FUTURE HISTORIES, Persian Sufi Music, Festival of East Asian Music and More Set for Asia Society This Winter

Asia Society has announced its upcoming NYC performances, including:

SHANGHAI/NEW YORK: FUTURE HISTORIES - January 13 as part of COIL festival
PERSIAN SUFI MUSIC WITH DAVOD AZAD - January 31
MUSIC FROM JAPAN 40TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL OF EAST ASIAN MUSIC - February 7-8

Scroll down for details!

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Mirror Mind Shanghai/New York: Future Histories
Tuesday, January 13 at 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
FREE; pre-registration required.

Asia Society, Performance Space 122, and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival present the U.S. premiere of three short, music-focused, multidisciplinary ensemble works by three emerging artists from China: composers Sam Wu (dolphin song), Qin Yi (Mirror Mind) and Zulan (Death and the Maiden). Sam Wu is a self-taught 18-year old wunderkind currently studying at Harvard University. His chamber composition dolphin song is a lamentation on the recent extinction of Yangtze River "baiji" White Dolphins, and played by the violin, the viola, the cello, the piano, the bamboo flute, and percussion. Qin Yi is a contemporary electronic music pioneer who has created Mirror Mind, a crossover experiment combining dramatic performance, live percussion, interactive multi-channel electronic music, and new-media visual arts. Zulan is an internationally recognized composer who has created a special new music piece, based on the prize-winning play Death and the Maiden, describing the "Six Desires of a Human Being" -- a Buddhist concept of sensory pleasures derived from the eyes, ears, nose, body, and mind. Find out more here.

Davod Azad Echoes of the Mystic: Davod Azad
Saturday, January 31 at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets: $20 Asia Society members; $22 students/seniors; $25 nonmembers

Tehran-based Davod Azad is a vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and master of the tar and setar, two instruments fundamental to the Persian music repertoire. He is admired for his distinctive singing style, which integrates classical and modern spiritual elements, as well as for his stunning improvisations. He has performed in Sufi gatherings around the world over the past 30 years; his compositions to the poems of Rumi have been known for their healing and uplifting effect. Watch a video clip of him performing here.

Mayumi Miyata, Wu Man, Jin Hi Kim Music From Japan 40th Anniversary Festival
Concert 1: East Asian Vibrancy
Saturday, February 7 at 8:00 p.m.
Concert 2: Highlights of Music From Japan Commissions III
Sunday, February 8, at 2:00 p.m.

These two special concerts feature cross-cultural collaborations between musicians from Japan, China, Korea and the United States. The first, East Asian Vibrancy, will introduce audience members to traditional and contemporary repertoire for three East Asian instruments: the Japanese sho, the Korean komungo, and the Chinese pipa. The performers are each known worldwide for their versatility and virtuosity: Mayumi Miyata will perform on sho, Jin Hi Kim on komungo and electric komungo, and Wu Man on pipa.A second program -- Highlights of Music From Japan Commissions III -- will feature two world premieres by Japanese composers Michio Kitazume and Yoichi Sugiyama presented alongside three compositions commissioned by Music From Japan in previous years. Richard Stoltzman (clarinet) and Fred Sherry (cello) will be joined by other world class musicians in their performance of these works. There is a pre-performance lecture-demonstration by Ralph Samuelson on February 7 and an open forum moderated by Fred Sherry following with February 8 concert.

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All performances take place at Asia Society in New York, 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street). Find out more about upcoming programs, including information about registration and ticket purchase, at AsiaSociety.org/nyc. Tickets may also be purchased by calling our Box Office at 212-517-ASIA.