Asian Performing Arts of Colorado (APAC)
Founded by Dr. Martha Liao in 1987, the Asian Performing Arts of Colorado (aka Asian Performing Arts Council) is a non-profit organization dedicated to foster cultural exchange between the East and West and support exceptional talents in the performing arts.
In 2011, APAC founded the "iSING! International Young Artists Festival" - a unique program with a mission to promote Mandarin as a lyric language and introduce Chinese vocal literature to major mainstream stages worldwide. Under the artistic leadership of celebrated opera bass Hao Jiang Tian, the festival has attracted over a thousand singers from all corners of the globe to apply. Over 400 young singers from more than 30 countries have been selected to participate in this pioneering training initiative on full scholarship. iSING! Festival has presented more than 60 concerts and operatic performances on the stages of the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Jiangsu Grand Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the National Library of France.
In 2020, the Festival produced the world premiere of "Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems" in Suzhou, featuring original commissions from 15 young composers hailing from 6 countries who set the timeless classical Tang poetry to music.
In January 2023, "Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems" received its North American debut in collaboration with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Lio Kuokman with two performances at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and Lincoln Center in New York. In November of the same year, singers of the iSING! Festival joined the China National Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra in 5O Years of Musical Friendship: Special Anniversary Concert of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 1973 China Tour.
In 2024, the Asian tour of "Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems" commenced, featuring eighteen iSINGers from nine countries: the United States, China, Canada, Hungary, Romania, France, Italy, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Held at Tianjin Juilliard, the month-long training immersed participants in 15 Tang Poems set to contemporary music composed by global young talents. The tour culminated in performances with the Macau Orchestra in Macau and the Hubei Symphony Orchestra in Wuhan on September 14th and 19th, 2024, respectively.
"Spring River Flowers by Moonlight" 《春光花月夜》Commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and composed by Mason Bates, a new Tang poem composition premiered on November 2, 2024 during the Orchestra’s China Tour under Maestro Marin Alsop at Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts. The work was paired with selections from Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems, sung in Mandarin by our iSING! artists.
OperaWire featured a review of the iSING! 2024 concert and included a short history of our pioneering program.
Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems North American Debut
iSING! Suzhou with The Philadelphia Orchestra
Lincoln Center, New York
Kimmel Center, Philadelphia
January 6-7, 2023
Link here for highlights video
iSING! Festival 2025 China Tour
Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems
November 26 – December 15, 2025
Asian Performing Arts of Colorado is proud to announce iSING! Festival returns to China with a special residency and concert tour in Guiyang and Chengdu, presenting its acclaimed program "Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems". The tour runs November 26 through December 15 and brings together a diverse cast of singers across all vocal categories. Sixteen singers from six countries will perform 13 pieces of Tang Poems set to music by composers from 11 nations around the world. In collaboration with acclaimed conductors Yang Yang (Guiyang Symphony Orchestra) and Chen Lin (Chengdu Symphony Orchestra), the Festival continues to showcase its groundbreaking program, "Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems".
Click link to learn more of iSING! Festival 2025 China Tour
Asian Performing Arts of Colorado is grateful
for the following sponsors and organizations who have shown their
care and support:
Marie and Shau-Wai Lam
Edward and Anna Yeung
Leslie and Harmar Brereton
Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Drama, Beijing
iSING! Festival
