"Every year the contestants get younger and more talented," Cheng says. "As China grows richer, there is more opportunity for composers to get funding, so ours is a little award aimed at the young."

Music From China's work has earned them numerous awards and accolades. It was the first Chinese ensemble to receive an Adventurous Programming award from Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for its creative programs. The group has collaborated with famous groups such as Four Nations Ensemble, Ethos Percussion Group and Present Music and with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Fred Sherry, Alan Kay and Rao Lan.

As a small ensemble, Music From China is on a constant search for funding to enable it to carry out its educational programs and to commission new works of blended East/West compositions. The group has seven core musicians as members, and then hires Western Instrumental performers as needed. In addition to local funders such as the New York Foundation for the Arts and New York State Music Fund, the group is also supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Chamber Music America and other notable organizations. CDs of the group's music and performance schedule are available at www.musicfromchina.org.

Traditional Chinese Instruments

Guzheng

The guzheng is built with a special wooden sound body with strings arched across movable bridges along the length of the instrument for the purpose of tuning. The guzheng nowadays has 12 or 13 strings. The pitch of a given string is determined by the position of the bridge.

Dizi

The dizi is a flute known for its bamboo body, edged tone and side-holes. The modern flute has an octave range of about two and a half. It can have a membrane over an extra hole to give the characteristic rattle effect. The dizi is played by blowing across the mouthpiece and produces different notes by stopping the six holes found in the rod.

(Beijing Review June 26, 2008)