New York audiences treated to sounds of Chinese instruments

"I studied classical music when I was a kid. As a Chinese, I pushed all of those things together and composed my music. The music is a bridge for Western people to understand Chinese culture, Chinese music, Chinese folk music. This audience was very warm. Some never heard of Chinese folk music, but they liked it."

In the second half of the concert, the rousing, contemporary percussion concerto Cang Cai, composed by Tang Jianping in 2003, was performed by Zhang and demonstrated the sounds of Peking Opera using crashing cymbals. It was up-tempo, striking and produced a wonderful clanging sound.

The show also featured the world premiere of Majestic Gallop by composer Xinyan Li, a visiting professor of Chinese music at Bard College. Performed by Wang Lei, a sheng virtuoso, it was inspired by the vast grasslands of Hulunbuir in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, galloping horses, and the simple life of herders.

Wang told China Daily: "The sheng is an amazing, brilliant instrument. It has more than 3,000 years of history and shares a similar mechanism as an accordion or organ. Whichever country music comes from, they should blend with together. When we play Chinese and Western music together, it is a great way to collaborate."