On the evening of Jun.10, 2015, the Second Collaborative Concert of Women’s Artistic Leadership co-organized by the Foreign Affairs Office, International Education Center and the Art Performance Department was held in the gymnasium which was packed to capacity with a large high-spirited audience. The artists from Scripps College of the US and the faculty as well as the students of the Art Performance Department brought a wonderful visual and acoustical feast for the audience.
Those who watched the performance included Prof. Luo Ting, Chair of the University Council, Prof. Li Junbo, Vice President, and Prof. Lei Qingli, chair of the discipline inspection council etc. Prof. Luo Ting, on behalf of Hunan Women’s University, delivered a gracious speech of welcome to the delegation of Scripps College, expressing our warm welcome, heartfelt admiration of the guests for their enthusiasm and dedication to work, and hope of wider exchange and cooperation between two institutions in such fields as art, women’s studies and English education. Her speech in fluent English won thunderous applause from the audience.
The diverse programs of the concerts included not only ensemble of traditional Chinese instruments, piano solo, flute solo, concerto for violin and piano, and trio for violin, cello and piano, but also female solo and vocal suite. The wonderful piano pieces covered the classical masterpieces both at home and abroad. The artists vividly and incisively performed the works of the composers in the 19th and 20th centuries such as Felix Mendelssohn, Claude Debussy, George Gershwin, and Amy Beach who was the first American woman to win significant national and international recognition for her compositions.
The concert began with the lyrical and elegant ensemble of traditional Chinese instruments Roaming the Su Causeway of the West Lake and flute solo Spring Comes to Xiangjiang River. The passion of the conductor Zhang Jianzhuang, the great presence of the flute player Liu Jiangdi and the elegance of the Chinese Traditional Orchestra of HWU attracted the attention of all the audience. The Chinese piano piece Autumn Moon over a Calm Lake and Debussy Clair de Lune performed by Gayle Blankenbury were gracious and melodious. Despite being written by composers from two different cultures, living on opposite sides of the planet, the similarity of the music proves we are all one. The Mendelssohn D Minor trio was harmoniously performed by the violinist Rachel Huang, pianist Gayle Blankenbury and cellist Chen Jing from the Education and Law Department. When Dr. Anne Harley sang the vocal suite Raindrops, Lakeside Poet and Listening to the Qin, it was peaceful and natural; when she sang the Chinese folk song Jasmine, it was sweet and melodious; and when she performed L’amour Est un Oiseau Rebelle, she was vigorous and passionate. Her different and diversified performances gained warm applause from the audience. A Moonlit Night on the Spring River sung by Xue Xiao and the Hunan classic song of the Flower Drum Opera Washing Cabbage sung by Xia Hailei were deeply appreciated by the foreign guests. When Dr. Hao Huang, Bessie and Cecil Frankel Chair in Music played The Rhapsody in Blue with great passion, he captured the full scope of the piano piece. The concerto for violin and piano Butterfly Lovers performed by violinist Rachel Huang, pianist Wei Jiang and student dancers of HWU marked the successful end of the concert.
Some experts in music from Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha Normal University, Hunan Public Art Gallery watched the concert and spoke highly of it.
Scripps College, member of the Women’s Education Worldwide, was founded in 1926. It is located in Claremont, southern California of the US. As a member of the Claremont Consortium which is praised as the Ivy League in West America, it is ranked in the third place among the women’s colleges in US. US News & World Report, in its 2015 edition of the Best Colleges, ranked Scripps College 24th on its annual list of America’s best liberal arts colleges. In August, 2013, Prof. Luo Ting, chair of the university council, paid a visit to Scripps College at the invitation of President Lori Bettison-Varga. Both presidents expressed their own cooperation intention, hoping to search for channels of cooperation in the disciplinary fields such as women’s education, women/gender research, music, art, English and economics. In June 2014, Dr. Anne Harley from Scripps College came to HWU for lecture and performance. On June 8th 2015, a 7-person delegation of Scripps College paid the second visit to HWU and an agreement to explore cooperative relationship between two universities was signed.
With the continuous development of international exchange, HWU will make utmost to create more opportunities to bring more elegant culture to the university. (Written and translated by Ms. Long Min from the International Affairs Office)
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