Asia – Concert Tour
April 18-30, 2010
For the first time in nearly six years, the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma returned to South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore during an April 2010 concert tour, which also featured the Ensemble’s debut performances in Macao and Thailand:
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Seoul Arts Center – Seoul, South Korea
- Macao Cultural Centre – Macao S.A.R., China
- Taipei National Concert Hall – Taipei, Taiwan
- Taichung Fulfillment Amphitheatre – Taichung, Taiwan
- Jhihde Theatre – Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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Thailand Cultural Centre – Bangkok, Thailand
- Esplanade Concert Hall – Singapore
Musicians rehearsed and performed six different programs in venues ranging from concert halls to an outdoor arena. Highlights of the two-week, seven-city tour included the Asian premieres of Osvaldo Golijov’s Air to Air and Evan Ziporyn’s Sulvasutra. Other recently commissioned music performed on tour included works by Gabriela Lena Frank and Angel Lam, played alongside traditional Chinese and Persian music arranged for the Ensemble.
With so many distinct concert programs, different members of the Silk Road Ensemble joined the tour at various stages. Percussionist and vocalist Dong-Won Kim introduced the Ensemble to a traditional Korean sailing song, Baet Nore (“Distant Horizons”), which violinist Jonathan Gandelsman arranged for the group to perform in Seoul. In Singapore, members of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra joined the Ensemble for part of the final concert of the tour.
The Silk Road Ensemble also reached out to communities during the tour, holding an open rehearsal and giving a musical workshop for student musicians in Taichung and another for students in Singapore. In Bangkok, the musicians met Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who has played an active role in promoting the preservation and performance of Thai traditional music.
TOUR DIARY & BLOG:
Tour Diary: Chinese pipa player Wu Man talks about life on the road with the Silk Road Ensemble
“As we all gather together to embark on a new journey, it feels like a homecoming, even though we will be traveling constantly during that time.”
June 2010 – Gramophone Magazine
Tour Blog: Silk Road Ensemble members answered questions from students in our Silk Road Connect program in New York City
Silk Road Ensemble Asia Tour Q&A
MEDIA COVERAGE:
Eclectic
fusion of sounds
May 5, 2010 – Bangkok Post Yo-Yo
Ma, Silk Road Ensemble arrive in Taiwan for three-city tour
April 21, 2010 – Focus Taiwan Learn
for Life
April 19, 2010 – Straits Times (Singapore) Hyosung
Boosts Cultural Activities with Silk Road Ensemble
April 19, 2010 – Korea Times |