Guest Artist Mei Zhong to Perform at Guilford Nov. 1
An upcoming guest artist recital at Guilford will feature a unique blend of classical Western opera and traditional Chinese music. Mei Zhong, soprano, will perform on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Dana Auditorium accompanied by pianist James Helton.
Zhong’s program will feature a number of folk songs that originated in various regions of China, including music from the Li and Yao ethnic minorities. In the program’s second act, Zhong will perform pieces from Puccini’s Turandot, and Madame Butterfly and a selection from Verdi’s La Forza del Destino.
Zhong has performed extensively in both China and the United States, including seven years with the Henyang Baihua Theater in China. She has presented lecture/recitals in the United States and Canada, Spain, Costa Rica and Ireland. She is the author of the books Tempo in the Soprano Arias of Puccini’s La Bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly and Anthology of Chinese Songs-Volume I: Newly Arranged Chinese Folk Songs.
Zhong studied at the Shanghai Conservatory for Music and Hunan Teachers University before completing her education in the United States, earning her master of fine arts at the University of California at Los Angeles and a Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance and literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a concert soloist and associate professor of music performance at Ball State University in Indiana.
Helton is a staff pianist at Ball State University. He has worked with Pulitzer Prize- winning composers George Crumb, William Bolcom, Lucas Foss and Joseph Schwantner in concerts broadcast over public radio and television. For New World Records, Helton collaborated with the Blair Woodwind Quintet on works by composer Michael Kurek.
The recital is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.guilford.edu or call the Department of Music at 336-316-2876.
Nov. 1, 2007