Celebrate the Lunar New Year with the Confucius Institute of Colorado State University at the 2016 Chinese Spring Festival Gala. Enjoy musical performances by artists from China and the University of Northern Colorado that include traditional Chinese instruments like the cucurbit flute, the pipa and the zither. The event will take place on January 31 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center. Tickets are free, and will be available after January 18. Tickets can be picked up in-person at the Lincoln Center (417 W. Magnolia St.) or the Confucius Institute (1413 S College Ave).
In modern China, Spring Festival is the celebration of Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year. It is the most important holiday of the year – a time for family to come together in the tradition of honoring gods and ancestors. The Spring Festival is typically celebrated from New Year’s Eve (in the lunar calendar) to the 15th day of the first month of the New Year. 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, symbolizing wit, dignity and renewal.
Performers
Cheng Xie currently teaches music education at the Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music and has been there since 2007. Xie graduated and was admitted to the Department of China Conservatory of Music in 2011. Xie has successfully performed solo concerts in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Nanning and other places.
Gang Huang, a postgraduate of Music in School of Arts at Anhui University, is a member of the Committee of Vocal Music of the Anhui Musician Association and is the Head of the National Symphony Orchestra. Huang has won many awards in vocal music, such as the Gold Award of Vocal Music in Youth Group, Anhui Division in the International Communication Competition of Chinese Arts and the title of “Outstanding Youth” in the Sino-Russian Youth Cultural Forum of Mesopotamia held by Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Zushun Zhang, is the Director of the Art Institute of Youth Arts Practice Center of Anhui University. Zhang won multiple awards for singing, such as the “CCTV National Young Singer TV Grand Prix” and Gold in the “China International Vocal Competition”. Zhang has been invited to visit Germany, Singapore, Japan, Italy, France, Israel and other countries to perform solo concerts.
UNC Jazz Lab Band I has long been recognized as a top university jazz ensemble. They were named the Best College Big Band in the 2005, 2006, 2011, and 2013 DownBeat Student Music Awards. In May 2014, they toured to Shanghai, Wuhan, Beijing, and Tianjin in China performing and teaching master classes. The band performed concerts at Shanghai Concert Hall, Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall, and Beijing Forbidden City Concert Hall.