Bright Sheng is a distinguished and well-known Chinese-American composer whose works are performed widely. What Bela Bartok did for Hungarian folk music, Bright Sheng is doing for Chinese folk music. Sheng followed a section of the Great Silk Road, returning to his homeland to study folk music at the source. He is collecting sounds in regions that seem isolated even to the Chinese; sounds that, in a globalized age, run the risk of being lost forever.

Before you begin this discussion please go to the Naxos Music Library and login using the following information:

Username: schoolcr33 Password: bradkliff

In your initial post for this discussion, address each of the following prompts:

• Choose a composition from the works of Bright Sheng, and find a recording of it on the Naxos Music Library or at Bright Sheng’s YouTube Channel. Provide a link to your chosen composition.
• Explain why you chose the piece you did. What about it seemed interesting or appealing?
• Discuss how the piece blends elements of Western and Eastern music.
• Compare Maestro Sheng’s efforts blending ethnic music into art or concert music with other composers, such as Copland, Dvorak, or Bartok.