KINGSTON, N.Y. — The city, Bard College and the World Affairs Council will host a special free concert titled “Music Diplomacy” on Sunday, March 29, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Old Dutch Church, 272 Wall St.
The concert and panel discussion, part of the city’s “250 Years of America’s Voices, Stories and Histories series, explores music’s role as an “important element of intercultural exchange and American soft power throughout U.S. history, Mayor Steve Noble’s office said.
The event will open with a performance by Bard College’s US-China Music Institute’s East/West Ensemble, comprised of Chinese and Western instrumentalists who have toured the United States and China.
A panel discussion will follow. It will be moderated by Malia Du Mont, vice president for Strategy and Policy/Chief of Staff at Bard College, chair of U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan’s Veterans and Military Families Advisory Board, and board member of World Affairs Council of the Mid-Hudson Valley.
The panel will feature conductor Jindong Cai, director of the U.S.-China Music Institute; Jim Ketterer, senior fellow at the Bard College Center for Civic Engagement; and Philip D. Tappan, a pianist, composer, and conductor who serves as deputy commander of the West Point Band.
Ketterer’s Arch Stanton Quartet will close the event with a tribute to the Jazz Ambassadors. It will feature the city’s Director of Arts and Culture, Kitt Potter, as special guest vocalist.