Photographs are now available from the October 2, 2014 event “Composer Portraits: Chou Wen-chung.” During the event, the Weatherhead East Asian Institute joined the Columbia University community in honoring the Chinese composer on his 91st birthday at Miller Theater with an evening of musical performances of the composer’s works.
Chou, a protégé of French Modernist Edgard Varèse, studied at Columbia University and later joined the faculty, mentoring Chinese composers like Tan Dun, Bright Sheng, and Zhou Long.
Part of Miller Theater’s Composer Portraits series, which explores the works of living composers, the celebration began with a pre-show reception at the Columbia Alumni Center. The two-hour concert included performances of String Quartet No. 2 “Streams” (2003) by the Bretano String Quartet; Echoes from the Gorge (1989) by Talujon; and Ode to Eternal Pine (2009) by the New York New Music Ensemble. The evening included an onstage discussion between Chou and Fred Lerdahl, Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition, Department of Music, Columbia University.
The concert was co-sponsored by the Columbia University Department of Music; Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music; the Dean of Humanities; Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures; and the Center for Ethnomusicology
See pictures of the event here. Read more about Chou Wen-Chung’s extraordinary life in The New York Times here
