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CONTACT:
Mary Beth Zeman, 973-720-2444
zemanm@wpunj.edu


April 10, 2008

 

CHINESE MUSICIANS FROM PRESTIGIOUS NANJING ARTS INSTITUTE TO PERFORM AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY ON APRIL 16
—Concert is part of a cultural exchange between William Paterson University and Nanjing Arts Institute

Musicians from Nanjing Arts Institute, one of China’s most prestigious arts schools, will present a special evening of traditional Chinese music and more on Wednesday, April 16 at 8 p.m. at William Paterson University in Wayne.  The concert, in Shea Center for the Performing Arts, is part of a cultural exchange between the two universities.

William Paterson’s relationship with Nanjing Arts Institute dates to 1997, and has included a number of cultural exchanges by faculty and students.  While on campus, the Nanjing faculty and students also will perform in a midday concert for William Paterson students on Thursday, April 17, followed by a post-concert discussion moderated by Payton MacDonald, a William Paterson assistant professor of music.  The musicians will also observe William Paterson music classes on Friday, April 18.  They will conclude their trip to the University on Monday, April 21, with a discussion of jazz improvisation followed by a lecture by renowned jazz trumpet player Clark Terry.

“We are excited to continue our long relationship with Nanjing Arts Institute by hosting these wonderful music faculty and students,” says Edward Weil, William Paterson’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, who visited Nanjing last fall to discuss opportunities for cultural exchange.  “Nanjing is a premier Chinese institution for arts education, and we look forward to the furthering our cooperative relationship by sending our own music faculty and students to Nanjing in October 2008.”

The performers include faculty and students at Nanjing Arts Institute, the oldest art academy established in China and the only comprehensive arts institute in Jiangsu Province, which is located along China’s east coast.  The concert will explore the breadth of music from across China, and includes several award-winning compositions.

The concert will feature performances on a wide variety of traditional Chinese instruments, including the pi-pa, a plucked stringed instrument; the zheng, a Chinese zither with 25 strings; the bamboo flute; the suo-na, a Chinese oboe; the sheng, a Chinese mouth-blown free reed instrument; the erhu, a Chinese violin; as well as drums and piano.

Admission is $5.  For additional information on the concert, call the Shea Center Box Office at William Paterson University, 973-720-2371.

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