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Orchestra of St. Luke's NYC Five Borough Tour: The Music of Chen Yi
Mar 29, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Each season, Orchestra of St. Luke's travels to all five New York City boroughs, bringing classical music to audiences far and wide. In this concert, discover the remarkable music of Chen Yi, a celebrated Chinese-American composer whose work connects cultures and tells stories that resonate around the world.
This special program brings Chen Yi’s music to life offering an experience that blends tradition, inspiration, and creativity. Born in China and thriving as an artist in the United States, Chen Yi combines the melodies of her heritage with a global perspective, creating music that is fresh, vibrant, and deeply moving. This concert features her dynamic compositions alongside the music that has influenced her journey, showcasing a joyful celebration of culture and sound.
Discover the remarkable music of Chen Yi, a celebrated Chinese-American composer whose work connects cultures and tells stories that resonate around the world. This special program brings Chen Yi’s music to life offering an experience that blends tradition, inspiration, and creativity.
Members Lounge Post-Show Mix & Mingle
3pm | Flushing Town Hall Green Room
Flushing Town Hall members are invited for a complimentary post-show reception. Join us after the concert for some refreshments (light bites, wine, beer, soft drinks), where you’ll meet and converse with fellow arts enthusiasts and Flushing Town Hall staff.
Parking Information: Flushing Town Hall has a small parking lot at the rear of the building, which fills up quickly during events. Additional parking is available nearby at:
• PEC Parking – 35-15 Farrington St, Flushing, NY 11354
• The Farrington Parking – 33-66 Farrington St, Flushing, NY 11354
"Within the organic energy of Chen Yi’s music, expression alternately shimmers, dances, charms, radiates and explodes. No matter what her subject – story or description; narrative or nature – Chen Yi writes with such sturdy strength that her music feels inevitable: what we perceive as surprises and unexpected developments are simply the next breaths in Chen Yi’s creative breathing."
—Jean Ballard Terepka, TheaterScene.net
Artist Bios
Chen Yi
Dr. Chen Yi, a distinguished composer blending Chinese and Western traditions, received the Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001. Since 1998, she has served as the Lorena Cravens/Millsap/Missouri Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2005) and the American Academy of Arts & Letters (2019).
Born in China, she earned degrees from the Central Conservatory in Beijing and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Columbia University, studying under Wu Zu-qiang, Chou Wen-chung, and Mario Davidovsky. She has been Composer-in-Residence for several organizations, taught at Peabody Conservatory, and served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in China since 2006.
Her numerous honors include fellowships from Guggenheim Foundation, Fromm Foundation, and NEA, as well as awards like the Lili Boulanger Award, ASCAP Concert Music Award, and Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Si Ji. She holds honorary doctorates from several universities and has been recognized by Mu Phi Epsilon and the Society for American Music.
Chen Yi’s works are widely performed and recorded on over 100 CDs, including Grammy-winning Colors of Love. Recent premieres include Introduction, Andante, and Allegro by the Seattle Symphony (2019), Four Spirits piano concerto by the China Philharmonic (2016), and Tang Poems Cantata by MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony (2020). Her music is published by Theodore Presser Company.
Chen Tao 
Chen Tao, an internationally acclaimed Chinese flutist, educator, composer, and conductor, is the founder and director of Melody of Dragon, Inc. and artistic director of the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. He has led the New York Guqin Association and served as executive chairman of the New York Chinese Music Instruments International Competition since 2015. A 27th-generation musician of Zhi-Hua Buddhism music, The New York Times called him a “poet in music,” while Herbert von Karajan praised his soulful performance.
A graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music, Chen Tao won the 1989 National Folk Instrument Competition and has performed worldwide with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic and the National Orchestra of Lyon. His flute playing is featured in Seven Years in Tibet, The Corrupter, and the PBS documentary Under the Red Flag. Since moving to the U.S. in 1993, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, collaborating with groups like the Manhattan School of Music’s Chamber Orchestra and the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company.
As an educator, Chen Tao leads Melody of Dragon’s efforts to bring Chinese music culture to schools in the New York metro area and joined the US-China Music Institute faculty in 2019 as a chamber music coach and master teacher of the dizi.
