The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York

About

The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York (CMENY) is a non-profit organization focuses on sharing the beauty of heritage music from the China Proper. The music that CMENY plays represents heritage music originating from different parts of Asia. Over 60% of what we considered to be classical “Chinese” instruments were originated from outside of China. These instruments came to China via the Silk Road through a nearly 2000 years of journey, from 200 BC onward till the 18th Century. Chinese musicians collected and maintained the instruments and musical genres which constitute what the world now called “Chinese classical music”. CMENY sees our musical tradition as part of the Asian heritage music and strives to share the musical elements we know with the contemporary world, here in NYC. Founded in 1961, CMENY has committed to delivering annual large-scale concerts, small-&-medium-sized performances, lectures, and student presentations every year. Our objectives are to preserve and to continue this historical musical tradition and enable the many heritage musical elements to become the inspirations and creative sources for any future arts and cultural innovations. CEMNY always strives to present the rich diversity of the heritage music known to our musicians. We perform music composed from 200 BC till the modern era and from different ethnic groups, e.g., the Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Chung, Dai, White, Yi, etc. The pursuit of excellence in our musical arts has been the driving force that defines the operating principles of CMENY. Our commitment to serving the public and advancing cross-cultural understanding and appreciations is clearly demonstrated in our offerings of community concerts and collaborations with many local historical, operatic, and arts groups. CMENY also has a long-standing record of offering summer camps to local youngster and families who are interested in exploring Asian heritage music.