The concert is co-organised with Art Beyond Border Initiative (ABBI), a platform dedicated to fostering inclusive art communication and distribution across the globe.
The concert Longing and Belonging explores the universal tension between yearning for what is elusive and finding solace in the places, emotions, and identities that ground us. Featuring a blend of Chinese art songs, indigenous melodies from ethnominority groups, ancient Chinese poems, and Italian operatic arias, this program shows music that speaks to the human spirit's shared experiences of desire, nostalgia, and connection.
At its heart, the repertoire reflects a deep sense of longing—for love, for home, for freedom, and for an ideal life—while also embracing the belonging that comes from cultural identity, historical continuity, and emotional ties to both physical and mental spaces. Chinese art songs and indigenous songs draw from the lyrical beauty of ancient poems from the 10th to 17th centuries, reflecting a timeless yearning for home and harmony with the land, as well as bittersweetness that resonate in people’s minds.
This performance showcases the talents of Betty Zhaoyi Yan and Yuchen Zhang, a soprano and pianist duo from China, supported by the presence of traditional Chinese instrumentalists, creating a bridge between classical Western traditions and the rich musical heritage of China. By juxtaposing these musical traditions, Longing and Belonging invites audiences to reflect on the universal emotions that connect us across time, culture, and geography.