Liu Li
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Celebrating 50 years during the 2024-2025 season, New York City’s Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) and its acclaimed concert musicians make their artistic home in Carnegie Hall, where OSL has performed more than any other orchestra since its premiere there in 1983. Bernard Labadie, an internationally renowned specialist in 18th-century music, was named OSL’s Principal Conductor in 2018 and will step down in 2025, concluding an expansive and critically commended tenure. OSL’s annual season features a concert series in each of Carnegie Hall’s three venues as well as the Visionary Sounds and DeGaetano Composition Institute programs focused on contemporary composers at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, the rehearsal, recording, and performance facility OSL built in 2011 in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood. OSL proudly collaborates with Paul Taylor Dance Company in its Lincoln Center season each year and performs with a variety of artistic partners at venues throughout the city and beyond. Founded in 1974 when a group of virtuoso chamber musicians began performing together in Greenwich Village at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, the ensemble later expanded into an orchestra before catching fire in New York’s classical music scene. OSL has participated in 120 recordings, four of which have won Grammy Awards, has commissioned more than 75 new works, and has given more than 200 world, U.S., and New York City premieres. OSL champions composers from groups historically underrepresented in classical music. In recent seasons, it has presented works by Kinan Azmeh, Margaret Bonds, Valerie Coleman, Julius Eastman, Wynton Marsalis, Florence Price, Rita Dove, and Chen Yi, among others. Central to OSL’s mission, the Education and Community Engagement program presents free concerts to thousands of New York City public school students each year; offers the 120-student-strong Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s (YOSL), the city’s only youth orchestra under the umbrella of a professional group; provides a mentorship program for pre-professional musicians; and brings accessible concerts to all five boroughs.
Jeffrey Zeigler
Jeffrey Zeigler is a boundary-pushing and versatile cellist, praised by Strings Magazine for “breaking conventions” and by The New York Times as a “fiery” performer with “beauty of tone.” A former member of the Kronos Quartet (2005–2013), he has received the Avery Fisher Prize, the Polar Music Prize, and multiple other accolades.
Zeigler has collaborated with artists like Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma, and Tanya Tagaq and performed with major orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Toronto Symphony. He has premiered concertos by Andy Akiho, Mark Adamo, and Amy Brandon and appeared on soundtracks for La Grande Bellezza and The Fountain. His solo album, Houses of Zodiac, combines music, spoken word, and dance, earning acclaim as “one of the greatest solo cello albums of all time.”
A champion of interdisciplinary projects, Zeigler has led music for eco-documentaries The Colorado and The Amazon and serves as Co-Artistic Director of VisionIntoArt. He is the Director of the National Sawdust Ensemble and sits on the advisory boards of Chamber Music America, CelloBello, and the Sphinx Organization. Zeigler plays a Samuel Zygmuntowicz cello on loan from the Five Partners Foundation.
Each season, Orchestra of St. Luke's travels to all five New York City boroughs, bringing classical music to audiences far and wide. In this concert, discover the remarkable music of Chen Yi, a celebrated Chinese-American composer whose work connects cultures and tells stories that resonate around the world.
This special program brings Chen Yi’s music to life offering an experience that blends tradition, inspiration, and creativity. Born in China and thriving as an artist in the United States, Chen Yi combines the melodies of her heritage with a global perspective, creating music that is fresh, vibrant, and deeply moving. This concert features her dynamic compositions alongside the music that has influenced her journey, showcasing a joyful celebration of culture and sound.
Discover the remarkable music of Chen Yi, a celebrated Chinese-American composer whose work connects cultures and tells stories that resonate around the world. This special program brings Chen Yi’s music to life offering an experience that blends tradition, inspiration, and creativity.
Members Lounge Post-Show Mix & Mingle
3pm | Flushing Town Hall Green Room
Flushing Town Hall members are invited for a complimentary post-show reception. Join us after the concert for some refreshments (light bites, wine, beer, soft drinks), where you’ll meet and converse with fellow arts enthusiasts and Flushing Town Hall staff.
Parking Information: Flushing Town Hall has a small parking lot at the rear of the building, which fills up quickly during events. Additional parking is available nearby at:
• PEC Parking – 35-15 Farrington St, Flushing, NY 11354
• The Farrington Parking – 33-66 Farrington St, Flushing, NY 11354
"Within the organic energy of Chen Yi’s music, expression alternately shimmers, dances, charms, radiates and explodes. No matter what her subject – story or description; narrative or nature – Chen Yi writes with such sturdy strength that her music feels inevitable: what we perceive as surprises and unexpected developments are simply the next breaths in Chen Yi’s creative breathing."
—Jean Ballard Terepka, TheaterScene.net
Artist Bios
Chen Yi
Dr. Chen Yi, a distinguished composer blending Chinese and Western traditions, received the Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001. Since 1998, she has served as the Lorena Cravens/Millsap/Missouri Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2005) and the American Academy of Arts & Letters (2019).
Born in China, she earned degrees from the Central Conservatory in Beijing and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Columbia University, studying under Wu Zu-qiang, Chou Wen-chung, and Mario Davidovsky. She has been Composer-in-Residence for several organizations, taught at Peabody Conservatory, and served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in China since 2006.
