). This two-day event will bring together performances, scholarly discussions, and an online exhibition, celebrating Chao’s groundbreaking contributions to modern Chinese art music.
The Friday evening concert (November 1, 7:30 p.m., Barnes Hall), will feature Chao’s innovative Chinese lieder—a unique fusion of Chinese and Western musical traditions—and compositions by his contemporaries.
The Saturday morning symposium (November 2, 10am-12pm, Lincoln Hall B20) will explore Chao’s role in early 20th-century intellectual life, focusing on East-West musical exchanges and the role of the keyboard in global music transmission. An accompanying online exhibition will provide a deeper dive into Chao’s archives, offering a rich collection of letters, photographs, and musical works.
Read more about this unique concert-symposium-exhibit here.
The event, led by the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards, is co-sponsored by the Cornell Council for the Arts, East Asia Program, Einaudi Center, Society for the Humanities, and the Departments of Asian Studies, Music, and Science and Technology Studies, with additional support from the Cornell Office of Alumni Affairs.
Free and open to the public.
