music from poplar hill

CONCERT ON FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2024 at 7:30pm

DONG XI (“EAST WEST”) is a world music duo formed by world percussionist Tom Teasley and Chinese dulcimer artist Chao Tian. They focus on presenting a new experience in collaboration with individual unique tastes in a "controlled improvisation" setting. Its name derives from the identities and backgrounds of its composing musicians. Also, it represents an element of surprise from the Chinese idiom "feint to the east but attacked in the west." This is one of the signatures in their music and represents their unique and interesting ways of creating musical dialogue for their music. Dong Xi uses the subtleties of the Chinese dulcimer to blend seamlessly with the world music percussion to create an elaborate and amazing duo improvisation.

Dong Xi’S vision is to convey and interpret Chinese and U.S. music and culture. From musical performance to the reception of the audience to the promotion of resonance and inner feelings, this collaboration has greater power than simply presenting each country’s culture. Both Tom and Chao are musical polyglots who have successfully broken the barriers and hurdles between cultures and art forms, in a never-ending quest to fascinate, inspire, and discover new sounds, meanings, and art.

Dong Xi has performed at many prominent venues and events in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Michigan. In 2019, they released their first album, "Out of the Blue," and were invited to China for a teaching residency and cultural exchange. They are the WAMMIE award winners for Best World Music Artist/Group 2020 and were the nominees for Outstanding Sound Design of the 2020 Helen Hayes Award.

Check out the amazing work of DONG XI!