PROGRAM
May 18-June
MUSIC
POETRY, SIZHU AND TAIWANESE OPERA
BY CHAI FOUND MUSIC WORKSHOP 采風樂坊
Fri., May 26, 2:00pm, Mid-Manhattan Library (455 5th Ave, New York)
This performance will be followed by a Q &A session with the musicians.
Sat., May 27, 3:30pm, Queens Botanical Garden (43-50 Main St, Flushing)
Sun., May 28 afternoon, Passport to Taiwan Festival, Union Square North
Sizhu(絲竹), a type of ensemble arrangement that includes traditional Chinese string and woodwind instruments, has been the most fundamental musical style of the Chai Found Music Workshop (hereafter referred to as CFMW). CFMW’s music performances blends multi-directional components, such as including Taiwanese folksongs, traditional Taiwanese Opera, old Mandarin ballads, modern music, popular music, children’s musicals, oriental musical theater, and orchestration, with ethnic musical instruments.
In this performance, CMFW will bring to the stage various interpretations of sizhu music and showcase the infinite possibilities of this hundreds-year-old genre. In “Classic Sizhu” CMFW will present a classical repertoire with fresh, novel arrangements; in “Modern Sizhu” CMFW will perform specially commissioned works from Taiwanese composers; while in “Poetry and Taiwanese Opera” the group will integrate lines of classic Tang poetry into the diverse musical modes of Taiwanese operatic style.
IMPRESSION FORMOSA—A SKETCHBOOK OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FROM TAIWAN
BY NEW ASIA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY 新亞室內樂協會
4:00pm, Sat., June 10 (RSVP required)
TECO-NY (1 E. 42nd St.)
Ilha Formosa is the Portuguese historical name for Taiwan, meaning “beautiful island.” To depict this image, the concert will include three pieces by Taiwanese composers, among them Shiuan Chang and Huang-Ping Chang will be present at the performance.
Hailed by the New York Concert Reviews as “an impressively organized and professional group… comprised of many young and gifted players,” the New Asia Chamber Music Society is propelled by a shared passion for classical chamber music and profound respect for the works written by the composers of our time.
Max Tan, Violin│Sheng-Ching Hsu, Violin│Wei-Yang Andy Lin, Viola│Nan-Cheng Chen, Cello│TzuYi Chen, Piano
Program (ca. 60min)
String Quartet for Folk Tune .................... Shiuan Chang 張玹
Piano Trio …………………..…………........Tyzen Hsiao 蕭泰然 (1938-2015)
Silk Road Fantasi String Quartet ………... Hung-Ping Chang 張紅蘋
Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, Op. 25 .... J. Brahms (1833-1897)
FILM
BEYOND FICTION: THE NEGLECTED VOICES BEHIND HISTORY
This series is part of Mid-Manhattan Library’s Sunday Movies program. All screenings will take place at the Library (455 Fifth Ave., 6th Fl.)
This four-film series goes beyond fiction to introduce a selection of titles exploring the neglected voices behind contemporary Taiwanese and East Asian society and history. All films are New York premieres, and are in Chinese with English subtitles.
Hebei Taipei 河北臺北 Sun., June 4, 2:00pm
Li Nien-Hsiu, 2015, 92min (Followed by a conversation with the Director)
Li, a former soldier born in Hebei China, joined the army as a young man in order to survive. The war brought him to Taiwan, where he lived for six decades, and often dreamt of home. At the age of sixty, he decided to separate from his family, having no idea how his eventful life would come to an end…
After Spring, the Tamaki Family... 海的彼端 Sun., June 11, 2:00pm
Huang Yin-Yu, 2016, 96min
The Tamaki family emigrated from Taiwan before World War II and became the largest Taiwanese immigrant family in Okinawa where they were political refugees under the 3-decade U.S. occupation. This is a film spanning 80 years about how a family waded through and survived in the tide of the vicissitudes of East Asian history.
