Feb. 25-28: Michael Christie and New West Symphony present A Tour of China - featuring Wu Man, Sasha Cooke, and Hong Wang

New West Symphony Presents A Tour of China
Michael Christie, Artistic & Music Director
Featuring Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man, Mezzo-Soprano Sasha Cooke, and Erhu Master Hong Wang

Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 3pm PST – Symphony Concert
With Additional Cultural Festival Events February 25, 26, and 27

Season and Concert Passports Available Here:
www.newwestsymphony.org/2020-21-virtual-season/tour-of-china 

“[New West Symphony is] embracing the mission of refreshing the
modern concert experience for a new generation” – Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles, CA – New West Symphony (NWS), with Grammy-winning conductor Michael Christie as Artistic and Music Director, continues its 2020-21 groundbreaking and reimagined season of “Global Sounds, Local Cultures” with A Tour of China – a celebration of Chinese New Year and the Spring Lantern Festival. This four-day cultural festival culminates with a symphony concert on Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 3pm PST. Featured performers include the world’s premier Pipa virtuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese music, Wu Man; multi-Grammy-winning soprano Sasha Cooke; and a master of erhu, Hong Wang. New West’s multimedia celebration will explore music of Wu Man, Tan Dun, Mahler, Beethoven and traditional arrangements for orchestra – Hua Yanjun’s “Ah Bing” / Wu Ziqiang’s “Moon Reflecting in the Second Spring.”

Along with the symphony concert, Season and Concert Passport holders can enjoy access to companion cultural festival programs for further immersion into the music, the artistry, and the culture that inspired the concert, curated by Michael Christie. These events will take place on Thursday, February 25 at 6pm PST – an informative, audience-friendly Pre-Concert Talk via Zoom from UCLA Senior Lecturer David Ravetch, discussing the music to be presented on Sunday’s concert; Friday, February 26 at 7pm PST – a Culture Insights program offering insights into contributions made by Chinese Americans to California’s culture including demonstrations of traditional instruments, and discussions about history, arts and music with partner organizations; and Saturday, February 27 at 7pm PST – Meet the Artists featuring interviews and performances with Pipa virtuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese music Wu Man, Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, and erhu master Hong Wang.

Christie will be available to answer questions in the live chat during each program. In addition to each initial live-streamed event, all programs will be available on-demand to passport holders shortly after the initial broadcast ends. A Tour of China is presented in partnership with the Conejo Chinese Cultural Association, the Camarillo Kung Fu and Lion Dance Association, and the Pacific Pearl Music Association.

“There is palpable excitement of performing together again (even at physical distance) combined with the thrill of exploring the influence of Chinese musical culture on Western musical traditions,” said Christie. “I am honored to welcome Wu Man, Sasha Cooke and Hong Wang, artists of extraordinary talent and notoriety, to the Kavli Theater stage to join our magnificent New West Symphony musicians. These artists are such joyful performers that I know our festival patrons will experience ravishing and energetic musical performances and unique traditional instrumental virtuosity.”

A Tour of China is the fourth in a series of festivals being held October 2020 through June 2021 designed to spotlight the vivid cultural influences that have shaped classical music and Southern California itself. Each festival tradition has strong connections to symphonic music of the past and present. The season’s repertoire includes works composed by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Elgar, Gershwin, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, Scott Joplin, Florence Price, Toru Takemitsu, George Walker and more. Contemporary composers include Reena Esmail, Shinichi Yuize, John Williams, and others. 

The season has so far included A Tour of Japan (October 2020) featuring violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, NWS concertmaster Alyssa Park, and Japanese drum ensemble Makoto Taiko; A Tour of India (November 2020) where works of Reena Esmail, Debussy, Elgar, Turina, Cooke and Philip Glass shared the spotlight with performances of Hindustani and Carnatic music; and Holocaust Remembrance (January 2021), to commemorate and honor six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism voices, featuring touching historical context and music of the early 20th century and today exploring Jewish themes. All three festivals are now available for on-demand viewing to passport holders at www.newwestsymphony.org/2020-21-virtual-season.

Program Information: A Tour of China – Symphony Concert and Cultural Festival

Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 3pm PST – A Tour of China Symphony Concert
Michael Christie, Artistic and Music Director
Wu Man, Pipa
Sasha Cooke, mezzo soprano
Hong Wang, erhu and chinese wind instruments 

Hua Yanjun “Ah Bing” / Wu Ziqiang “Moon Reflecting in the Second Spring”
Wu Man: Two Chinese Paintings
Tan Dun: Concerto for Pipa and Strings
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat Major. Op. 74 (“Harp Quartet”)
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (arr. A. Schoenberg)

Additional programming may be announced at a later date 

Additional Cultural Programs Included with a Concert Passport

Thursday, February 25th, 2021 | 6pm PST – Pre-Concert Talk with David Ravetch
An informative, audience-friendly Zoom presentation from UCLA Senior Lecturer David Ravetch discussing the music to be presented on the Sunday, February 28 A Tour of China program.

