Experts from China and the United States called for enhancing music education cooperation and exchanges between the two nations to energize bilateral ties. The “U.S.-China Music Forum – Confronting Challenges and Looking to the Future” took place at the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at The Asia Society on Saturday afternoon in New York.
The panelists said classical music exchanges between the two nations over the past five decades demonstrate the harmonious interplay between art and diplomacy. They noted that, in an ever-changing world, music remains a timeless bridge that connects hearts and minds, fostering understanding and empathy between cultures.
Citing the successful cooperation between the Bard College and China’s Central Conservatory of Music in the past five years, Jindong Cai, director of the U.S.-China Music Institute and conductor of the Bard’s East/West Ensemble, opened the event by demonstrating his hope to strengthen the connections between China and the United States through music.
“The West and the East have been communicating through music historically,” Cai pointed out, “as the Chinese traditional instrument Pipa was initially from Persia, traveled its way by the Silk Road, and reached Western China in the 4th century AD.”
