The weekend of November 1-2, the Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards presents Chao Yuen-Ren’s Art of Songs, a two-day concert-symposium-exhibit celebrating the groundbreaking Chinese-American composer and Cornell alumnus. Join us for live performances, scholarly discussions, and an online exhibition exploring Chao's fusion of Chinese and Western musical traditions. For full event details, visit this page.
Schedule of events:
Friday, November 1.
7:30pm (Barnes Hall): a concert bringing Chao’s experimental compositions to life, alongside works by his compatriot contemporaries—Chinese composers who were also studying in the U.S. at the time—and select European lieder that inspired him. The concert will feature guest artist Stephen Ng alongside Cornell students and faculty, including Rachel Cheang, Vera Hsu, Roger Moseley, Yen-Hsiang Nieh, Morton Wan, and Cici Zhou.
Saturday, November 2.
10am-12pm (Lincoln B20): a symposium assembling an interdisciplinary panel to examine Chao’s music within the broader contexts of early 20th-century Chinese-American intellectual life, East-West musical exchange, and the keyboard’s role in the global transmission of musical knowledge and creativity. The panelists include Corey Earle (History, Cornell), Addi Liu (Music, Cornell), Morton Wan (Music, Cornell), Ding Xiang Warner (Chinese Literature, Cornell), Chen-Pang Yeang (History of Science and Technology, University of Toronto), and Sarah Yu (History, DeSales University).
All events are free and open to the public.
