About WKS

Wintergreen Kunqu Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 to promote Kunqu theatre in the United States. It regularly presents public performances in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, featuring some of the premier Kunqu artists in the world to provide an opportunity for the Western audience to experience authentic Kunqu Theater at its highest level. To further educate the public in the intricacies of this refined and sophisticated art form, it also sponsors master classes, workshops, and lecture-demonstrations.

WKS Past Events and Activities
Board of Directors and Officers

Contact Information: Tong-Ching Chang at wtrgreen@wtrgreenkunqu.org
Tel: (301) 983-4035 (evenings) Fax: (301) 983-4151.

To receive notification of future programs just email wtrgreen@wtrgreenkunqu.org with your mailing address and/or email address. We generally send a notice of future events by both email and postcard about five weeks in advance.

	Past Events and Activities
May 19, 2008
August 5 2006 Details	Kunqu Performance in the Meyer Auditorium, Freer Galleries, Washington, D.C: *Portraits In Motion: Chinese Kunqu Theater* Kunqu artists Qian Yi and Wang Taiqi performed the "The Banquet" ("Xiaoyan"),from The Palace of Eternal Youth (Chang sheng dian) The program was sponsored by the Freer and Sackler Galleries and Wintergreen Kunqu Society.
August 4 2006	Lecture Demonstration in the Sackler Galleries, Washington, D.C. Professor David Ralston, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, and Kunqu artist Qian Yi presented a one hour lecture-demonstration on the art of Kunqu. Professor Ralston gave a brief history of Kunqu and its place in Chinese culture. Ms. Qian demonstrated various aspects of Kunqu music, singing, movement, and various stage conventions.
May 7 2006 Details	Kunqu Performance in the Claudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago Cultural Center Three Episodes from classic Kunqu plays featuring Liu Yilong and Liang Guyin of the Shangai Kunqu Troupe and Wen Yuhang, formerly of the Beijing Kunqu Troupe. In the first half, Ms. Liang and Mr. Wen peformed "Hiding in a Boat" ("Cang Zhou"). In the second half, Ms. Liang and Mr. Liu performed two of their most famous scenes, "Asking for Tea" ("Jie Cha") and "Taken Alive" ('Huo Zhuo"). The program was sponsored by University of Chicago, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Wintergreen Kunqu Society.
May 5 2006 Details	Lecture Demonstration and Kunqu Performance at Mendelssohn Hall, University of Michigan Mr. Lui Yilong and Ms. Liang Guyin, first class performers from the Shanghai Kunqu Troupe performed "A Marriage Proposal and Its Response" ("Shuo Qin" and "Hui Hua"). The performance was preceded by a twenty minute lecture-demonstration of the music and movement in Kunqu theater by Professor Joseph Lam of the University of Michigan with the assistance of Mr. Wen Yuhang, formerly of the Beijing Kunqu Troupe. The program was jointly sponsored by the “Musiking Late Ming China Conference” of the University of Michigan and the Wintergreen Kunqu Society.
May 14-16 2004 Details	A three day series of Kunqu performances in conjunction with the exhibition Return of the Buddha in the Sackler Museum of Art. The performances featured Ms. Liang Guyin of the Shanghai Kunqu Troupe and prize winning story teller Ms. Linda Fang. On the first two days, Ms. Liang performed "Longing for Wordly Pleasures" ("Si Fan") within the gallery space of the exhibition. She also performed "Lawsuit to Heaven" ("Yang Gao") and "Hiding the the Boat" ("Cang Zhou"), also featuring Wen Yu Hang, formerly of the Beijing Kunqu Troupe, in the Meyer Auditorium. Each performance was preceded by story telling by Linda Fang, who provided the context of the scene. The performances were sponsored by the Freer Gallery of Art, Wintergreen Kunqu Society, and The Smithsonian Associates. Click here for a webcast of the May 16 performances.
Sept 13 2003 Details	Two performances inside the Chinese Scholars Garden in the Staten Island Botanical Garden in conjunction with the Autumn Moon Festival. In the first performance Qian Yi and Wen Yuhang performed "Stealing the Poem" from the Kunqu play The Legend of the Jade Hairpin. In the second performance Qian Yi and Guo Yi performed the "Ghost Lover" from the Kunqu play Water Marsh.
Oct 5 2002 Details	A performance of three scenes from the The Legend of the Jade Hairpin featuring Qian Yi and Wen Yuhang in the lead roles. The performance was presented by the The Smithsonian Associates in Baird Hall, The Natiional Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Oct 20 2001 Details	A performance of "Discovering the Portrait" from The Peony Pavilion and two scenes from the Kunqu Society production of Pan Chin Lien by the New York Kunqu Troupe at the Jefferson Auditorium, Washington, DC. The program was presented by the Smithsonian Associates in conjunction with Wintergreen Kunqu Society. Sponsored in part by The Kunqu Society.
July 21-22 2001 Details	Four performances of a program entitled Songs of the Ancestors presented in conjunction with the Freer Gallery exhibit Worshipping the Ancestors at the Freer Gallery, Washington, DC. The performances took place within the gallery space to capture the ambience of the original performance of these scenes. The program featured Ms. Liang Guyin in "An Invocation" (Jae Moo) from Curing the Pain of Jealousy and "Painting the Portrait" (Meio Zong) from The Lute Song. Renowned flutist Chen Tao led the Kunqu ensemble and performed two solos during an interlude between scenes. Sponsored in part by Bank of America.
Sept 30 2000 Details	A performance of The Rotten Helve-Mountain (Lan Ke Shan) at the Baird Auditorium, Washington, D.C. presented by The Smithsonian Associates. The program, which featured Ms. Zhang Jiqing and Mr. Yao Jilkun from the Jiangsu Kunqu Troupe, included a one hour lecture-demonstration on Chinese Kunqu theater with Wang Tai Chi from the New York Kunqu Troupe.
Sept 29 2000 Details	A performance-workshop at Georgetown University, sponsored by the Department of International Asian Studies. The program featured Zhang Jiqing of the Jiangsu Kunqu Troupe in a performance of “Pursuing the Dream” a scene from The Peony Pavilion. The program included an introduction to Kunqu theater and a demonstration of Kunqu technique by Mr. Yao Jikun from the Jiangsu Kunqu Troupe.
Nov 23 1999	A lecture on Kunqu theater by Tong-Ching Chang at Madison Building, the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
May 22 1999 Details	A performance of two episodes of The Peony Pavilion at the Natural History Museum, Washington, D.C., presented The Smithsonian Associates. The program featured Ms. Liang Guyin from the Shanghai Kunqu Troupe. The program included an lecture-demonstration on Chinese Kunqu theater.
May 29 1998	A five-hour program on Chinese theater at St. Mary's College, sponsored by sponsored by the Asian Studies, Theater Department, and Music Department of St. Mary's College, MD. It included two workshops on Chinese theater and related percussion techniques and a Beijing opera performance.

