Sound of Harvest 2026 blends ancient Silk Road music with global traditions

The Chinese Musicians Association of North America will present Sound of Harvest 2026, the third edition of its cross-cultural concert series, on September 12 at Rutgers University’s Nicholas Music Center and September 13 at Montclair State University’s Memorial Auditorium. The program brings together traditions from China, Japan, West Africa, Europe and the Americas, tracing a arc from Dunhuang and the Silk Road to contemporary cross-cultural exchange. It opens with Riffs and Flow by Wang Lu, inspired by ancient pipa notation from the Mogao Caves, framed as a living musical exchange among pipa, erhu, guzheng and piano. Earlier this year it was performed at the Harvard Art Museums with a mother-of-pearl five-string pipa made by Cao Weidong based on Tang-dynasty models. The program then features two contrasting violin works: Tan Dun's Desert of Sorrow from Hero and Li Zili’s Fishermen’s Harvest Song, highlighting stark, dramatic versus lyrical folk-inflected style. The overall aim is to let diverse traditions meet rather than sit side by side, showcasing cross-cultural collaboration.