Hui Liu Ensemble . Het Collectief & Dragon Ensemble

'Confluence between east and west'. It was in January 2008 that Wu Wei and Thomas Dieltjens, respective artistic directors of the Dragon Ensemble (Berlin and China) and Het Collectief, met each other in Gent and decided to intensively work together. They hope to merge western and eastern musical traditions. The two ensembles, each comprising five musicians, fuse together to form a ten-man whole. Het Collectief play on modern western instruments and the Dragon Ensemble on traditional Chinese instruments. The focus lies in the unique nature of this large chamber music group, not on the exoticism of the Chinese instruments. Two composers with Chinese roots, Huang Ruo (USA) and Kee Yong Chong (MY) were happy to write a new work for this mixed chamber ensemble, and our very own Annelies Van Parys takes up the challenge too. A musical encounter that breaks down barriers between cultures and can perhaps act as the catalyst for a new musical tradition.