Her numerous honors include fellowships from Guggenheim Foundation, Fromm Foundation, and NEA, as well as awards like the Lili Boulanger Award, ASCAP Concert Music Award, and Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Si Ji. She holds honorary doctorates from several universities and has been recognized by Mu Phi Epsilon and the Society for American Music.
Chen Yi’s works are widely performed and recorded on over 100 CDs, including Grammy-winning Colors of Love. Recent premieres include Introduction, Andante, and Allegro by the Seattle Symphony (2019), Four Spirits piano concerto by the China Philharmonic (2016), and Tang Poems Cantata by MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony (2020). Her music is published by Theodore Presser Company.
Chen Tao
Chen Tao, an internationally acclaimed Chinese flutist, educator, composer, and conductor, is the founder and director of Melody of Dragon, Inc. and artistic director of the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. He has led the New York Guqin Association and served as executive chairman of the New York Chinese Music Instruments International Competition since 2015. A 27th-generation musician of Zhi-Hua Buddhism music, The New York Times called him a “poet in music,” while Herbert von Karajan praised his soulful performance.
A graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music, Chen Tao won the 1989 National Folk Instrument Competition and has performed worldwide with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic and the National Orchestra of Lyon. His flute playing is featured in Seven Years in Tibet, The Corrupter, and the PBS documentary Under the Red Flag. Since moving to the U.S. in 1993, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, collaborating with groups like the Manhattan School of Music’s Chamber Orchestra and the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company.
As an educator, Chen Tao leads Melody of Dragon’s efforts to bring Chinese music culture to schools in the New York metro area and joined the US-China Music Institute faculty in 2019 as a chamber music coach and master teacher of the dizi.
Liu Li
Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Celebrating 50 years during the 2024-2025 season, New York City’s Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) and its acclaimed concert musicians make their artistic home in Carnegie Hall, where OSL has performed more than any other orchestra since its premiere there in 1983. Bernard Labadie, an internationally renowned specialist in 18th-century music, was named OSL’s Principal Conductor in 2018 and will step down in 2025, concluding an expansive and critically commended tenure. OSL’s annual season features a concert series in each of Carnegie Hall’s three venues as well as the Visionary Sounds and DeGaetano Composition Institute programs focused on contemporary composers at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, the rehearsal, recording, and performance facility OSL built in 2011 in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood. OSL proudly collaborates with Paul Taylor Dance Company in its Lincoln Center season each year and performs with a variety of artistic partners at venues throughout the city and beyond. Founded in 1974 when a group of virtuoso chamber musicians began performing together in Greenwich Village at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, the ensemble later expanded into an orchestra before catching fire in New York’s classical music scene. OSL has participated in 120 recordings, four of which have won Grammy Awards, has commissioned more than 75 new works, and has given more than 200 world, U.S., and New York City premieres. OSL champions composers from groups historically underrepresented in classical music. In recent seasons, it has presented works by Kinan Azmeh, Margaret Bonds, Valerie Coleman, Julius Eastman, Wynton Marsalis, Florence Price, Rita Dove, and Chen Yi, among others. Central to OSL’s mission, the Education and Community Engagement program presents free concerts to thousands of New York City public school students each year; offers the 120-student-strong Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s (YOSL), the city’s only youth orchestra under the umbrella of a professional group; provides a mentorship program for pre-professional musicians; and brings accessible concerts to all five boroughs.
Jeffrey Zeigler
Jeffrey Zeigler is a boundary-pushing and versatile cellist, praised by Strings Magazine for “breaking conventions” and by The New York Times as a “fiery” performer with “beauty of tone.” A former member of the Kronos Quartet (2005–2013), he has received the Avery Fisher Prize, the Polar Music Prize, and multiple other accolades.
Zeigler has collaborated with artists like Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma, and Tanya Tagaq and performed with major orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Toronto Symphony. He has premiered concertos by Andy Akiho, Mark Adamo, and Amy Brandon and appeared on soundtracks for La Grande Bellezza and The Fountain. His solo album, Houses of Zodiac, combines music, spoken word, and dance, earning acclaim as “one of the greatest solo cello albums of all time.”
A champion of interdisciplinary projects, Zeigler has led music for eco-documentaries The Colorado and The Amazon and serves as Co-Artistic Director of VisionIntoArt. He is the Director of the National Sawdust Ensemble and sits on the advisory boards of Chamber Music America, CelloBello, and the Sphinx Organization. Zeigler plays a Samuel Zygmuntowicz cello on loan from the Five Partners Foundation.
