Melody of China teams up with Mohammed Nejad Music to present a concert of Chinese and Persian music. Featured are Melody of China artists: Yangqin Zhao (yangqin); Gangqin Zhao (zither); Wanpeng Guo (sheng); Shenshen Zhang (pipa); and Xian Lu (dizi). They are joined by members of Nejad Music: Mohammad Nejad (Kamancheh, Oud, Zarb and Daf); Naseem Fazeli (Tar); Behfar Razavi (Ney); Pegah T. Afshar (Santour); and Oscar Yousefi (Vocalist). The program includes traditional repertoire as well as the world premiere of two newly commissioned works for mixed ensemble.

Melody of China has been performing new and traditional Chinese music in the bay area, the nation and around the world for over twenty-five years. Melody of China collaborates with artists from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. Collaborating partners have included: Del Sol Quartet, Asian Improv aRts, Earplay, Situ Gang, Gene Coleman, Carl Stone, Kui Dong, Zeke Nealy, Swapan Chauduri, Jon Jang, Chen Tao and others. Melody of China has commissioned over 40 new works by 20 contemporary composers. The esemble has been guest artists with Anthony Braxton, San Francisco Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic.

Yangqin Zhao (artistic director/yangqin (hammered dulcimer) soloist)
Yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer) virtuoso and Executive/Artistic Director of Melody of China (MoC), Zhao is a member of the Chinese Musicians Association and the Chinese National Orchestra Society. Ms. Zhao has been invited to perform internationally in Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mexico and Germany and performed with the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Women's Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony. Ms. Zhao co-founded Melody of China in 1993 and took over as Artist Director beginning in 2008.

Gangqin Zhao (guzheng (zither) soloist)
Guzheng (zither) soloist and touring member of Melody of China, Gangqin Zhao is a member of the Chinese Musicians Association and has performed internationally in Singapore, Denmark and Germany. She is also director of the Chinese Arts and Culture Center of San Francisco where she instructs students in guzheng and other instruments.

Mohammed Nejad (guest musician/multi-instrumentalist)
Mohammad Nejad is a Persian-born master multi-instrumentalist with an international reputation as a composer, performer and recording artist. Nejad holds a degree in Fine Arts for Musicianship and Performance from Tehran University and is a master of both Western and Persian musical styles. He plays 56 different types of traditional and western musical instruments.  Nejad immigrated to United States in 1995.  Here he established Nejad World Music Center, where he teaches music to youths and adults in the community. He believes that teaching the beauty of Persian music creates a greater understanding and unity between Iranian and World cultures and strengthens the cultural integrity of the younger generation of Iranian Americans.