Stanford University Pan-Asian Festival

We'll screen the hourlong documentary film Composer Alive: Eastern Expressions about our collaboration with Beijing composer Xiaogang Ye.

The film follows us as we search for a composer living in mainland China, find Xiaogang Ye, receive and record the music, struggle to raise the neccessary funding, make lots of hilarious mistakes along the way and ultimately give the World Premiere of the new piece at the Chicago Cultural Center, with Xiaogang in attendance, in front of a full house.

Featuring interviews with American Symphony Orchestra League President Henry Fogel, University of Chicago's Head of East Asia Studies program Theodore Foss, and others, the film is also a meditation on perceptions of Classical music in the west and in China, cultural differences and how artistic collaborations can bridge the gap between them.

Following the screening we'll talk about the commission, the process, the World Premiere concert, and the various and sundry obstacles we overcame along the way.

Features:

• Xiaogang Ye - composer
• Seth Boustead - ACM Executive Director
• Hulya Alpakin - piano
• Alyson Berger - cello
• Laura Koepele-Tenges - flute
• Blagomira Lipari - violin