China Now Music Festival
纽约中国当代音乐节

The eighth season of the China Now Music Festival explores music as part of the ebb and flow of time, the primal movement of the earth and stars, the human body, and the human mind. Music as motivation, as momentum, as a constantly changing reflection of human nature. Our theme is expressed in the two characters 乐 (yuè - music) and 动 (dòng - movement or motion) — Music in Motion.
Three major concerts performed by The Orchestra Now (TŌN) and the Bard East/West Ensemble (BE/WE) present music from contemporary China incorporating dance, voice, and a unique fusion of Western and Chinese musical styles. 
LEARN MORE AND PURCHASE TICKETS

The 7th annual China Now Music Festival presented two concerts at Carnegie Hall featuring contemporary works from China on the cutting edge of music. Concerts by The Orchestra Now (TŌN) and the Bard East/West Ensemble (BE/WE) explored the intersection of technology and music, with a focus on the future. The US-China Music Forum brought together artists and leaders in AI music research from the US and China for a discussion of the potential and impact of this new tool on contemporary music composition. 

The US-China Music Institute of the Bard Conservatory of Music, in partnership with the Central Conservatory of Music, China, presented the sixth annual China Now Music Festival at Bard College and Jazz at Lincoln Center from October 2-8, 2023. The theme focused on the idea of building a musical bridge between China and the United States through music. Led by music director Jindong Cai, festival concerts were performed by the innovative Bard East/West Ensemble, featuring a unique mix of Chinese and Western instruments, and The Orchestra Now. Each program explored musical intersections between the US and China in the past, present, and future. 

The US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music and the Central Conservatory of Music, China, presented the 2022 China Now Music Festival, “East of West”, in celebration of our first five years of partnership and collaboration. The festival featured five major symphonic and operatic concerts held in New York City and in Upstate New York. Exciting new and rarely heard musical selections highlighted the cross-currents between China and the West, both in contemporary classical music and in artistic movements of the recent past.

In its fourth season, the China Now Music Festival showed itself to be a leading force in introducing music from contemporary China to the United States and in promoting musical exchanges between the US and China. This festival continued to pursue its vital mission while broadening the scope to include the voices of a wide array of Asian American composers, with the aim of exploring their importance in contemporary American music and society. Featuring composer-in-residence Huang Ruo, and ensemble-in-residence the Del Sol Quartet, along with many more composers and musicians, the 2021 China Now Music Festival connected culture, history, contemporary society, and the arts through a vibrant series of musical programs and discussion.