Festival of the Arts: Take a tour 'Along the Silk Road'

College to offer a variety of music, arts events

RICHLANDS, Va. – Grab your passport, pack your bags and get ready for the tour of a lifetime.
So comes the word from Mary Lawson, the longtime executive director for the Festival of the Arts at Southwest Virginia Community College in Richlands.
This year, the festival theme is “Along the Silk Road: From Italy to China and Back Again!”
And, Lawson said, it promises to be one of the most unusual themes in the festival’s 16-year history.

ACROSS ASIA
From April 21 to May 2, participants can travel the route of Marco Polo’s journeys along the trade routes across the Asian continent, through the Mediterranean, North Africa and Europe, Lawson said.
“While we won’t be trading in spices, silks, satins, perfumes, medicines, jewels and other treasures, we will share the vast cultural wealth along the 4,000 mile ‘Silk Road,’ also made famous by Yo Yo Ma with his recent Silk Road Project,” Lawson said.
“We will spread knowledge, as was another ‘commodity’ provided by travel ‘Along the Silk Road.’ ”
Featured festival entertainers include the Yu Wei Chinese Dance Collection.
Yu Wei’s dances include “Lotus,” “Mountain,” “Water,” “Bird,” “Smoke” and “Tears.”
Yu Wei’s dance, according to Lawson, is influenced by the synergy between dance, poetry and music that flourished during the Tang Dynasty.
Also on board is Kuniko Yamamoto, performing in “Magical Mask, Mime and Music of Japan.”
Kuniko enchants audiences of every age with dramatic storytelling using myths and fables from ancient and modern Japan, spiced with social revelation to educate and amuse, Lawson said.
Kuniko also uses traditional Japanese music, handcrafted masks, stylized movement and a touch of magic to create an artistic balance of illusion and reality.

MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Orchestral music takes center stage when the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York performs music ranging from ancient classical to modern compositions, spanning 1,500 years of history.
Music will be performed on a wide range of Chinese bowed and plucked strings, wind and percussion instruments, Lawson said,
The exotic dance of Indian Classical Dance in the Bharatha Natyam style will be performed by Smt. Bhavani Murthy and Kumaro Ranjani Murthy.
What else will you find?
Well, Dr. J. Randolph Forehand will, once again, enlighten visitors with what Lawson calls his “informative and creative” Cultural Walk “Along the Silk Road,” accompanied by a theme-inspired buffet prepared by Your Grate Escape.
“We will enjoy Jeopardy, the Silk Road Café. An art exhibit ‘East Meets West: Mimi Hay’ will display a collection of exquisite silk kimonos designed and made by Hay,” Lawson said.
Additionally, Fulbright Scholar Dr. Zhou Pequiin and community college professor Dr. John Brenner are hosting a seminar on “China Today,” sharing their knowledge of the status of China as gleaned from their life and travels in the country.

ABSOLUTE BEST
Then comes more music.
“We will enjoy the absolute best in orchestral, vocal, chamber and solo music presented by the festival’s resident musicians,” Lawson said.
Pianists Pavlina Dokovska and Vladimir Valjarevic will be joined by soprano Stefka Evstatieva and Camerata Virtuosi New York in three different performances.
“We will be awed by the creativity and diversity of the music they perform in Caravan from the East; Marco Polo’s Path and Oriental Enchantment, as we all travel ‘Along the Silk Road,’ making many stops along the way,” Lawson said
The Knoxville Symphony features the Southwest Virginia Community College Community Chorus and Chinese pianist Ying Feng, a major star in her native China.
Feng will perform the Yellow River Concerto, the first-ever performance of this piece performed in the United States by a Chinese pianist, according to Lawson.
The college’s Joseph Trivette, also, joins Dokovska and Valjarevic in a dramatic “Piano Times Three,” one of the annual festival’s most popular concerts.

IF YOU GO
What: Festival of the Arts
Where: Southwest Virginia Community College, off U.S. 19, along the Russell-Tazewell county line
When: April 21 to May 2
How much: Admission to all events (except the Cultural Walk Dinner and Silk Road Café) is by voluntary donation at the door. Festival events will be presented in venues throughout the college’s service region.
Exhibits: “East Mets West: Mimi Hay” is on display, April 21 to May 25, at the SWCC King Community Center’s Elmes Galley.
Info: (276) 964-7348
E-mail: Mary.lawson@sw.edu

FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS HIGHLIGHTS
Here’s a look at some highlights of the upcoming Festival of the Arts at Southwest Virginia Community College:

April 21, 6 p.m.
What: “East Meets West: Mimi Hay” opening reception
Where: SWCC King Community Center, Elmes Gallery, Richlands, Va.

April 22, 7:30 p.m.
What: Kuniuko Yamamoto: Magical Mask, Mime and Music of Japan
Where: Grundy Community Center, Grundy, Va.

April 23, 7:30 p.m.
What: Chinese Ensemble of New York
Where: Lebanon High School, Lebanon, Va.

April 25, 3 p.m.
What: Festival Fanfare: Piano Times Three
Where: SWCC King Community Center

April 26, 6:30 p.m.
What: Cultural Walk Along the Silk Road
Where: SWCC King Community Center
Details: Dinner at 6:30 p.m.. Performance at 7:30 p.m.

April 27, 7:30 p.m.
What: Camerata Virtuosi New York: Caravan from the East
Where: Main Street United Methodist Church, Tazewell, Va.

April 28, 7:30 p.m.
What: China Today with Dr. Zhou Peguin and Dr. John Brenner
Where: SWCC King Community Center

April 29, 7:30 p.m.
What: Camerata Virtuosi New York: Marco Polo’s Path
Where: Honaker Baptist Church, Honaker, Va.

April 30, 7:30 p.m.
What: Yu Wei Chinese Dance Collection
Where: SWCC King Community Center

May 1, 11 a.m.
What: Spotlight on Talent
Where: SWCC King Community Center

May 2, 4 p.m.
What: Festival Finale with Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Where: SWCC King Community Center