What began with BYU’s first performance tour to China in 1979 has since grown into a flourishing cultural exchange between the two entities. This year, while working with several of China’s prestigious universities, the Chamber Orchestra strengthened old relationships and formed new friendships during their recent spring tour.

Clad in traditional American dress representative of the pioneer and Old West eras, the International Folk Dance Ensemble performed for nearly 14,000 European audience members while on tour in Hungary, Croatia, and the Czech Republic. The group performed under the name of American Folk Dance Ensemble while participating in the Danube Carnival International Folk Festival in Budapest, Hungary, and the Zlatna Sopela International Festival in Porec, Croatia.

Special guests oboist Nancy Ambrose King and bassoonist Jeffrey Lyman will perform during the 'Double Reed Round-Up' at Brigham Young University Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16-17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall at Brigham Young University. Admission is free.

Brigham Young University will welcome the Chinese Opera Orchestra of Shanghai to campus Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.

The Brigham Young University Film Series will screen the original 'Sunset Boulevard' Friday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium to begin its 13th season of archived film showings.

National touring theatre based in New England

Guest artist Neil Rutman will perform a free piano recital at Brigham Young University Thursday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Madsen Recital Hall. The recital will be preceded by a lecture at 7:15 p.m. Rutman's recital will celebrate the bicentennial of Franz Liszt's birth. The program will feature Liszt's Petrarch Sonnets and the epic 25-minute Sonata in B Minor — the grandest of Liszt's works. Additional pieces by Rameau and Prokofiev will also be included. Rutman graduated from the Eastman School and Peabody Conservatory and is the artist-in-residence at the University of Central Arkansas where he also coaches the boxing team. He is a top prize winner in several international piano competitions and has performed on concert tours throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand, Japan and the Persian Gulf. This summer Rutman gave the closing concert at the World Conference of the European Piano Teachers Association Conference in Serbia. Rutman is also a contributing author for the book, 'Piano Masterpieces,' published by Oxford University Press in June 2011. For more information about this recital, contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu. Source: BYU News

Dean Stephen Jones of the Brigham Young University College of Fine Arts and Communications has appointed Amy Petersen Jensen as chair of the Department of Theatre and Media Arts, effective immediately.

On display through Nov. 17 Quilting has been part of American culture for centuries. And although quilts were originally produced to provide warmth and protection, they have become regular features in art museums in the past several decades.

In 1962, two great Utah establishments began their now-illustrious careers: BYU Broadcasting was granted a license to operate on television, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival presented its first annual season in Cedar City. This year, the two join forces for a one-time special live performance.

A very limited number of spaces are available for free piano lessons for children ages 7 and older for fall semester. The lessons will be taught by seniors and graduate students who are piano performance majors in the BYU School of Music. Lessons will be once a week for a half hour. Students who are accepted will be required to participate with their teachers in a Supervised Teaching course for one class period. This class meets Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in the Harris Fine Arts Center. If you are interested in having your child participate, email Richard Anderson at richard_anderson@byu.edu. Students will be accepted on a first-come, first served basis. Source: BYU News

Pianist Jeffrey L. Shumway of Brigham Young University's School of Music will be performing Friday, Sept. 3. at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall. The concert is free. Shumway will play Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata in G Major and Claude Debussy's 'Suite Bergamasque' to begin the concert. He will then be joined by Tara Ellinford, Maria Heward and Stephanie Talbot in a trio arrangement of Debussy's 'Clair de Lune.' The concert will conclude with Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in D Minor, Prelude in E-flat Major and Prelude in C-sharp Minor. Shumway has been a professor of keyboard studies at BYU since 1985. He began his studies at BYU and received his bachelor's degree in 1976. He continued his studies at Julliard and Indiana University. He is a member of the acclaimed American Piano Quartet and has performed and recorded in the United States, Europe, the Far East and Canada. He is the recipient of the Gina Bachauer Medal of Artistic Distinction and took second place in the 1977 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. For more information, contact Jeffrey Shumway at (801) 422-4922 or by e-mailing jeff_shumway@byu.edu. Source: BYU News