Aaron Pergram 潘翱榮

THE VISION—Regardless of the form, instrumentation, genre, medium, or length, the compositions for this project must adhere to the vision of “The Dragon Dream” (龙之梦). This dream is an intangible concept seeded in the minds of China’s youth, or the youth of those born abroad of Chinese heritage, with knowledge of the culture’s former greatness and power, which institutes a nearly insurmountable challenge to hew to, or perhaps reclaim the status of the culture’s former glory. This journey is often personal and can be experienced spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, and in many other ways. Regardless, receiving a calling from the honorable ancestral homeland can be experienced through oral histories, memories, dreams, spiritual connections, and unidentifiable pressures from the supernatural forces of the unrelenting dragon within oneself. 🐉

九龍圖卷 (陳容) Nine Dragons, Chen Rong (c. 1200 – 1266)

Outside of North America, Pergram's musical journeys have taken him to Brazil, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and much of Mainland China. A proponent of new music, he believes in a non-tokenistic approach to authentic programming and cultural collaboration, which anchors his central belief that classical music in the twenty-first century is a global enterprise. Pergram served on the faculty for five years at Soochow University in Suzhou, China. He received degrees from the University of Kansas (BM), Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music (MM), and the University of Oregon (DMA). His prominent teachers include Eric Stomberg, William Ludwig, and Steve Vacchi. Explore more about the performer here 🐉

三张脸的向日葵 (冰逸) Sunflowers with Three Faces, Bing Yi (2010)