Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, based in West Windsor and led by music director and conductor Chiu-Tze Lin, presents its annual family concert on Sunday, March 4, at 7 p.m. “Music Masters from East to West: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Ma SiCong,” features symphonic works from the Chinese composer, Ma SiCong, and a master of classical music, Ludwig van Beethoven. The concert is sponsored by the Kai Yue Foundation based in Plainsboro.
This year marks the 100th year anniversary of birth of Ma SiCong, a composer, violinist, and music educator. He was born in the Guangdong province of China in 1912 and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris throughout his teenage years.
Ma was the founding president of the China Central Conservatory of Music, but in 1967, because of the unrest during the Cultural Revolution in China, Ma and his family fled to Hong Kong. He then took up residence in Philadelphia where he continued to compose until his death in 1987. His orchestral works have been performed in China, Taiwan, and Russia.
At this concert, two of Ma’s latest orchestral works are featured as U.S. premieres: the “Mongolian Dance” and a violin concerto for two violins and orchestra with soloists Xiao-Fu Zhou and Quan Yuen.
Xiao-Fu Zhou, a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, has performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall, and other concert halls. Zhou, the artistic director and conductor of the Main Line Youth Chamber Orchestra, is on the faculty of the Philadelphia Biblical University.
Quan Yuan, also a graduate of Curtis, was concertmaster of the symphony orchestra at New England Conservatory of Music. Yuan has performed as a soloist with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Pro Musica, China Youth Chamber Orchestra, and the Taipei Youth Symphony Orchestra.
To celebrate Ma SiCong’s teaching legacy, Ma’s student, Hua-Yi Wang, along with Wang’s students, will play Ma’s “Rondo.” The format of this special performance, a violin ensemble in unison, is unique in the United States yet popular in Russia and Europe, where it is used in the Yehudi Menuhim schools.
The orchestra will perform works of Ludwig van Beethoven to complement the Eastern-inspired music. The concert features pianist Kevin Jang, violinist Constance Lin Kaita, and cellist Sunny Sung-Eun Chang, in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. The orchestra will also perform the Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3.
Family Concert, Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, Princeton Alliance Church, 20 Schalks Crossing Road, Plainsboro. Sunday, March 4, 7 p.m. “Music Master from East to West: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Ma Sicong.” $12 to $25. 609-790-9559. www.bravuraphil.org.
