With millions around the world adversely affected by natural disasters and debilitating life circumstances, we aim to uplift and empower those less fortunate with relief support from the global community at large. Tzu Chi’s compassion is a small piece of that worldwide effort, but it is with the sum of all our actions that will help these communities in their time of need. That is why we’ll be hosting the “Gratitude, Respect and Love Charity Concert” with celebrity performers from Taiwan and Houston. Join us for an afternoon of compassion and music
Save the date
Save the date for this wonderful occasion as we join hands to cultivate love and hope in lives throughout the world. Saturday, November 23rd from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM* at our Southern Region office in Houston, TX. With all event proceeds going directly to our global relief work, your presence at this event will help to transform a life. *Doors open at 2:30 PM.
Tickets
Please call (713) 270-9988 for ticket inquiries and additional information.
Performances by
Chyi Yu is a celebrated Taiwanese recording artist and performer, recognized for her ethereal voice and soulful delivery. Having made her debut with her solo album & title song “The Olive Tree” in 1979, she has since recorded and released numerous albums both in Chinese and in English. In 2018, she started a concert tour “The Echo” (1985), featuring popular songwriter San Mao. This year, Yu joined the ensemble cast of “Ge Shou: Singer 2019,” a singing competition and established the Chyi Yu Public Charity Fund with Mango V Foundation of the Hunan Satellite TV. In recent years, she has sung both Buddhist songs and gospel, hoping that her music can help break down barriers and that we can all live in peace without prejudice.
By the age of three, Kana Mimaki began taking piano lessons in Japan. At five years old, she had already won her first piano competition. Kana’s lifetime achievements include the Kapo-Barwick Memorial Prize from the William Kapell International Piano Competition, first prize from the Los Angeles Liszt Competition, plus awards from the International Russian Music Competition and many more. Currently, Kana is a soloist and chamber musician performing in both the United States and Japan. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Tokyo National University of Music and Fine Arts, Master of Music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts from Rice University.
Zhong Ping Wang is a Taiwanese triple threat with a storied career; he has released 22 albums with over 200 songs and is an actor and screenwriter. His talents appeal to a fanbase this is both young and old alike. Since 2007, he has entertained audiences on Da Ai dramas and sang the theme songs of two productions.
Haoran Yu was a popular singer in the 90s. After marrying Zhong Ping Wang, she left the entertainment business to raise their two children, a boy, and a girl. After they grew up, she re-entered the industry as a talk show host. In recent years, she has been active in many reality shows and dramas.
String Quartet – Playing together for the first time, Violinists Johnny Chang and Zelda Faith Jones, Violist Dr. Shaochin Chien, and Cellist Shino Hayashi will perform a selection of classical and Taiwanese folk music.
Johnny Chang has been one of the most active and sought after musicians in the Houston area for more than 20 years. He earned his Bachelor in Music from the University of Costa Rica, Artist Diploma from the Saint Louis Conservatory of Music, and Master in Music from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.
Chang has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet Orchestra, as well as many other professional symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles in the United States and Latin America. As a soloist, he has performed with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, the Houston Civic Symphony, the Symphony North of Houston and the Energy Corridor of Houston Orchestra (ECHO).
Currently, Chang actively serves as Assistant Concertmaster of Opera in the Heights Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster of the Houston Latin Philharmonic, Principal Violinist for the Theater Under The Stars Orchestra, and Substitute Violinist for the Houston Ballet Orchestra. Mr. Chang is also a professor of violin at Houston Community College and teaches through his private music studio to award-winning students.
Zelda Faith Jones is a violinist, violist, educator, and native Houstonian who has been active in and around Houston, Boston, and several other cities for almost two decades. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Houston and a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Boston Conservatory, and was an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Jones has performed, coached, and taught in various music festivals in Germany, Italy and Austria, as well as with the Orchestra of the Americas during its Caribbean summer tour.
In addition, she has performed at an all-commissioned program at Carnegie Hall with Duo Scordatura (of which she was a member and co-director), and was a member of the Opera in the Heights orchestra. Jones is currently a private instructor at Art, Music & More, a member of the Baytown Symphony Orchestra and the Mud Turtle Quintet, a member and co-founder of Chamber Collective, and Director of Classical Revolution Houston.
Dr. Shaochin Chien of Taiwan obtained her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in viola performance from the University of Miami, Florida. She won second place in the American String Teachers Association solo competition in its Florida chapter, and has been invited to judge many solo and concerto competitions. She was also the co-founder and assistant director of the University of Miami String Academy and performed in many orchestras including the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Miami City Ballet Orchestra, the Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra, the Miami Grand Opera, the Miami Bach Society, and the Naples Symphony Orchestra, as viola principal and assistant principal.
After relocating to Houston in 2009, Chien began teaching Suzuko and has been invited to teach at the University of Southern Mississippi, teach master classes, and give lectures. Dr. Chien is currently the director of the Houston Suzuki Music School as well as in the Spring Branch ISD Suzuki Violin program.
Aside from full time teaching positions, Chien is also an active soloist and chamber player and constantly leads students to present concerts in the greater Houston area. Dr. Chien has been inducted as a life time member of the Pi Kappa Lambda, a national music honor society. On top of a busy teaching and performing life, she enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and newborn daughter.
Shino Hayashi resides in Houston, TX, and performs regularly with the Houston Symphony, the Houston Grand Opera, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and has also appeared as a guest artist on recitals with faculty members at the Moores School of Music and the Shepherd School of Music, and the Texas Music Festival. She regularly appears throughout Japan performing chamber music with acclaimed violinist Takayoshi Wanami and is a teaching assistant at his annual summer music course and chamber music seminar in the Yatsugatake Mountains.
Hayashi was a prize winner in the Japan Chamber Music Competition in Tokyo and a recipient of the Ishikawa Music Academy Award. She was chosen as a soloist to perform under the baton of Maestro Seiji Ozawa at the Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan, and was a member of the Cello Ensemble Saito at the World Cello Congress in St. Petersburg Russia and toured with the ensemble throughout Europe and Japan.
Born in Okaya, Japan, she holds degrees from the Toho Gakuen School of Music, the University of Houston and an Artist Certificate from the Southern Methodist University. In her free time she enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with her husband and 3 year old son.
