NANCHANG - American pianist Joel Schoenhals has released an album of Chinese piano music in the United States, taking Chinese music to a new, overseas audience.

"A lot of Americans are familiar with European, Russian or South American music, but very few of them know about Chinese music," said the Schoenhals.

The album includes 16 pieces such as Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon, composed in 1935 for Chinese instrumental ensemble.

"Chinese music is very beautiful and I like it a lot. I wish more western people appreciated Chinese music and culture," Schoenhals told a Xinhua reporter.

Graduate of the prestigious Eastman school of Music, Schoenhals is now professor of piano at Eastern Michigan University, an active performer and a recording aritist. He has been a guest professor of piano at Nanchang University in East China's Jiangxi province since 2012, teaching undergraduate and graduate students. In the process, he has got to know a lot about Chinese music.

Schoenhals picked every piece on the album carefully, to make them representative of Chinese music. The selection and recording of the pieces has taken him several years.

Schoenhals has also written sleeve notes for each piece of music to help western audiences understand the music.

"The world is becoming smaller and people in different countries should know each other's music and cultures," said Schoenhals.