The Chinese Folk Music Orchestra from Qingdao University of Science and Technology will perform at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as part of their first-ever tour of the United States.

The concert will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 2, in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building.

Tickets are free for UALR students, faculty, and staff, and $10 for non-UALR students. General admission tickets are $15.

UALR Artspree, the performing arts series at UALR, is hosting the concert.

For more information, contact Dr. Naoki Hakutani, director of Artspree, at 501.683.7230 or nxhakutani@ualr.edu.

For this unique event, Qingdao University has assembled a select ensemble consisting of the top eight students from the performing orchestra and seven leading faculty members.

The program will offer a rare opportunity for Little Rock audiences to hear some of the rich heritage of Chinese music and instruments that have been developed over 2,000 years.

The beauty and elegant power of traditional Chinese folk music is best experienced in concert. The orchestra is led by Liu Jia who has studied the bamboo flute for 24 years.

Jia has a master’s degree in flute from Beijing Central Academy of Music and is renowned for his combination of beautiful tone and technical prowess. A highly skilled and artistic performer, he has won numerous contests and performed internationally.