#ClassicsaDay #APAHM Week 2
By Ralph Graves
May is designated Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The Classics a Day team adopted that theme as well. For the month of May, the challenge is to post examples of classical music composed or performed by artists who share that heritage.
I limited myself to just posting Asian-American composers. And discovered a seemingly limitless number of composers to choose from — both past and present.
Here are my picks for the second week of #ClassicsaDay #APAHM
05/10/21 Zhou Long – Postures Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
This Chinese composer writes, “I have been composing music seriously to achieve my goal of improving the understanding between peoples from various backgrounds.”
05/11/21 Chinary Ung – Spiral
Ung emigrated from Cambodia to study clarinet and turned to composition. Spiral won the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award in 1989 for American instrumental msuic.
05/12/21 Dorothy Chang – Small and Curious Spaces
Chang teaches music at the University of British Columbia. Her music incorporates Chinese music and instruments into Western classical forms.
05/13/21 Bright Sheng – String Quartet No. 3
Before emigrating to the U.S., Sheng studied and collected folk music in China and Tibet. He has also worked on the Silk Road Project.
05/14/21 Chelsea Chen – The Moon Lady
Most of Chen’s compositions are for the organ. Though young, she’s enjoyed an impressive international career as an organist and composer.
