If you want to appreciate the breadth and depth of Chinese culture in anticipation of the upcoming Chinese New Year’s celebration, Windrows University may be a good place to start. The “university,” an ongoing series of presentations at the Princeton Windrows independent lifestyle community, features talks by Windrows residents who have enjoyed distinguished careers and lives, and like to share their expertise and experiences on intriguing topics.
In tribute to the Chinese New Year, Princeton Windrows residents of Asian heritage will share their art and history with a demonstration of Chinese opera and a discussion of Eastern and Western cultures on Thursday, February 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Princeton Windrows independent lifestyle community at 2000 Windrow Drive in Forrestal Village. The lecture is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served and tours of the community provided. To attend the event, RSVP to Mary Ann Bond at Princeton Windrows at 800-708-7007.
“Chinese Opera in Words, Spoken and Sung” will begin at 2 p.m. and feature operatic techniques, stylized movement, arias (brief dialog and song), and string musical instruments including the jing-hu and er-hu. Princeton Windrows resident Chinyee Sung, a professional artist and amateur opera singer, will be joined by Peter Lu, a Chinese opera singer here and in China. Accompanying Sung and Lu will be Alpha Chiang, a former Chinese opera singer who co-founded the Chinese Opera Association of New York in 1951. His wife and opera singer, Emily Chiang, will also be in the presentation.
The program continues at 3 p.m. with “Cultures, East and West,” with Windrows resident Chi Lung Kang examining some of the differences between the two cultures, with particular focus on outlooks on life, relationships with nature and attitudes toward religion. Kang is a native of China and came to the U.S. after World War II, earning a PhD in engineering from the University of Illinois. He moved to Princeton with his wife Cecilia after taking a position with General Electric. Kang and his late wife traveled extensively, returning to China to see family and developing an acute interest in the roots of their Eastern heritage and lives in the West.
“The Chinese New Year presentation will showcase the art and beauty of Chinese opera and offer fascinating insights into Eastern and Western cultures from an individual that has lived in both worlds,” says Bond. For more information visit www.princetonwindrows.com
