A New Prelude to Arts Education: CCOM and NYU Steinhardt Strengthen Sino–U.S. Ties Through Artistic Dialogue and Concert
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, March 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On February 25, 2026, at the invitation of the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, President Yu Hongmei of the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM)—a distinguished erhu virtuoso and doctoral supervisor—led a delegation to New York University. The visit included a performance exchange and high-level discussion held at the John A. Paulson Center.
As an important component of NYU’s broader global engagement strategy, the event received strong institutional support. Dean Jack H. Knott of NYU Steinhardt, a respected scholar of political institutions and public policy, and Eliot Borenstein, Vice Chancellor and Vice Provost for Global Programs at NYU, attended and delivered remarks, reflecting the university’s strategic commitment to advancing international collaboration in arts and education.
High-Level Dialogue and Shared Vision
In his remarks, Dean Knott emphasized that music is not merely an adornment to human life, but a central force in cultural expression, collective memory, and civilizational dialogue. Meaningful artistic innovation, he noted, often emerges from sincere exchange between traditions. As a global university with campuses and academic centers around the world, NYU is committed to fostering cross-cultural understanding and building sustained partnerships that expand opportunity and dialogue. The erhu and the violin, the guzheng and the piano, pentatonic traditions and Western harmony, he observed, are not opposites but artistic partners capable of mutual inspiration.
Vice Chancellor Borenstein underscored that international academic collaboration is fundamental to NYU’s mission. Institutions of higher music education in China and the United States share strong commitments to rigorous professional training, creative exploration, and the cultivation of future leaders in the arts. He expressed hope that institutionalized exchanges and joint initiatives would further deepen cooperation in teaching, research, and artistic practice.
President Yu Hongmei highlighted CCOM’s role as China’s leading institution for higher music education and its guiding philosophy of moral and artistic excellence, respect for tradition alongside innovation, and harmony through music. She noted that the Conservatory actively promotes dialogue between Chinese and Western musical traditions and has built a multi-layered international partnership network. Music, she emphasized, is a shared language of humanity, and through mutual respect and openness, institutions in both countries can work together to cultivate globally minded artists with cultural responsibility.
Music as a Bridge: Shared Performance
The program opened with a performance by the NYU Percussion Ensemble of Concerto for Percussion by Chen Yi, an internationally acclaimed composer and alumna of the Central Conservatory of Music, demonstrating NYU’s strength in contemporary performance and artistic innovation.
The CCOM Chinese Orchestra then presented two works deeply rooted in Chinese cultural heritage and contemporary vitality: Ballads, Court Hymns, and Eulogies and Harvest Drums. These performances reflected both the artistic depth of China’s traditional musical civilization and its dynamic transformation in the modern era. The audience responded warmly, reaffirming music’s power to transcend language and cultural boundaries.
Institutional Dialogue and Future Collaboration
During the discussion that followed, leaders and faculty from both institutions explored opportunities for expanded cooperation, including faculty exchange, student mobility, joint performances, academic forums, and curricular collaboration.
Participants acknowledged that while the higher music education systems of China and the United States are shaped by distinct historical traditions, they share common commitments to professional rigor, innovation, and social responsibility. Institutionalized and sustained cooperation, they agreed, will be essential to advancing long-term development and mutual understanding.
This visit represented not only a high-level artistic exchange, but also a meaningful step toward building a durable framework for collaboration between two leading institutions of music education. Both sides expressed their intention to use this occasion as a starting point for continued partnership on the global stage, contributing to cultural dialogue and educational cooperation between China and the United States.
The event concluded in a spirit of collegiality and shared purpose.
The program was co-hosted by Professor Jonathan Haas of NYU and NYU doctoral candidate Shiqi Zhong.
As an important component of NYU’s broader global engagement strategy, the event received strong institutional support. Dean Jack H. Knott of NYU Steinhardt, a respected scholar of political institutions and public policy, and Eliot Borenstein, Vice Chancellor and Vice Provost for Global Programs at NYU, attended and delivered remarks, reflecting the university’s strategic commitment to advancing international collaboration in arts and education.
High-Level Dialogue and Shared Vision
In his remarks, Dean Knott emphasized that music is not merely an adornment to human life, but a central force in cultural expression, collective memory, and civilizational dialogue. Meaningful artistic innovation, he noted, often emerges from sincere exchange between traditions. As a global university with campuses and academic centers around the world, NYU is committed to fostering cross-cultural understanding and building sustained partnerships that expand opportunity and dialogue. The erhu and the violin, the guzheng and the piano, pentatonic traditions and Western harmony, he observed, are not opposites but artistic partners capable of mutual inspiration.
Vice Chancellor Borenstein underscored that international academic collaboration is fundamental to NYU’s mission. Institutions of higher music education in China and the United States share strong commitments to rigorous professional training, creative exploration, and the cultivation of future leaders in the arts. He expressed hope that institutionalized exchanges and joint initiatives would further deepen cooperation in teaching, research, and artistic practice.
President Yu Hongmei highlighted CCOM’s role as China’s leading institution for higher music education and its guiding philosophy of moral and artistic excellence, respect for tradition alongside innovation, and harmony through music. She noted that the Conservatory actively promotes dialogue between Chinese and Western musical traditions and has built a multi-layered international partnership network. Music, she emphasized, is a shared language of humanity, and through mutual respect and openness, institutions in both countries can work together to cultivate globally minded artists with cultural responsibility.
Music as a Bridge: Shared Performance
The program opened with a performance by the NYU Percussion Ensemble of Concerto for Percussion by Chen Yi, an internationally acclaimed composer and alumna of the Central Conservatory of Music, demonstrating NYU’s strength in contemporary performance and artistic innovation.
The CCOM Chinese Orchestra then presented two works deeply rooted in Chinese cultural heritage and contemporary vitality: Ballads, Court Hymns, and Eulogies and Harvest Drums. These performances reflected both the artistic depth of China’s traditional musical civilization and its dynamic transformation in the modern era. The audience responded warmly, reaffirming music’s power to transcend language and cultural boundaries.
Institutional Dialogue and Future Collaboration
During the discussion that followed, leaders and faculty from both institutions explored opportunities for expanded cooperation, including faculty exchange, student mobility, joint performances, academic forums, and curricular collaboration.
Participants acknowledged that while the higher music education systems of China and the United States are shaped by distinct historical traditions, they share common commitments to professional rigor, innovation, and social responsibility. Institutionalized and sustained cooperation, they agreed, will be essential to advancing long-term development and mutual understanding.
This visit represented not only a high-level artistic exchange, but also a meaningful step toward building a durable framework for collaboration between two leading institutions of music education. Both sides expressed their intention to use this occasion as a starting point for continued partnership on the global stage, contributing to cultural dialogue and educational cooperation between China and the United States.
The event concluded in a spirit of collegiality and shared purpose.
The program was co-hosted by Professor Jonathan Haas of NYU and NYU doctoral candidate Shiqi Zhong.
Qianci Liu
Paulus Hook Music Foundation
+1 2019207112
paulushookmusicfoundation@gmail.com
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