The Sound of Spring is an annual Chinese New Year concert presented by the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, in collaboration with the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing, China. The concert series began in 2020 and, as of 2026, is in its seventh edition.
Overview
The Sound of Spring is a family-friendly orchestral concert that celebrates the Lunar New Year (Spring Festival) with a program blending Chinese and Western classical music. It is performed by The Orchestra Now (TŌN), a graduate program orchestra of Bard College, under the direction of conductor Jindong Cai, who is the director of the US-China Music Institute.
Each year, the concert features world-class soloists on traditional Chinese instruments (such as the suona, erhu, pipa, dizi, sheng, and percussion) drawn from the faculty of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, as well as prize-winning students from both CCOM and Bard. The concerts also include pre-show demonstrations of traditional Chinese instruments and Lunar New Year activities.
Venues
The Sound of Spring is typically performed at two venues on consecutive days:
- Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
- Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City
History
- 2020 (1st edition): Inaugural concerts at the Fisher Center at Bard and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
- 2021 (2nd edition): Held during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2022 (3rd edition): Continued at both venues.
- 2023 (4th edition): Concerts on January 27–28 at Bard and January 30 at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
- 2024 (5th edition): Celebrated the Year of the Dragon. Featured soloists Feng Tianshi (dizi), Guo Yazhi (suona), and Zhang Haiyue (erhu). Sponsored by the Tianqiao & Chrissy Chen Institute.
- 2025 (6th edition): Celebrated the Year of the Snake. Featured soloists Yan Guowei (erhu), Zhang Jingli (percussion), Wang Lei (sheng), and JinOu Anastasia Dong (pipa). Included a commissioned work by Bard faculty member Xinyan Li.
- 2026 (7th edition): Celebrated the Year of the Horse and Valentine's Day weekend. Featured suona virtuoso Yazhi Guo, French hornist Jin Zhicheng, violinist Luo Chaowen, and pipa soloist Xiaoyan Zoey Luo. The program included works by Li Huanzhi, Wang Danhong, Carl Maria von Weber, Chen Gang, Richard Wagner, and Franz von Suppé, among others.
Organizers
The concert is presented by the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, founded in 2017 by conductor Jindong Cai and Robert Martin, with the mission of promoting the study, performance, and appreciation of contemporary Chinese music and supporting musical exchange between the United States and China.