Board of Directors and Officers

Tong-Ching Chang, President and Treasurer, holds an MBA and is a Certified Public Accountant with extensive project management experience. Ms. Chang developed her fascination with Chinese theater under the influence of her father, an avid fan of Beijing opera, while growing up in Taiwan. In high school, she studied Kunqu singing and flute playing from several prominent Kunqu scholars in Taiwan. Since 1993 she has been actively involved various cultural organizations to support the Chinese arts and has organized and produced several Chinese theater programs for various educational institutions in the metropolitan Washington, DC. Ms. Chang was also the co-founder of the Society of Kunqu Arts, Inc.(SKAI), MD.

Michelle Chang, Director, has a bachelor's degree of English from University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. She also has a master's degree in linguistics from University of Georgia, Athens. After she completed her thesis entitled "Tone Sandi in Min Dialect" for her master's degree program in 1981, Ms. Chang developed a deep interest in the relationship of various Chinese dialects and tones.

Tak K. Chu, Director and Secretary, is interested in the arts include music and dance of classical Western and Chinese genesis. A physicist by training, Dr. Chu holds a B.S. degree from Chinese University of Hong King and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College. He is also interest in promoting cross-cultural appreciation of the arts.

Charles A. Wilson, Vice President, is Professor of Economics at New York University. Dr. Wilson holds a B.A. in Economics, Miami University, Ohio, and Ph.D. in Economics, University of Rochester. Although a long time patron of the many of the performing arts, particularly classical ballet, he was first exposed to Chinese theater when he attended the performance of The Peony Pavilion at the Lincoln Center Summer Festival in 1999. He is particularly attracted to Kunqu theater because of its elegant integration of movement, music, and drama.