This February, alumni Ying Xue (violin, 2006, 2007, 2010) and Qing Jiang (piano, 2011-2013) return to Yellow Barn to further explore and perform a program inspired by the spirit of Yellow Barn. Their residency will include two performances. The premiere will take place in Putney on February 23rd, followed by a second performance at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York on February 24th.
"Ying and I spent several summers at Yellow Barn when we were students at New England Conservatory. It was a magical place allowing each of us to connect to our inner-self and to one another while adventuring in music that are often centuries apart. Coming back to Yellow Barn through the Artist Residency helped us reconnect to that immersive experience," says Qing.
The two musicians returned to Yellow Barn last year to formalize their partnership as Duo-ING and begin developing their program, entitled Refractions, which includes the world premiere of a new work by Daniel Temkin, plus additiona works written over the past decade by Tonia Ko, Eric Nathan, and Sean Shepherd, together with sonatas by J.S. Bach and Maurice Ravel.
Ying Xue (left) and Qing Jiang (right) rehearse during their artist residency in February 2019
When we co-curated the "Refractions" project with Daniel Temkin, one of the composers on the program, we felt there was an important arch here— the ideas of old works resurfacing in newer pieces and back again. Looking at our own artistic journey at Yellow Barn, we feel our musical lives also mirror this thematic element, as we are coming back to Yellow Barn and finding connections we first experienced deeply many years ago as students. It all flows together in a larger continuum of musical expression and life experience. One of our other project collaborators, composer Eric Nathan, echoed this sentiment. He mentioned how his work on the program, DUO, was first premiered at Yellow Barn in 2013, and how exciting it was to see it coming back to Putney.
Audience members are invited to ask the duo about their work and share their experiences during a post-concert discussion with the artists, moderated by Artistic Director Seth Knopp.