Music from Venezuela, Russia, China and America to be performed by Steel City Strings

Dr Judy Stubbs, musical director of the Eklektika Choir, is a guest artist in Music From Around the World and composed Fenguiang (The Phoenix Suite). 

The Bulli composer’s featured piece was inspired by the human resilience of the Chinese people during World War II.

In 1937 around one-third of the people of Nanjing were killed and up to 80,000 women raped, tortured and murdered when Japanese Imperial Army occupied the ancient Chinese capital.

“I originally wrote the first three movements of The Phoenix Suite as part of a cross-cultural collaboration with the Chinese National Traditional Orchestra of Nanjing during 2014 -15,” Dr Stubbs said.

The last movement, The Phoenix, was commissioned by the Chinese Orchestra and first performed at the International Youth Peace Festival in Nanjing in 2015.

“What made that performance especially moving was the inclusion a contingent of Japanese erhu players as a gesture of peace and reconciliation,” Dr Stubbs said.

She said she felt fortunate to have the Illawarra’s professional string orchestra performing the work and commented music-lovers won’t have to head abroad to hear the best world music.

Steel City Strings perform Music From Around the World, Saturday June 3, 7:30pm at Wollongong Art Gallery.