Overture to the Olympics

Vincent Oneppo

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Before the world's athletes descended on Beijing, it was the musicians' turn: in July, the Yale School of Music and Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music staged a music festival they called a "musicathlon." Students from ten of the world's leading conservatories, including Yale, performed and participated in lectures, workshops, and master classes. The Yale Philharmonia made the trip, performing in Seoul and Shanghai in addition to Beijing. The Philharmonia teamed up with acclaimed cellist Jian Wang ’88Cert (shown here rehearsing with conductor Shinik Hahm) to perform the Saint-Saens cello concerto. As a ten-year-old boy, Wang had appeared in From Mao to Mozart, the 1981 documentary about Isaac Stern's landmark tour of China.