Now in its seventh year, the Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival has established itself as one of the most important Asian music festivals in the U.S. The festival is dedicated to promoting an understanding and appreciation of music in contemporary Asia through an annual series of concerts and academic activities. Each year the festival features an art form or geographical region. This year, we will focus on central Asian music in a visual context, incorporating dance, calligraphy, painting, and performance into the music-making process.
Friday, February 4, 7:30 p.m.
Melodies from the Grasslands: Traditional Mongolian Music
The Festival opens with an exploration of Mongolia's living musical traditions.
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $20/$10 students
Keynote speech by the Honorable Battulga Luvsan, General Consul of the Embassy of Mongolia to the United States.
Versatile throat-singer Nanjid Sengedorj joins virtuoso horse-head fiddle player Urtaa Gantulga and Boerte, the acclaimed Mongolian ethno-jazz band, for an evening of distinctive performances.
Saturday, February 5, 8:00 p.m.
From the Grasslands to the Steppes
An evening with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra
Jindong Cai, conductor
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $10/$5 students; free for students with Stanford ID
7:00 PM: Pre-concert discussion with Jindong Cai and guest composer Byambasuren Sharav.
8:00 PM: Borodin's seminal On the Steppes of Central Asia and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini are presented alongside the US premieres by Mongolian composer Byambasuren Sharav's Concerto for Morin Khuur and Orchestra, and Suite No. 2 from the ballet Zuurdiin Oron. Featuring 2010 Stanford Concerto Competition winner Juliann Ma (piano) and morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) soloist Urtaa Gantulga.
Friday, February 11, 8:00 p.m.
Cross Currents: Contemporary Music from Central and East Asia
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $10/$5
The San Francisco-based New Spectrum Ensemble and the New Pacific Trio, the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music's ensemble-in-residence, join forces with internationally acclaimed shô player Ko Ishikawa and horse-head fiddle player Urtnasan to present a program of new and recent works by Chen Yi, Keiko Fujiie, François Rose, and Tajik composers Tolib Shakhidi and Farangis Nurulla-Khoja, among others.
Saturday, February 12, 8:00 p.m.
A Central Asian Celebration: Ballet Afsaneh and Asian Masters
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $10/$5
A panoply of musical cultures unite as the dynamic Bay Area-based Ballet Afsaneh showcases folkloric and classical dances of Central Asia, alongside performances by Mongolian, Tibetan, and Japanese soloists, including Ko Ishikawa, Nanjid Sengedorj, and Tibetan singer Reshi Tsering Tan.
Sunday, February 13, 7:30 p.m.
Deylaman: An Evening with Mohsen Namjoo and Friends
Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $20/$10
Join us as we celebrate the critically acclaimed Iranian artist Mohsen Namjoo with a unique career-spanning performance featuring fellow Iranian Bay Area musicians. The concert will be followed by a ceremony to mark the release of Namjoo's new album Useless Kisses. Released by Payam Entertainment and sponsored in part by the Pan-Asian Music Festival of Stanford University, Useless Kisses is a collection of love songs written between 1995 and 2006. Including never before released songs and poetry, it is Namjoo's most personal album to date.
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