Elon’s Department of Music collaborated with Soprano Jennifer Lien to present Juxtapositions: European Orientalism, Asian America, & Asia in Whitley Auditorium on March 13. The program explored the stereotypes portrayed by European Musical Orientalism and created a platform for Asian American voices. The performance emphasized the challenges Asian women endured under European colonialism.
Soprano Jennifer Lien and Pianist Douglass Jurs presented a beautiful sentiment of Asian culture within historical contexts. Lien is known for her presence in contemporary and chamber music. She has performed worldwide from California to Singapore, shocking audiences with her unique range.
As a Classical Western European Opera singer, Lien said she noticed a lack of Asian voices in her studies of European composers. She was intrigued by the white male model used to create Asian narratives while excluding Asian individuals. She said Europeans had a fascination with Asian culture.
“I said wait a minute, let us tell our own stories,” Lien said. “So I discovered Asian American composers writing about Asian content. I noticed there was a small amount of these stories. This inspired me to create a coalition with 3 Asian American female composers to write sets of songs, 45 minutes worth of songs, 15 minutes each based on Asian American texts. This will be my next project.”
Lien said she is now an ambassador for Asian American Composers and hopes to collaborate with them in the future. She hopes to share these Asian narratives to educate others about their history.
“I want to…
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