Montana Folk Festival
“One of the largest free festivals of the North West”
The Montana Folk Festival is an annual outdoor summer event in Butte, Southwest Montana, that features over 200 acts by the nation’s best performers. The festival has six stages with continuous live performances for three days by over 20 groups. The event attracts about 175,000 people every year. This summer, the Melody of China will be performing at the Festival on July 10, 2022.
The Music Center on Tour
In partnership with the The Music Center, Melody of China now offers pre-recorded and live virtual performances from the comfort of your classroom. Audiences are introduced to instruments including the yangqin, pipa, erhu and sheng, and includes folk songs, classical, festival music, opera, popular music and instrumental pieces. The event offers fascinating selections that feature a blending of ancient cultural traditions of China and the youthful, multicolored American culture.
Recent Highlights
Disneyland California Adventure Park!
In celebration of Lunar New Year and the Year of the Tiger, Melody of China will be performing at the Paradise Garden Bandstand at Disneyland California Adventure from January 21 thru February 11, 2022! There will be exciting selections of Chinese instrumental folk music, as well as selections from Star Wars, Mulan, and more!
The Melody of China is returning back on stage for an exciting program, with special guests Sirvan Manhoobi and Nariman Assadi on May 30, 1pm-2:45pm at Portsmouth Square in San Francisco Chinatown. This event is proudly presented by The Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center. Tickets are free, and are limited to 50 seats per showcase.
Melody of China with Special Guests Sirvan Manhoobi and Nariman Assadi is made possible through the Musical Grant Program, which is administered by InterMusic SF, and supported by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and San Francisco Grants for the Arts.
Celebrating Lunar New Year!
MOC Music Director, Yangqin Zhao, celebrates Lunar New Year with a solo performance at the Washoe County Library.
New Hybrid Concerts!
The Melody of China is currently participating with The Music Center on Tour Program where we are offering hybrid concerts to classroom-size students! For more details, please contact The Music Center on Tour at (213) 792-4310.
CURRENTS: Enter the Pipa
Pipa Virtuoso Shenshen Zhang appears on the first episode of San Francisco Symphony’s new video and podcast series CURRENTS hosted by conductor Michael Morgan. In this episode, Shenshen shares her musical journey and upbringing in addition to collaborating with San Francisco Symphony musicians on an exciting piece by Bright Sheng.
Congratulations, Class of 2020!
Ms. Gangqin Zhao leads her Advance Ensemble from the Chinese American International School (CAIS) in “Beautiful Flowers and Full Moon” (花好月圆) last week in celebration for the Class of 2020! #classof2020 #congratulations
SF Loves Learning
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our artists Gangqin Zhao (guzheng) and Thomas Lee (erhu) partnered with the San Francisco Symphony to appear on SFUSD’s educational show “SF Loves Learning” on KTVU Plus to introduce and share their music and their instruments.
Event Highlights
Melody of China will perform with Vancouver-based Sound of Dragon in a special concert at the 2019 San Francisco International Arts Festival at Fort Mason Center. The program will feature performances by Melody of China artists: Yangqin Zhao on yangqin (hammered dulcimer); Gangqin Zhao on guzheng (zither); Wanpeng Guo on sheng (mouth organ); Shenshen Zhang on pipa (lute); Gary Schwantes on dizi (bamboo flute)/saxophone. They will be joined by guest artists Lan Tung on erhu (2-string bowed fiddle) and members of Sound of Dragon Ensemble featuring Chinese instruments with flute, guitar, cello and percussion. The concert program will feature new arrangements of traditional repertoire as well as several world premieres by composers from the U.S. and Canada.
Melody of China will premiere Yuanlin Chen’s latest work Coexistent Beauty for yangqin, guzheng, pipa, sheng, dizi, bass clarinet, violin, cello, keyboard and electronics at Old First Church in San Francisco on Friday, November 7th. Follow-up performances will take place at Yoshi’s Oakland on November 11th and the Community School for Music and Arts in Mountain View on November 9th. The concert at Yoshi’s will include Chen’s piece as well as a new work for Chinese/jazz quartet(s) and a vocal performance by MoC’s own Gangqin Zhao.
Melody of China will be resident artists with the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music (AIM) , an interdisciplinary program integrating live music performances and related music education experience with everyday classroom lessons in language arts, social studies and other subjects. Melody of China artists will participate in performance and educational workshops in San Francisco public schools from January 13 thru May 23, 2014.
Melody of China has begun their after school class at Sunset Elementary School . The free class offers students a chance to learn a traditional Chinese instrument. Instruments include: erhu (2-string fiddle), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), gushing (zither), pipa (lute), ruan (moon guitar) and paigu (Chinese percussion). The class is funded by the California Arts Council’s Artists in Schools program.
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