Friday, February 26th, 2021 | 7pm PST – Culture Insights
A program offering insights into contributions made by Chinese Americans to California’s culture featuring demonstrations of traditional instruments, and discussions about history, arts and music with partner organizations Conejo Chinese Cultural Association, the Camarillo Kung Fu and Lion Dance Association, and the Pacific Pearl Music Association.

Saturday, February 27th, 2021 | 7pm PST – Meet the Artists
Interviews with Pipa virtuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese music Wu Man, Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, and erhu master Hong Wang. Performances to include Dance of the Golden Dragon ????and The Red River in the Sunset ????? by Wu Man and Hong Wang.

Ticketing Information 

Cost for each “Festival Passport” is $25 per household. Patrons may also select an “All Access Season Passport” for the full season for $160 for all festivals. Tickets and memberships may be purchased online at www.newwestsymphony.org or by phone at 805-497-5880 or 866-776-8400. After the initial airing, all concerts and content will be streamed online and/or available to watch on-demand through September 30, 2021.  

New West Symphony Upcoming Concerts
Program details will be released four weeks prior to the streaming dates.

A Tour of Iran
Sunday, April 11, 2021, 3pm PT

A Tour of Mexico
Sunday, May 2, 2021, 3pm PT

A Tour of South Korea
Sunday, June 13, 2021, 3pm PT

Community partners and advisors who have collaborated with New West Symphony on the development on the 2020-21 season include Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; Hirokazu Kosaka, Japanese American Cultural Community Center; Composer Reena Esmail; and Mark Kligman and Supeena Adler from UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology. Season sponsors are Home Helpers Home Care, Karen and Dr. Paul Finkel, Susan Burgos, and Fern & Dr. Arnold Heyman. New West Symphony has received grants to support this season from the Colburn Foundation, California Arts Council, Edison Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, Neiman Marcus Foundation, TOArts, City of Thousand Oaks, Westlake Women’s Club, Meadowlark Service League, City of Agoura Hills, Bank of America Foundation, and others.

About New West Symphony: Now in its 26th season, the New West Symphony draws its players from the rich talent pool of accomplished Los Angeles-area musicians. Its mission is to inspire passion for symphonic music through live performances and education initiatives that engage and enrich its diverse audiences. For more information, visit www.newwestsymphony.org or connect on Facebook and Instagram.

About Michael Christie: Grammy award-winning conductor Michael Christie is a thoughtfully innovative conductor, equally at home in the symphonic and opera worlds, who is focused on making the audience experience at his performances entertaining, enlightening, and enriching. The New York Times reports, “Michael Christie is a director open to adventure and challenge,” and the Cincinnati Enquirer declares, “If Michael Christie represents the future of music in this country, the future looks promising indeed.”

Christie won a 2019 Grammy Award (Best Opera Recording) for the world premiere recording of Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs with The Santa Fe Opera (PENTATONE). In 2017, he led the world premiere performances at The Santa Fe Opera, “with suave assurance” (San Francisco Chronicle), with “precision and pizzazz” (Santa Fe New Mexican), and “preside[d] over an expertly executed performance” (The Financial Times). He was featured in Opera News in August 2012 as one of 25 people believed to “break out and become major forces in the field in the coming decade.” At Minnesota Opera, Christie led 24 productions over eight years, six seasons as its first-ever Music Director (2012-2018). Other recent highlights include leading performances with Washington National Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre. Deeply committed to bringing new works to life, Michael Christie has championed commissions by leading and emerging composers alike, including Mark Adamo, Mason Bates, Unsuk Chin, Michael Daugherty, Osvaldo Golijov, Mark Grey, Daron Hagen, Jennifer Higdon, Matthew Hindson, Huang Ruo, Marjan Mozetich, Stephen Paulus, Kevin Puts, and more.

Michael Christie has been a strong proponent of multicultural programming throughout his career. He created a World Music Festival at the Phoenix Symphony and a World Music Series at the Colorado Music Festival. As Chief Conductor of the Queensland Orchestra in Australia, he toured Japan and recorded his debut album with didgeridoo player William Barton. With the Phoenix Symphony, he premiered and recorded Mark Grey’s Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio, libretto by Navajo poet Laura Tohe. While Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, he led performances of Tan Dun’s The Gate and created the orchestra’s Nuevo Latino Festival.

Christie’s conducting career, spanning more than 20 years, has included serving as Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony (2005-2013) and Brooklyn Philharmonic (2005-2010), and as Chief Conductor of the Queensland Orchestra (2001-2004) in Australia, as well as guest appearances leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the Symphonies of Dallas, St. Louis, Atlanta, Houston, Minnesota, Oregon, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Santa Rosa. Christie’s many European engagements have included leading the Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Orchestre National de Lille, Swedish and Netherlands Radio Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, NDR Hannover Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic. In addition, Christie enjoys a strong profile in Australia, where he has conducted the Sydney Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, Opera Queensland, and the Western Australian Symphony in Perth.

Michael Christie first came to international attention in 1995 when he was awarded a special prize for “Outstanding Potential” at the First International Sibelius Conductors’ Competition in Helsinki. Following the competition, he was invited to become an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra where he subsequently worked with Daniel Barenboim as well as at the Berlin State Opera during the 1996-1997 season. For more information, visit www.michaelchristieonline.com.