Focus on installation art at Venice Biennale exhibition

Installation art is the highlight of the Chinese Pavilion at the 54th International Art Exhibition of Venice Biennale, running from June 4 to Nov 27.

The exhibition titled "ILLUMInations", features 89 artists.

The themes of the five installation works - by Cai Zhisong, Liang Yuanwei, Pan Gongkai, Yang Maoyuan and Yuan Gong - are lotus flower, tea, incense, liquor and herbal medicine, and attempt to showcase different aspects of traditional Chinese culture. For instance, Cai creates several cloud installations at the entrance to the pavilion. The works, says Pan, give full expression to the artistic language of contemporary Chinese artists, forged after two decades of learning from the West.

'Super Graduate' contest for sophomores, seniors

Second and third graders at high school can now sign up for a "Super Graduate" contest, which will select 100 outstanding graduates and provide them opportunities to attend high-ranking universities and colleges in the United States.

The four-month-long contest will have education specialists and recruiters from US universities and colleges to assess the applications, for English language ability, leadership, academic performance and special skills. The best of the 100 finalists will also receive a special reward of 300,000 yuan ($46,154) from ChinaEdu, the contest's organizer and an education service provider.

Rolling out the red carpet for overseas Chinese

The 2011 China Overseas Student Entrepreneurs Week, which will run from June 29 to July 1 in Dalian, Liaoning province, will provide a platform for high-performing overseas students seeking job and business opportunities back home, to come together. The event will include several exhibitions, fairs, seminars, a business start-up contest and an industry design festival. So far, about 25 overseas Chinese societies and nearly 300 overseas students have confirmed their attendance.

Diverse program for Beijing Modern Music Festival

The week-long 2011 Beijing Modern Music Festival begins on Saturday.

It has 17 concerts, with a diverse program that includes symphonic music, chamber music, opera and choral music. The works of a number of contemporary composers from around the world, like Giya Kancheli from Georgia, Steven Stucky from the United States, and Ye Xiaogang from China, will be performed. Chinese-American composer Zhou Long, who has just won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, will also present his 1911 Overture for the first time.

The festival also includes master classes, a forum on music aesthetics, and a competition for young composers.

It is supported by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture, and hosted by the Central Conservatory of Music.

More can be found at www.bmmf.org.cn.

Musical dialogues to mark Year of Australian Culture

As part of the Year of Australian Culture in China, Chinese soprano Zhao Yunhong will perform at the Poly Theater in Beijing on June 5, with Australian baritone Jose Carbo as guest performer.

The concert, which will also feature China Philharmonic Orchestra, will include songs in Italian, Russian, Latin and English, besides Chinese.

An associate professor at China Conservatory and director of the Chinese Diplomats' Choir, Zhao has given more than 80 performances around the world.

Meanwhile, the Year of Chinese Culture in Australia will run from 2011 to 2012.

Tibetan musician recalls quake victims

On May 12, the third anniversary of the 2008 earthquake that hit Sichuan province, Grammy-winning Tibetan musician Yangjin Lamu held a concert at the Forbidden City Concert Hall of Beijing to pray for world peace.

Joining her were a group of musicians from around the world, including Oscar-winning Peter Buffett, son of American investor, industrialist and philanthropist Warren Buffett.

Born in Northwest China's Gansu province, Yangjin Lamu is the first Chinese national to win a Grammy award, for Best New Age Album, Miho: Journey To the Mountain, as member of the Paul Winter Consort.

Performance celebrates Kunqu's UNESCO listing

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Kunqu opera's inclusion in UNESCO's list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe presented a condensed version of The Palace of Eternal Youth (Changsheng Dian) at the Chang'an Grand Theater of Beijing recently.

The full version of the work, which is about 10 hours long and usually performed over four consecutive nights, will be staged at the Cologne Opera House of Germany in November.

The work, which premiered in 2007, has toured around China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Far East Movement lands in the East

American rap group Far East Movement marked their first trip to China with a performance of their Billboard song Like A G6, at a concert recently.

They were joined by South Korean pop singer G. Na and Chinese band New Pants, making the concert a mix-and-match show of pop, rap and dance music.

The live show was launched by MTV Channel's new program Push and fashion label Calvin Klein at Village Underground in London, in April. It will travel to Berlin and Mexico City after Beijing.

China Daily