Princeton Symphony Orchestra Presents SOUNDTRACKS: CALLIGRAPHY AS ART AND INSPIRATION Tonight

Tonight, January 20 at 7 pm, in partnership with the Princeton Public Library, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents Soundtracks: Calligraphy as Art and Inspiration in the library's Community Room.

Caroline Harris, Associate Director for Education at the Princeton University Art Museum, shares insights into the Museum's superb collection of Chinese calligraphy, and Jing Jing Luo, Music Alive: New Partnerships Composer-in-Residence, connects her passion for traditional calligraphy to the creation of her orchestral work Tsao Shu (Grass Scripts). The piece was inspired by the physical brush strokes of the calligraphic art form.

Caroline Harris has led the Education Department at the Princeton University Art Museum for over a decade. Prior to coming to Princeton, she served as staff lecturer in charge of academic affairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

A native of Beijing, Jing Jing Luo is a prolific composer and performer whose musical language connects East and West, transcending traditional boundaries. Also a visual artist of calligraphy and ink brush painting, recent compositions have merged her artistic pursuits in a fascinating blending of music and art. Ms. Luo's 2016 residency is made possible through Music Alive: New Partnerships, a residency program of New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. This national program is designed to establish new relationships between composers and orchestras, and to help orchestras present new music to the public and build support for new music within their institutions. Leadership funding for Music Alive is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund.

Soundtracks is free and open to the public; refreshments will be served.

Tsao Shu is featured on the PSO's January 31 classical concert Three Songs along with works by Zoltán Kodály, Osvaldo Golijov, and Mozart. For more information, visit princetonsymphony.org.

Whether performing classical masterworks, introducing music by modern-day masters, or hosting students at their first live orchestral performance, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey's finest music organizations. Led by Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO offers orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest quality, as well as lectures and other events to complement these concerts. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and innovative education programs, carried out in partnerships with local schools and arts organizations. With considerable community support and funding for excellence from the National Endowment for the Arts, the PSO is also a multiple-year recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts' highest honors. In addition, the PSO has been recognized for its commitment to new music with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.

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