Rachel Cooper, Associate Director of Performing Arts and Public Programs at the Asia Society, said, "To those unfamiliar with Manhattan's Lower East Side, Chinatown may seem like the largest homogenous community in the area. However, Chinatown is not a single cohesive place. It is an area of different religions, dialects, generations, and economic backgrounds. As a composer, Jason Kao Hwang is uniquely able to understand the nuances and diversity of Chinatown." He shares a common history with its residents - his father came to the U.S. on a Boxer Rebellion scholarship in early 1943 while the Exclusion Laws were still in effect. His mother arrived after their appeal in 1949, living a fairly isolated life with her husband in a small town north of Chicago. "Mr. Hwang's music, often informed by his personal history of the immigrant experience, has the potential to serve as a compelling voice for this country's largest Chinese American community," Ms. Cooper said.

Hwang's last opera project, Immigrant of the Womb, was an epic story that covered historical events ranging from the Boxer Rebellion to the Golden Venture shipwreck. For An Ocean at this Moment, Hwang gathered oral histories in the churches and community groups throughout Chinatown, where over a century's worth of history and individual stories - stories of struggle and advancement, racial and political persecution, and economic hardship and perseverance - have been preserved. Using these residents' histories as a creative source, he composed children's songs, church hymns, new music for Chinese instruments, and this oratorio. He is currently collaborating with librettist Catherine Filloux on an opera with the working title Stories of Chinatown.

Mr. Hwang will play violin and electronics for this concert. Joining him from Music From China are: Chen Tao (dizi), Min Xiao-Fen (pipa), and Wang Guo Wei (huqin), and, from The Far East Side Band: Joe Daley (tuba, electronics), Sang-Won Park (kayagum, ajang and voice), and Satoshi Takeishi (percussion), with Diana Harold (vibraphone), Amir Kats (conductor), Ronald Lawrence (viola), Michael Lowenstern (bass clarinet) and Kimako Trotman (baritone).

"Interior Migrations" is a part of the Asia Society's ongoing series "Crossovers: Performing Arts of Asia America," devoted to presenting artists who leap across geographical and cultural boundaries to find whatever they need for their art.

Jason Kao Hwang is composer-in-residence with the partnership of Asia Society, Music From China, University Settlement House and the Museum of Chinese in the Americas under the Meet the Composer/New Residencies program. An Ocean at this Moment and Interior Migrations are the first in a series of works composed during this residency. The residency continues with the development of a new opera with the working title Stories of Chinatown to be premiered in 2000.

"Crossovers: Music of Asia America" is funded with grants from Meet the Composer/New Residencies; The New York Community Trust; and the National Endowment for the Arts. Support for the Asia Society's Cultural Programs is provided by the Friends of Asian Arts.

The Asia Society is America's leading institution dedicated to fostering understanding of Asia and communication between Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific. A nonprofit, nonpartisan educational institution, the Asia Society presents a wide range of programs including major art exhibitions, performances, media programs, international conferences and lectures, and initiatives to improve elementary and secondary education about Asia. The Asia Society is headquartered in New York City, with regional centers in Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Manila and Melbourne, Australia, and representative offices in San Francisco, Seattle and Shanghai. For more information, contact the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021. (212) 288-6400.
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