Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Concert at The Seattle Public Library Oct. 1
release date: September 14, 2017
The Seattle Public Library will host a chamber music concert in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. The festival celebrates the end of the autumn harvest and is celebrated among ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese people.
Library programs are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required but be sure to come early to make sure you get a seat. Parking is available in the Central Library Garage for $7.
The event will include performances by renowned cellist Kai Chen(陈凯) and guzheng expert Shirley Wang, playing "Blossoms on a Moonlit River in Spring (春江花月夜)". The guzheng is also known as the Chinese zither.
"Blossoms on a Moonlit River in Spring" music piece was adapted from a poem that was considered "the poem of poems, the best of the best" by Chinese poet and scholar, Yiduo Wen. It expresses a man's sincere emotion of parting and lamentation full of philosophical means about life as he travels far away from home and longs for his wife at home.
Performer biographies
Chen (陈凯) is an internationally-renowned cellist who received formal training from cello maters in China and graduated with honors from China's Central Conservatory in 1987. Prior to immigrating to the U.S. in 2001, Chen maintained an extensive concert and orchestral career in China, including the position of principal celloist in the China National Opera Symphony Orchestra. Chen now uses his many years of performing experience to teach students in the Seattle area.
Wang (王晶), a recognized guzheng artist, is the founder of Seattle Guzheng, a board member of the Chinese Zither Association and the board president of Washington Chinese Music Association. Wang began to learn the guzheng when she was 6 years old. During that period, she studied with the famous Chinese guzheng professor Zhou Wang and was admitted to the China Conservatory of Music. Wang earned her Arts Leadership Master degree from Seattle University in 2016. In 2009, Wang had performanced for the British Royal family and Prince Andrew. Wang received the Outstanding Teacher Award from Princeton University in 2014. In 2016, Two of Wang's students won first place at the Chapin International Music Competition and performed in the Kennedy Center of New York.