Concerts featuring Chinese elements to be held in New York

Two concerts featuring traditional and modern Chinese classical music will be held at New York's Lincoln Center in November, according to a recent release by the organizer.

The first concert, "East/West: A Symphonic Celebration," will be presented on Nov. 13 with Cai Jindong from Bard College as conductor and performance by New York City Ballet Orchestra and other artists, said China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd. (CAEG) in a release.

"East/West" will start with Dragon Boat Racing and The Red Dress, which are two of the outstanding dance dramas performed at the David H. Koch Theater of Lincoln Center in the past decade.

The concert also includes concertos and songs with lyrics derived from Chinese poets in the Tang and Song Dynasties while the ending piece From Jasmine to Turandot combines folk song Jasmine Flower from China's Jiangsu province and Giacomo Puccini's work "Nessun Dorma" from the opera Turandot.

Meanwhile, the concert "China Inspirations" will be staged on Nov 28 with artists coming from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

The program of "China Inspirations" features two composers, Zhou Long and Chen Yi, who were recipients of the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for composition, according to the release.

The two concerts are parts of cultural exchange initiative "Image China," which seeks to introduce traditional and contemporary Chinese performing arts to audiences around the world.

Since 2012, "Image China" has presented a series of Chinese dance dramas at the Lincoln Center, including The Peony Pavilion, Silk Road, The Red Dress, The Legend of Mulan, Dragon Boat Racing, Confucius, Soaring Wings, Princess Zhaojun, and others.