Part cartoon character, part virtuoso, musical whiz Wang Jie has been nudging serious music and its concert audiences into spectacular frontiers over the past few seasons.
Her “FROM NEW YORK, WITH LOVE" transformed a classic percussionist into a dervish-like rock star. Her chamber opera “FLOWN” dramatized the end of a rocky love affair by having the two pianists attack each other and their shared instrument. Despite having the worst title in the history of music, "OBOE CONCERTO FOR THE GENUINE HEART OF SADNESS” channeled the power of Liang Wang, the principle oboist of the New York Philharmonic, and the League of Composers Orchestra into an orgiastic whirlwind.
One day she spins a few notes into large symphonic forms, the next she calls Zodiac animals to the opera stage. It is no accident that Ms. Wang’s stylistic versatility is a rare trait in today's composers. There is a mile-long dossier on Jie’s outside-the-box incidents.
Most recently, her SYMPHONY NO.2, commissioned and premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin was streamed live to a worldwide audience. “SYMPHONIC OVERTURE ‘AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL’”, commissioned and premiered by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic right before the 2016 election, brought uplifting tears to many audiences. Symphonic poem “FLYING ON THE SCALY BACKS OF OUR MOUNTAINS”, a commission by the Colorado Music Festival, will receive world premiere in July 2021.