KOTORART FOR CHILDREN: BACH THROUGH TIME AND CONTINENTS

Bach Rides A Camel – A Musical Journey tells the adventures of Cameo, the magical Gobi Desert camel, which takes German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach through time and space travel to discover ethnic music and cultures from around the world. Every production is uniquely different, as the adventures of Bach and Cameo are scripted based on the heritage, cultural backgrounds, artistic skills and music, dancing, and acting talents of the cast participating in the show. The performance has gathered young musical talents from Vida Matjan Music School and dancers from Alisa Studio. The story is about the musical journey of J. S. Bach and the magical camel through time and across continents. The moral of the story is that life’s challenges are truly opportunities – ones we can come away from with new strength, knowledge, and skills, learning in the process how to turn defeat into victory.

JEAN Y. FOO, composer, pedagogue, and conductor, published the autobiography Bach Rides A Camel at the beginning of 2017. Among her various teachers are American composers John McDonald and Elliot Schwartz, and Chinese composers Wenchen Qin, Weiya Hao, and Zhenmin Xu. In her compositional oeuvre, she uses noise as a musical expression, incorporating instrumental theatricalities, and cross-gestures in Western and Chinese music. Her works have been presented at the John Kennedy Performing Arts Center, the Opera in Cairo, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, the Chinese National Center for Performing Arts, the Young Composers' Festival in Boston, and the Festival of Modern Music in Beijing, among others. Jean Y. Foo has gained her many years of pedagogical experience by teaching at Tufts University in the USA, the Central Music Conservatory in Beijing, the Shanghai Music Conservatory, and Goethe University in New York and Boston. She has served as Executive Director of the Chinese Musicians’ Association in Boston. With the Focal Chinese Music Organization, she has received a number of awards and recognitions. Jean Y. Foo is currently Co-artistic Director of the Global Intercultural Performing Arts Cast, conducting choirs and orchestras, including the International Prodigy Orchestra and Choir in Serbia.

WANZHE ZHANG, soprano, graduated in Voice and Opera Performance from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, under Professor Haitao Hei, and completed master studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, under Professor Karen Holvik. She regularly performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops, and is currently a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Wanzhe Zhang has appeared at some of the world’s most famous venues, including at Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Kolarac, and Beijing Concert Hall, amongothers. She has served as Music Director and Head Teacher at the Focal Music School, a lecturer at master schools within the cultural exchange program between China and the United States, and as a Secretary-General of National Classical Music Performing Arts Associates. Wanzhe Zhang has also managed the Hawaii International Piano Festival and the Hawaii International Summer Vocal Academy. At present, she serves as Secretary-General and Voice Teacher at the Boston Chinese Musicians Association, as President of the GIPAC Academy - the Chinese Division in the United States, and as a Lecturer at the Dana Hall School of Music in Wellesley (USA). In the current season, Wanzhe Zhang is performing the world premiere of the traditional Chinese symphonic opera Miss Liu San Jie in the United States.