The Spirit of Walt Whitman in Song: An Evening with Mike He
*By clicking "Register Here," you are deemed to consent to all conditions and terms of the Consent Note for Personal Information Processing, including the cross-border transfer of your personal information as described in Article II.3 of the consent note. If you do not agree to all the conditions and terms hereof, please do not click.
Time: August 11, 2024, 6:30PM-8:00PM
Location: Columbia Global Center Beijing, 1F Core Plaza, 1 Shanyuan Street, Zhongguancun, Haidian District
Language: Chinese
From the vibrant urban landscape of Brooklyn to the tumultuous backdrop of the Civil War, poet Walt Whitman skillfully captured the diverse and dynamic nature of American life in his concise and modern language. His seminal work, Leaves of Grass, paved the way for the emergence of contemporary American poetry. His freedom and soulfulness in expression and personal sagas influenced generations of readers and writers.
The Columbia Global Center Beijing cordially invites you to a night of poetry and music on August 11, as part of the Center's Scholar-in-Residence program.
The event will feature special musical performances of Whitman's renowned works, as well as thought-provoking discussions on his legacy. Bass singer Mike He, translator Lu Yuefeng of the book Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography, and talented pianist Song Jingyi from Barnard College will come together to pay tribute to the literary icon.
Musicians
Bass-baritone; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology at Columbia University
Mike He frequents the classical music scene in New York City as an oratorio and operatic singer. He studied at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University with Carol Cavey-Miles, and at Columbia University with Robert Osborne. He is a regular soloist with the Barnard-Columbia Chorus and has performed as soloists with the Academic Choir of Gdynia Maritime University (Poland), The Choir of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), and the Choeur Universitaire de Lausanne (Switzerland). Past roles include the title role of Mendelssohn's Elijah, Raphael in Haydn's The Creation, and Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Mike is also a Music Ambassador of New York City's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, where he serves as a promoter of classical music through guided tours and education programs.
Jingyi Song (BC '20) began playing the piano at the age of four. She attended high school in Singapore on a full-ride scholarship and subsequently studied at the University of Melbourne. She later transferred to Barnard College of Columbia University, where she earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science.
As a soloist, Jingyi has won multiple prizes in competitions and made concert appearances at renowned venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Esplanade in Singapore. As a chamber musician, she has performed on piano and percussion in various groups at Columbia, such as piano quartets, the Percussion Ensemble, and the Hybrid Arts Ensemble. Additionally, she has provided piano accompaniment for the New Opera Workshop and the Columbia Musical Theater Society.
An enthusiast of community service, Jingyi has organized and performed at nursing homes and hospitals. She has also played vibraphone and timpani in the live orchestral accompaniment for the premiere of a documentary on the water crisis.
During her years at Columbia, Jingyi was actively involved both inside and outside the classroom, serving as a peer tutor, intramural sports official, and program assistant for the Music Performance Program. After graduating, she joined Arrowstreet Capital as a software engineer. Outside of her professional pursuits, Jingyi enjoys watching soccer and Formula One and has a keen interest in sports analysis.
Discussant
Yuefeng Lu, pseudonym Old Eagle Tree, graduated from Henan University, visiting scholar and part-time teacher at Peking University and University of Texas in Brownsville, one of the screenwriters of Gesang Luobu and Zhuoma Ziren---Tibetan version of Romeo and Juliet, general director of Shakespeare Night Fever of 2019 Shakespeare International Conference Sponsored by Shakespeare Association of China, cooperative translater of My Several Worlds by Pearl S. Buck, Translator of Walt Whitman’s America by David Reynolds.
Reminders
- Please check in 30 minutes before the event starts, and we ask that you do not arrive earlier as we are unable to assist with early admission
- Before the concert begins, please turn your cell phone or any other electronic device off, or put it on silent mode. Please refrain from talking or moving around during the performance.
- Please refrain from bringing items that may produce noise into the venue. When taking photographs or recording, please ensure your camera shutter sound is off and do not use a flash.
- Please refrain from clapping between movements.
- For further inquiries, please add the Beijing Global Center's WeChat assistant.
