Music lovers still have the chance to attend a special concert at the University of Birmingham marking the Chinese New Year with a magical fusion of East and West.

Three world-class musicians are helping the University’s China Institute to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rooster with a mix of traditional Chinese and Western pieces.

A limited number of tickets are still available to see pianist Di Xiao, cellist Jiaxin Lloyd Webber and harpist Eleanor Turner perform in the Elgar Concert Hall on Friday 20 January 2017.

This celebration concert will offer a unique and exciting programme with the combination of piano, cello, harp and the Chinese traditional 21 string instrument ‘Zheng’, combining western and eastern repertoires,  as well as the artists own compositions and arrangements.

The event highlights the University’s engagement with China, which ranges from research collaborations with China’s best universities to working alongside the municipal government in Guangzhou.

The University sponsored the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s (CBSO) recent New Year tour of China, which saw the world-famous orchestra perform five concerts in four Chinese cities – Beijing, Changsha, Guangzhou and Shanghai.  University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood attended the Beijing concert after hosting a special reception for some of the University’s friends and partners in China.

Birmingham’s relationship with China dates back to the foundation of the University. In fact, the first Chinese student joined the University in 1907 and there are now over 14,000 Chinese alumni. There is also a strong musical connection with China, as the first original Chinese violin composition was Difficult Road (Xinglu Nan), composed in 1919 by Birmingham’s famous geology alumnus Li Siguang.