Back


Woodbridge News

Print this Page

WOODBRIDGE – The Barron Arts Center presents its second Garden State World Beat concert April 29 with a New Jersey trio performing traditional music of China, Mayor Frank G. Pelzman has announced.

Members of the Eastern Culture & Performing Arts Center of West Windsor will perform at 8 p.m., April 29, at the Barron Arts Center, 582 Rahway Avenue in Woodbridge. The concert is free but reservations are required. Call (732) 634-0413 for reservations.

The concert features the instrumental talents of three internationally renowned virtuosi performing a diverse repertoire that ranges from aristocratic classical pieces to provincial folk tunes from Wushi, Guangdong, Hunan, Xinjiang, Jiangnan and Zhejiang.

Ms. Yi Yang, Center music director, is an internationally acclaimed performer of the gu-zheng, or 21-string zither, an instrument that originated in Shanxi province during the 3 rd century B.C. A graduate of Beijing’s top-rated China Conservatory of Music and pupil of gu-zheng master Qiu Du Cheng, Ms. Yang has performed worldwide with Chinese and Western orchestras and is the winner of the 1989 Arts Cup International Chinese Instruments Competition. Earlier this month she performed in Dessau, Germany, with the Anhaltische Philharmonic.

Ms. Li-Qun Li is a noted exponent of the yangqin, a four-octave hammered dulcimer played with bamboo mallets that entered Chinese music from the Middle East during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Ms. Li is a graduate of China’s esteemed Central Conservatory of Music and has performed throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S.

Mr. Bao-Li Zhang is a master of the erhu, a bowed lute with two strings tuned a fifth apart that has been a staple of Chinese music since 1000 A.D. A 1985 graduate of Beijing’s Chinese Music Academy, Mr. Zhang studied under the renowned Zhang Shao, who revolutionized the erhu’s traditional sound by replacing silk strings with metal. Mr. Zhang has recorded extensively with Chinese, jazz, classical and experimental pop artists and currently performs with Chinese Music Ensemble of New York, Melody of Dragon and the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company.

Founded by Ms. Yang with locations in West Windsor and Edison, Eastern Culture & Performing Arts Center is the first professional Chinese music academy in New Jersey offering individual and group lessons in traditional and contemporary Chinese music styles. Artists from the Center perform throughout the state at corporate conferences, Asian Heritage ceremonies and at schools belonging to the New Jersey Arts in Education network.

Garden State World Beatpresents four concerts of Middlesex County performers representing international music traditions. Funding was awarded by the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission through a grant provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts

“ New Jersey has long been a melting pot for music traditions from around the globe,” says Mayor Pelzman. “Today’s Garden State musicians are producing an exciting mix of traditional and contemporary genres from many cultures.”

Barron Arts Center Executive Director Cynthia Knight says the series is intended to acquaint Woodbridge audiences with some of the musical gems in their own backyard. “People will be astonished by the outstanding musical talent in this area,” she says. “We hope Garden State World Beat will be the start of several showcase events highlighting emerging local artists.”

The event is sponsored by the Woodbridge Township Cultural Arts Commission chaired by Dr. Dolores Capraro Gioffre with support from the Woodbridge Township Arts Council and Mayor Frank G. Pelzman.