The Orchestra Now photo by Fadi Kheir. Festival graphics by Saboteur Studios, UK.
Bard College Conservatory of Music Presents
China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Fisher Center
The Orchestra Now Celebrates America's 250th Anniversary - Bard College
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Fisher Center, Sosnoff Theater
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
The theme of this year’s China Now Music Festival, Chasing Dreams, celebrates America’s 250th anniversary. The program features Zhou Long’s Men of Iron and the Golden Spike, a powerful symphonic oratorio honoring the thousands of Chinese laborers who came to America in the 1860s to build the Transcontinental Railroad that connected our coasts and transformed our nation. This epic work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer includes a full orchestra, 120 choristers, and vocal soloists. Also featured is the U.S. premiere of Li Shaosheng’s five-movement symphonic suite Chasing the Sky, honoring humanity’s pursuit of space exploration. Conducted by Jindong Cai, The Orchestra Now is joined by the China Now Chorus and soloists including suona player Zhang Weiwei, soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon, mezzo-soprano Ziqi Wang, tenor Li Yi, bass-baritone Yue Wu, bass Andrew Munn, and child soloist Wyatt Stephens. 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
The festival is co-presented by the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music and the Central Conservatory of Music, China. Follow this link for tickets to the concert: https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/china-now-music-festival-chasing-dreams/
For more information, call 845-758-7026, e-mail [email protected],
or visit https://www.barduschinamusic.org/chasing-dreams.
Time: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Fisher Center, Sosnoff Theater
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