China Now Music Festival to Close 9th Edition at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Conductor Jindong Cai will lead THE ORCHESTRA NOW and 120 choristers in works honoring Chinese laborers and space exploration.
The 9th annual China Now Music Festival will conclude with a concert with The Orchestra Now, 120 choristers, and guest soloists, conducted by Jindong Cai. The program features Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long's Men of Iron and the Golden Spike returns to New York, alongside the U.S. premiere of Li Shaosheng's Chasing the Sky. Audiences will also experience the distinctive sounds of Chinese traditional instruments suona, erhu, and guzheng woven into contemporary orchestral music.
Zhou Long's Men of Iron and the Golden Spike is a powerful symphonic oratorio honoring the thousands of Chinese laborers who came to the United States in the 1860s and helped build the Transcontinental Railroad. The work returns to the New York stage following its premiere at the 2019 China Now Music Festival.
Li Shaosheng's Chasing the Sky is a five-movement symphonic suite receiving its U.S. premiere, inspired by humanity's dreams and the journey of space exploration.
The performance is on Sunday, October 11, 2026 at 3:00 PM at the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL:
The China Now Music Festival is an annual series of events produced by the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music in collaboration with the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music, China. The festival is dedicated to promoting an understanding and appreciation of classical music from contemporary China. In celebration of America's 250th anniversary, the 9th annual festival, running October 2–11, 2026, explores the theme “Chasing Dreams” through orchestral, chamber, and operatic works, as well as a US-China Music Forum presented across New York. The theme reminds us that the pursuit of dreams is a shared human experience that connects us all. Through music, the festival programs tell powerful stories about migration, artistic vision, resilience, and aspirations.
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