Concert and Exhibition Opening
May 27, 2021
Exhibition Opening Meet the Artis - 5:30 pm
Solo Piano Concert - 6:30 pm
Stride Arts Exhibition Hall
1110 2 Ave F2, New York, NY 10022
As America slowly but surely emerges from over a year of quarantining and social distancing, Stride Arts eagerly welcomes the full return of art lovers to our gallery by launching a series of cross-collaboration between modern art and classical music. We are passionate about bringing you the simple pleasures in life we have been so deprived of over the past year: live music, tangible art, and fulfilling social interaction. Follow Stride Arts for a summer of exquisite art accompanied by virtuosic chamber music, as we feature a new contemporary artist and renowned musician every two to three weeks.
Being the inaugural exhibition of our Modern Art Meets Chamber Music series, the opening exhibition of Awakening will feature a private concert performed by the internationally esteemed violinist Pei-Wen Liao. Mr. Hall's powerful artworks will wake our conscience to humankind's irresponsible relationship with Mother Earth, while Ms. Liao's music will bring us on a trip to celebrate the awakening of spring. Join us on May 27th, 5:30 pm for the opening reception of Awaken, where you can meet and hear from the artist Stephen Hall, followed by Pei-Wen Liao's solo concert, A Celebration of Spring. As we present two very special talents, enjoy an evening of eye-opening art and heartwarming live music.
Concert Program
After the opening reception, you will be treated to a concert by violinist Peiwen Liao and pianist Jiarong Li. The concert is meant to enlighten the listener’s soul with works from Hungary, Estonia, China, and France. Starting off will be Bartok’s exciting Romanian Folk Dances where one can hear six short movements based on Romanian folk tunes. Second in line will be Arvo Pärt’s "Spiegel im Spiegel", which means “Mirror in the Mirror” in German. It evokes an infinity mirror that produces endless images reflected by parallel plane mirrors. The piece’s powerful emotional impact has been featured in numerous television shows, films, and theaters. Next in the program is Futong Wong’s Ali Mountain Song, which is inspired by the songs of the aboriginal people from deep in the Ali Mountains of Taiwan. Finally, to conclude the program, we will hear Cesar Frank’s Violin Sonata which symbolizes celebration and rebirth as it was Franck’s wedding gift to his friend and violinist Ysaÿe.
Meet the Musicians
Pei-Wen Liao
Pei-Wen Liao is a Si-Yo Artist™.
Ms. Liao has performed as a soloist in countries including Russia, Israel, Canada, Italy, Austria, China, Korea, Japan, Serbia, Thailand, Myanmar, and the United States. She has been featured as a guest soloist in Vienna with The Global Orchestra, at New York’s Alice Tully Hall with the World Civic Orchestra, in Russia with Voronezh State Orchestra and Lieptsk Philharmonic Orchestra, in Israel and Italy with the Jerusalem Academy Orchestra on its tour, at Shanghai Symphony Hall with Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra, and multiple sold-out solo recitals at the Taiwan National Concert Hall.
Already boasting sold-out Carnegie Hall recitals, and selection as an honoree in the 2018 Mandarin Leader Magazine, violinist Pei-Wen Liao continues to be known as a “compelling” and “deeply passionate” artist. A recent first prize winner of 2020 Alexander & Buono International String Competition, Ms. Liao has performed as a soloist with more than twenty orchestras in twelve countries across three continents.
By thirteen, Ms. Liao had already sold-out a recital at Carnegie Weill Hall. She then made her debut in China in 2010, performing as a soloist on a 13-concert tour. Since then, she has been invited back to perform in China for seven consecutive years and has performed in at least 30 cities across China. More recent engagements have included a private solo performance for the President of Honduras and solo performances at the United Nations, Capitol Hill, the Oculus, and Bryant Park.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Ms. Liao is currently studying at the Yale School of Music with Hyo Kang. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Joel Smirnoff. Her previous teachers include Cho-Liang Lin, Lara Lev, Daniel Phillips, and Stephen Clapp. Ms. Liao plays a 1830 Calot violin kindly loaned from the Chi-Mei Foundation of Taiwan.
As an aspiring artist and an advocate for cultural citizenship and interdisciplinary collaborations, Ms. Liao has worked closely with countless indigenous schools in Asia to inspire underserved communities with interactive musical performances. She founded a project “Wawa Music Go” (Wawa being the word for “children” in Aboriginal Taiwanese language) that focuses on bringing exposure of Classical Western Music to aboriginal tribes in Asia.
A firm believer in music taking an active leadership role in its potential to effect changes in the world, Ms. Liao has recorded a CD in 2019 that uniquely brings together the sounds of Taiwanese folk music with traditional western instruments, all proceeds of CD go directly to charities that support indigenous children.
Jiarong Li
Collaborative Pianist
Chinese Pianist Jiarong Li enjoys sharing her passion for music with the community. She has won prizes at competitions including the Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival and Summer Academy Competition, the Distinction Award of the Hong Kong-Asia Piano Open Competition, and she was a finalist for the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition and semi-finalist in Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts International Concerto Competition. She worked for a teaching studio as a collaborative pianist for musicians such as Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser, Julia Lichten, David Geber, and Nicolas Mann.
Jiarong is pursuing her doctorate at Manhattan School of Music in the collaborative piano major, where she studies with John Forconi. Her former teachers include Dr. Heasook Rhee, Dr. Pei-Shan Lee, Bruce Brubaker and Xiang Zou.
Jiarong is a Si-Yo Artist™.
Meet the Artist
Stephen Hall
Our planet is in crisis with the overuse of fossil fuels and mass pollution, causing the loss of countless species and habitats. The world is awakening to this precarious situation we find ourselves in.
I wish to express, in my paintings my fears for this planet whilst telling the story with beauty
-Stephen Hall
@ Dark Study, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 20 inch by Stephen Hall
I wanted to paint an honest self-portrait, with all the lumps and lines and the beauty of aging and mortality”- Stephen Hall
