CCM Presents the Regional Premiere of Tan Dun's 'Water Passion After St. Matthew'

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) proudly presents the regional premiere of

Tan Dun's Water Passion After St. Matthew

on Saturday, March 15 at 8 p.m. in CCM's Corbett Auditorium.

Grammy and Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun, perhaps best known for his score for the motion picture Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, created Water Passion to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach's death.

Earl Rivers conducts this groundbreaking choral work, featuring CCM's Chamber Choir, Percussion Group Cincinnati, guest artists Elizabeth Keusch (soprano), Stephen Bryant (bass) and Yuanlin Chen (electronic sampler), and student soloists Kuan-Chang Tu (violin) and Amy Gillingham (cello). The unique instrumental ensemble includes 17 transparent water bowls, illuminated from beneath and "played" by percussionists, as well as electronically sampled ancient string instruments. These natural, vocal, string and electronic sounds combine to present a dynamic new take on the Gospel that inspired Bach.

"

Water Passion After St. Matthew

... is an astonishing piece conceptually," said Geoff Brown of

The Times

(London). "The Passion story is prised from its perch in Western Christianity, reimagined and reheard in the light of natural sounds and the myriad musical traditions of the Far East. It is ritual. It is opera."

The regional premiere of Tan Dun's Water Passion After St. Matthew is sponsored by CCM's Harmony Fund and Tangeman Sacred Music Center.

Tickets & Parking
Admission is $10, $5 for non-UC students, and FREE for UC students. Parking is available in the CCM Garage (at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. For tickets or additional information, visit www.ccm.uc.edu or call 513-556-4183.
__________

University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Event Details

TAN DUN: WATER PASSION AFTER ST. MATTHEW
Regional Premiere

Date & Time:     
Saturday, March 15, 8 p.m.
 
Description:    
CCM presents the regional premiere of Tan Dun's groundbreaking choral work, a contemporary take on the Passion story. Earl Rivers conducts, and featured artists include the CCM Chamber Choir, Percussion Group Cincinnati, guest artists Elizabeth Keusch (soprano), Stephen Bryant (bass) and Yuanlin Chen (electronic sampler).

Location:     
Corbett Auditorium, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Tickets:         
$10, $5 non-UC Students, UC students FREE

Additional Information:
www.ccm.uc.edu or 513-556-4183

__________

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

Tan Dun
The conceptual and multifaceted composer/conductor Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world's music scene with a creative repertoire that spans on the boundaries of classical, multimedia, Eastern and Western musical systems. A winner of today's most prestigious honors -- the Grawemeyer Award for classical composition, Grammy Award, Academy Award and Musical America's "Composer of the Year" -- Tan Dun's music has been played throughout the world by the leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals and on radio and television.

As a conductor whose primary interest is in creating programs that reach a new and diverse audience and which break the boundaries between classical and non-classical, East and West, avant-garde and indigenous art forms, Tan Dun has led many of the world's leading orchestras. Among them are the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, National Orchestra de France, Philadelphia Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Montreal Symphony, NHK Symphony of Japan, National Orchestra de Lyon, Sydney Symphony and London Sinfonietta.

Opera has played a significant role in Tan Dun's creative output of the past decade. The First Emperor was premiered by the Metropolitan Opera in December 2006 with a title role created for Placido Domingo. As a result of its success, it returns to the Metropolitan Opera this season. Marco Polo, set to a libretto by Paul Griffiths, has been performed in more than 20 cities worldwide. Peony Pavilion, on a text by Tang Xianzu (1598) and directed by Peter Sellars, had more than 50 performances at major festivals in Vienna, Paris, London and Rome. Tea: A Mirror of the Soul, set to a libretto by Xu Ying and encompassing music of ceramic, stone and paper instruments with orchestra, premiered at Japan's Suntory Hall and the Netherlands Opera with Pierre Audi directing and received a new production at the Santa Fe Opera in July 2007. Other major and influential works are: Water Passion After St. Matthew, for the Internationale Bachakadamie in Stuttgart, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Bach's death; Eight Memories in Watercolor, performed internationally by pianist Lang Lang; the Oscar-winning original score for Ang Lee's film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Ghost Opera, toured worldwide by the Kronos Quartet.

Based in New York, Tan Dun was born in Simao, China. Having served as a rice planter and performer of Peking opera during the Cultural Revolution, he later studied at Beijing's Central Conservatory. He holds a doctoral degree in musical arts from Columbia University of New York. Among the many international honors he has received, Tan Dun was elected by Toru Takemitsu for the Glenn Gould Prize in Music Communications and by Hans Werner Henze for the Munich International Music Theatre Award.

Tan Dun records for Sony Classical and Deutsche Grammophon. His recordings have received many honors, including a Grammy Award (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Best CD of Contemporary Music of Japan's Recording Academy Awards (Water Passion After St. Matthew) and the BBC's Best Orchestral Album (Death and Fire). Tan Dun's manuscript of The Map was acquired by Carnegie Hall for its Composers Gallery in New York.

Visit www.ccm.uc.edu for more information and a schedule of events.