Shanghai Chinese Orchestra Chamber Ensemble to perform Feb. 4 and 5

Shanghai Chinese Orchestra Chamber Ensemble to perform Feb. 4 and 5

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, China’s first large-scale modern ensemble of traditional instruments, has performed throughout China and in more than 30 countries. The orchestra, led by Artistic Director Wang Fujian, brings its 20-piece chamber ensemble to Penn State’s Schwab Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, in a program from its Elegant Music Series. The orchestra also will perform in a free family concert at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5, at Schwab.

Tickets for the Feb. 4 Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $48 for an adult, $20 for a University Park student and $38 for a person 18 and younger. Buy tickets online at www.cpa.psu.edu or by phone at 814-863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at four State College locations: Eisenhower Auditorium (weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Penn State Downtown Theatre Center (weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), HUB-Robeson Center Information Desk (weekdays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and Bryce Jordan Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). A grant from the University Park Allocation Committee makes Penn State student prices possible.

The Feb. 4 concert features the soloists Fang Yu, zheng (long zither); Qiao Haibo, xiao (end-blown flute) and dizi (transverse flute); Duan Aiai, erhu (bowed two-string fiddle) and the Seven Fairies Ensemble, erhu, dizi, yangqin (hammered dulcimer), guzheng (plucked zither), zhongruan (four-stringed, round sound box plucked instrument) and pipa (four-stringed, pear-shaped plucked instrument). The concert includes the works "Autumn Yearning by the Dresser," "Relic," "Drum Fantasia," "In the Still of the Night," "Moon’s Reflection on Er-Quan," "Sword Dance," "The Rainbow Skirt and the Feathered Coat," "Jijiruling" and "Moonlight on the Spring River."

The orchestra's free family concert (free tickets required) will take place at 1 p.m. on Feb. 5, also at Schwab Auditorium. The informal family concert, scheduled to last about one hour, includes educational components. Tickets for the free Feb. 5 concert are available at Eisenhower Auditorium, Penn State Tickets Downtown and HUB-Robeson Center Information Desk. Tickets are also available at Schwab on the day of the concert.

Complimentary round-trip shuttle service is provided between the Eisenhower Parking Deck and Schwab for both concerts. Go to www.cpa.psu.edu/events/sco.htm for details.

The 2012 national tour of the Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra is part of a major, multi-year cultural exchange with Minneapolis-based Arts Midwest, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the United States Major University Presenters consortium. Support for the tour has been provided by the Ministry of Culture, People’s Republic of China. This performance is also made possible, in part, with support from the Penn State Confucius Institute.

The John L. Brown Jr. and Marlynn Steele Sidehamer Endowment sponsors the presentation. WPSU is the media sponsor. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Wang Fujian, is offered in Schwab one hour before the Feb. 4 performance and is free for ticket holders.