Music From China Comes to Williams College

Print Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Department of Music presents Music From China on Thursday, March 8 at 8 p.m. in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall on the Williams College campus. In addition to this, a master class with the musicians of Music From China takes place at 4:15 p.m. on the same day in the same venue. These free events are open to the public.

Music From China is a chamber ensemble that performs a dual repertoire of traditional and contemporary Chinese music. The group was founded in 1984 by Director Susan Cheng and is under the artistic direction of Wang Guowei, virtuoso player of the erhu, a Chinese string instrument. Performing on traditional instruments, the musicians invoke the sonorities of age-old musical traditions and interpret the music of today.

A proponent of new music, Music From China is recipient of an Adventurous Programming special commendation from Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for creative programs that combine the music of the east and west. As part of its music education program, the ensemble founded the 35-member Music From China Youth Orchestra, which performs year-round under Artistic Director/Conductor Wang Guowei in the New York tri-state and other East Coast areas.

The master class offers an opportunity to experience how these professionals pass on their knowledge of music to their students. This combination of playing, demonstration and discussion of the questions that arise provides a fascinating window into the world of musicians.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) opens a new exhibition, "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art."
 
The exhibit opened on March 22.
 
According to a press release: 
 
The idea that numbers emanate sacred significance, and connect the past with the future, is prehistoric and global. Rooted in the Babylonian science of astrology, medieval Christian numerology taught that God created a well-ordered universe. Deciphering the universe's numerical patterns would reveal the Creator's grand plan for humanity, including individual fates. 
 
This unquestioned concept deeply pervaded European cultures through centuries. Theologians and lay people alike fervently interpreted the Bible literally and figuratively via number theory, because as King Solomon told God, "Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight" (Wisdom 11:22). 
 
"Cracking the Cosmic Code" explores medieval relationships among numbers, events, and works of art. The medieval and Renaissance art on display in this exhibition from the 5th to 17th centuries—including a 15th-century birth platter by Lippo d'Andrea from Florence; a 14th-century panel fragment with courtly scenes from Palace Curiel de los Ajos, Valladolid, Spain; and a 12th-century wall capital from the Monastery at Moutiers-Saint-Jean—reveal numerical patterns as they relate to architecture, literature, gender, and timekeeping. 
 
"There was no realm of thought that was not influenced by the all-consuming belief that all things were celestially ordered, from human life to stones, herbs, and metals," said WCMA Assistant Curator Elizabeth Sandoval, who curated the exhibition. "As Vincent Foster Hopper expounds, numbers were 'fundamental realities, alive with memories and eloquent with meaning.' These artworks tease out numerical patterns and their multiple possible meanings, in relation to gender, literature, and the celestial sphere. 
 
"The exhibition looks back while moving forward: It relies on the collection's strengths in Western medieval Christianity, but points to the future with goals of acquiring works from the global Middle Ages. It also nods to the history of the gallery as a medieval period room at this pivotal time in WCMA's history before the momentous move to a new building," Sandoval said.
 
Cracking the Cosmic Code runs through Dec. 22.
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories