A Festival of Chinese Culture - Ancient Paths, Modern Voices at the Carnegie.

The Philharmonic Society of Orange County is scheduled to bring to Southern California a bicoastal Carnegie Hall festival paying tribute to China’s diverse and vibrant culture and its influence around the world.

Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture will take place from October 11 to November 24 at Orange County Performing Arts Center. The New York festival will be presented from October 21 to November 10 at Carnegie Hall and New York partner institutions.

The first festival presented under the partnership between Carnegie Hall and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Ancient Paths, Modern Voices will feature performances by leading international musicians, including some artists and ensembles traveling outside China for the first time. The festival will include Western symphonic and chamber music influenced by Chinese culture, traditional folk music and contemporary music as well as traditional marionette theater, dance, film screenings, calligraphy, art exhibitions and much more.

“By partnering with Carnegie Hall and other prominent institutions, Segerstrom Center for the Arts achieves a new level of excellence in serving Southern California, and reaching out as never before on the international stage," stated Henry Segerstrom, Managing Partner of South Coast Plaza, presenting sponsor. "I am delighted that this vibrant celebration of Chinese culture presented by Carnegie Hall and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County will be able to enrich and enliven the experience of audiences on both coasts."

“Perhaps more than ever before, the incredibly diverse aspects of China—its history, timeless traditions, and lively contemporary arts scene—have captured the imagination of the world,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. "With Ancient Paths, Modern Voices, we invite audiences on a cross-disciplinary exploration of this world, examining China’s traditional and contemporary culture, and how it has influenced artists around the globe."

UTSA hosts Chinese language conference

This weekend, the UTSA College of Education and Human Development, the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies and the East Asia Institute will sponsor the 2009 Annual Conference of the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Texas (CLTA-Texas). The conference, also supported by the Confucius Institute at Texas A&M University and the Education Office of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Houston, promotes teaching Chinese as a foreign and heritage language in Texas.

The CLTA-Texas conference is open to Chinese language teachers, principals and administrators from public and private high schools, heritage schools and universities in San Antonio and the surrounding areas such as Houston, Dallas and Austin. Leaders from Chinese organizations in San Antonio and Austin and UTSA students also are invited to attend the conference.

This year's conference, themed "Connecting Classroom Teaching to the Real World," will include six panels and 16 presenters -- all teachers, principals and language program coordinators from high schools, heritage Chinese schools, and colleges and universities. Panel topics will range from the establishment and development of Chinese programs to effective K-16 teaching methods.

Claudia Ross, a professor from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and vice president of CLTA at the national level, will present the keynote address titled "How Long Does it Take to Learn Chinese?" Ross is the author of "Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar" published by Routledge Press.

Eric Bana's Chinese skills need polishing

Australian actor Eric Bana admitted Tuesday on ABC’s “The View” that while he can recite Mandarin Chinese in his films, he doesn’t always understand what he’s saying. Bana appeared on the American talk show to plug his movies “Funny People” and the upcoming “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”

Bana co-stars in “Funny People” as Clarke, who is the husband of star Adam Sandler’s ex-girlfriend. Clarke has just returned from China and is a fluent Chinese speaker. In the clip shown today, Clarke speaks in Mandarin with his children. He describes Mandarin as a “bloody odd language” in the movie.

Following the clip, co-host Joy Behar asked Bana what the meaning of “baba bu yao” was. Bana smiled and confessed, “I didn’t understand what it meant then, and I don’t understand what it means now.”

Show creator Barbara Walters asked, “Is that all you can speak?”

“That’s all I can speak in Chinese,” Bana said.