Absent Without Leave 不即不離 Sun, June 18, 2:00pm
Lau Kek-Huat, Chen Jing-Lian, 2016, 84min
The story begins with a portrait hanging in a family home in Malaysia. The director sets out on a journey to discover the secret history of his country through the eyes of his grandfather.
Hang in There, Kids! 只要我長大 Sun, June 25, 2:00pm
Laha Mebow, 2016, 90min
This film is about the long journey of three kids, raised in an isolated tribe in the mountains, who decide to set out on their own to help their beloved paraplegic teacher fulfill her dream.
LECTURE
Path to Life—A Steel Cable Connecting the World 生路:一條連結世界的鋼索
Thu., May 18, 6:30pm
TECO-NY (1 E. 42nd St.)
Lecturer: Kang Mu-Xiang 康木祥, Sculptor
A notably insightful and innovative sculptor from Taiwan, Kang, who has devoted most of his career life to creating art from driftwood, will share the story of his latest challenge—using discarded elevator cables from high-rise buildings like Taipei 101, the former tallest building in the world and now the fifth, and implementing the concepts of oriental philosophy, such as rebirth and cycle of life, to create his newest series of work titled Life.
The Expression of Emotion in Traditional Chinese Music
Thu., May 25, 6:00pm
Flushing Library (41-17 Main St, Flushing)
Lecturer: Huang Chen-Ming黃正銘, with demonstrations by CMFW musicians
Huang will introduce different characters of six iconic instruments in traditional sizhu: erhu (two-string spike fiddle), pipa (four-strings plucked lute), guzheng (Chinese zither), yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer), ruanxian (or ruan, lute with a round body, played by plucking the strings), and dizi (bamboo made transverse flute).
Taiwanese Hand Puppet Making Workshop
Sat., May 27, 2:00pm
Queens Botanical Garden (43-50 Main St, Flushing)
Lecturer: Wang Da Chung王大中, Puppeteer
The puppeteer will lead a children’s workshop where participants can decarate their own hand puppet based on traditional Taiwan had puppetry designs or create their own. Participants get to keep their puppet. Wang will also instruct participants on how to manipulate Taiwanese hand puppets.
Illustration Workshop
Thu., June 1, 3:30pm
TECO-NY (1 E. 42nd St.)
Lecturer: Nina Edwards, Illustrator, Adjunct Professor of Pratt Institute
Illustration is commercial drawing or painting designed to be integrated in media as posters, flyers, stationery, magazines, animations, or video games. This introductory illustration workshop will touch on current illustration trends and styles, as well as on some popular apps and computer programs among professional and amateur Illustrators.
On Beauty—An Architectural Quest for Home
Thu., June 22, 6:30pm
TECO-NY (1 E. 42nd St.)
Lecturer: Eric Wong王紀凡, Professor, Architecture School of Pratt Institute
The poet John O’Donohue writes: “Some of our most wonderful memories are beautiful places where we felt immediately at home.” So if home is where the heart is, then beauty must be in the heart. It is up to the individual to choose to see it. Wong will share some interesting travel observations and his views on architecture and aesthetics.
EXHIBITION
CONSIDERATE CREATIONS: CHAMELEONS—PART II
Contemporary Women Artists Show
June 16 – July 14, 2017
Gallery 456 (456 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York)
Artists: Chen Hui-Chiao│Hu Nung-Hsin│Tsai Hai-Ru│Wang Te-Yu│Ali Wong/ Wong Kit-Yi
Opening: Fri., June 16, 6:00-8:00pm
On view from June 16 to July 14, the Taipei Cultural Center in New York and Gallery 456 are delighted to co-present the second part of a female group show Considerate Creations: Chameleons. Curated by art manager I-Hua Lee of Taipei Artist Village, the exhibition implies that the hard work done behind the scenes allows art projects to successfully come to fruition. Artworks on display are in various forms, including video, photograph and installations, yet all focus on the female artists’ common experience of playing multiple roles. Apart from discussing the subject of women’s multiple roles, the exhibition also addresses family issues such as marital and parental relations.