​About the Event

​《上邪》LOVE, EARTH, DEATH

​“山无棱，天地合，乃敢与君绝。”

​Love. Earth. Death.

​These are among the most elemental forces of human existence—forces that transcend geography, history, and culture.

​For the opening concert of Almost Quintet’s 2026 New York City Tour, three musicians come together at Music Pathway Studio for an intimate evening exploring these universal themes through music rooted in Chinese and Black musical traditions.

​The program places works by Black composers and Chinese composers in dialogue, revealing how communities shaped by vastly different histories have nevertheless used music to express struggle, resilience, longing, love, and mortality.

​At the heart of the program is Dorothy Rudd Moore’s Sonnets on Love, Rosebuds and Death, alongside music by Edward W. Hardy, whose expressive musical language confronts memory, suffering, identity, and the human experience.

​In counterpoint, Bright Sheng’s Three Chinese Love Songs draws upon Chinese folk traditions, while selections from He Zhanhao and Chen Gang’s Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto transform one of China’s most enduring tragic love stories into an iconic classical work.

​Across languages, continents, and generations, these works ask remarkably similar questions:

​How do we love?
What connects us to the earth and to one another?
And how do we face loss, mortality, and separation?

​Through the fusion of folk roots and contemporary classical expression, LOVE, EARTH, DEATH invites audiences to hear not simply the contrast between cultures, but their resonance.

​An intimate musical journey through the experiences that make us human.

​Featured Artists

​Zhengyingyue “Elaine” Huang, Soprano

​Chinese soprano Dr. Zhengyingyue “Elaine” Huang is an internationally active singer, opera performer, director, and advocate for greater representation in classical music.

​Her performances have taken her to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, San Miguel Institute of Bel Canto in Mexico, Temple Opera Theater, University of Kansas Opera, Opera Italia, Lyric Opera of Orange County, and concert stages throughout China and the United States.

​Her operatic repertoire includes roles in Madama Butterfly, Suor Angelica, La bohème, Così fan tutte, and The Magic Flute.

​In 2021, Huang founded the Asian Classical Music Initiative (ACMI) to celebrate and promote music by Asian and Pan-Asian composers. She has premiered new works by contemporary composers and appeared as a guest speaker at academic and professional music conferences.

​Huang holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Kansas, following studies at East China Normal University and Temple University.

​Xenia Deviatkina-Loh, Violin & Viola

​2026 Almost Quintet New York Tour Guest Artist

​“Exquisite playing and moving interpretation.” — Limelight Magazine

​Award-winning violinist Dr. Xenia Deviatkina-Loh has appeared as a soloist and recitalist throughout Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China.

​Since 2021, she has been a member of ECHOI — Ensemble in Residence at MEC, and she regularly collaborates with ensembles and concert series throughout the Los Angeles area.

​Her debut album was released by SHEVA Contemporary in 2019.

​A dedicated educator and advocate for contemporary music, Deviatkina-Loh has presented masterclasses, lectures, and performances internationally and has participated in programs including the Lucerne Festival Academy, Atlantic Music Festival, SICPP, and New Music for Strings Festival.

​She currently serves at UCLA and teaches at Mount Saint Mary’s University and San Bernardino Valley College.

​She holds degrees from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Royal College of Music in London, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from UCLA.

​Peiyao Yu, Piano & Organ

​Described by The Kansas City Star as bringing “sparks from the keyboard,” Dr. Peiyao Yu is a pianist, organist, and carillonist whose performances span China, Europe, and the United States.

​An advocate for both historical and contemporary music, she has appeared in major organ programs and festivals and has premiered works by composers including Eve Beglarian and Lori Laitman.

​In 2026, she presented the lecture-recital The Eternal Art of Touch at the Taubman Approach International Piano Festival. That same year, she was the only organist selected for the 2026 Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition, receiving second prize.

​Yu is also active in interdisciplinary and immersive performance, including curating discussions and workshops centered on reimagining the modern recital experience.

​Based in Los Angeles, she performs regularly with Opera Italia and is the founder of Almost Quintet.

​She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Kansas and a Master of Music from the University of Michigan.