University of Rhode Island students welcomed in the Chinese New Year on Feb.12th as performers from the Ningbo Performing Arts Academy staged an evening of Chinese music, dance and theater.

Organized and sponsored by the URI Confucius Institute, the program included a two-hour selection of traditional Chinese music and episodes from the Xiao Baihua Yue Opera Troupe.

The Ningbo Performing Arts Academy began the evening by performing a series of seven musical ensembles and solos meant to portray China and its culture.

According to Professor and Director of the URI Confucius Institute, Yan Ma said, songs such as "Celebrating the Lantern Festival" and "Striking Dates" displayed China's unique tradition through instruments.

Performed on the double-reed suona, "Celebrating the Lantern Festival" depicts a winter scene and the spirit of the people as they celebrate the new year. Meanwhile, "Striking Dates" is based on a traditional melody from northern China that "imitates the sound of a talking person," Ma said.

She said that compositions such as "Deep, Dark Night," "Three, Five, Seven," and "Jing Melody" also capture the tradition of the Chinese people through sound.

['Deep, Dark Night'] is performed on the two-string fiddle and drum and conveys a sense of boldness and brightness," she said. “Whereas 'Three, Five Seven' and 'Jing Melody' are performed on the traditional bamboo flute.”

Other themes inherent in Saturday night's music included the longing for home, which was expressed though "Homesickness" and the sense of happiness and hope through "Beautiful Flowers and a Full Moon."

After the musical portion of the program, the Xiao Baihua Yue Opera Troupe performed segments of selected operas for the audience.

With their roots in the folk music traditions of the Yangtze River Valley of China, Yue Opera conveyed a variety of themes important in Chinese culture. Ma said that the Opera uses gentle melodies and cross-gender casting to reflect the traditional and cosmopolitan morals of the Hangzhou region.

Donald DeHayes, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, said, "The tiger is a symbol of strength and power, and it being the Chinese year of the tiger, we should muster our strength in these economic times."

This article is an excerpt from a story of same title on the Student Newspaper at the University of Rhode Island.