Chinese Zodiac Suite

The Chinese Zodiac Suite is the culmination of a three-year project to honor the partnership of Old Dominion University with Minzu University of Beijing, a cooperative effort to bridge the cultures of both sides. In his new composition, Hailstork uses Western musical language to depict the 12 animal signs of the zodiac from Eastern folklore. The suite was performed by the Minzu University student orchestra at a meeting with the Board of Directors of the Confucius Institute at Old Dominion University (CIODU) in Beijing. Executive director of the CIODU, Dr. Qiu Jin Hailstork, prefaced the performance with, “You can hear the sounds of rats scratching behind the walls@@@ cows working hard in the fields@@@ rabbits jumping up and down@@@ a snake slithering through the grass@@@ galloping horses and grazing sheep@@@ a monkey swinging through the trees@@@ the rooster, boss of the barnyard, crowing@@@ the sleeping dog who wakes up and starts barking@@@ and the poor pig, so sad because his life's only purpose is to be someone's dinner!”