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Performance Music at The University of Scranton, in conjunction with United Colors, will present "Intercultural Journeys - East Meets West" on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2002. The performance, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Aula Room of the university's Houlihan-McLean Center. A pre-concert "MusicTalk" is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center Atrium.

The performance will feature Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Ohad Bar-David, Erhu virtuoso Jiebing Chen, and concert pianist Keiko Sato of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Mr. Bar-David is founder of "Intercultural Journeys", a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia which is committed to producing performances, masterclasses, lectures and other interactions that provide opportunities for musical dialogue and understanding among a variety of cultural traditions. He is an acclaimed soloist in Israel, having performed with its leading orchestras and recorded at the Jerusalem Music Center founded by Pablo Casals.

Mr. Bar-David began has cello studies at the age of seven with Uzi Wiesel in Tel Aviv. He continued his studies at The Juilliard School with Leonard Rose, and studied conducting at The Curtis Institute with Max Rudolph.

In 1976, he won the International Villa Lobos Competition in Brazil. He has been principal cellist in the International Youth Orchestra, at Juilliard, in the National Orchestra of New York, and with the American Ballet Theatre. In addition, he has served on the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival.

He joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1987, and is a member of its Board of Directors. He recently developed the Arab-Jewish Musical Dialogue, which brings artists of both cultures together on the same stage.

Jiebing Chen is considered by many people to be one of the world's foremost virtuosos of the Erhu, a Chinese two-string fiddle. She gave her first recital at age six in her native Shanghai. By the age of 19, she had twice won first place national awards in China. She is a 1982 graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she earned top honors. She also won first prize in the National Competition of Traditional Instruments in Beijing in 1982.

From 1985 to 1987, Ms. Chen represented China on three separate cultural exchange programs, performing in Australia, Asia and Europe. In 1987, she was officially recognized as a "National First Rank Performing Artist," the highest honor accorded to artists by the Chinese government. In 1988, she performed as a soloist with the Shanghai Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. These performances were the first ever using the Erhu as a solo instrument with Western orchestral accompaniment.

After her arrival in the United States in 1989, Ms. Chen continued her studies at State University of New York at Buffalo, where she earned a master of arts degree in music theory.

She has appeared as a soloist with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Chamber Orchestra, the Shanghai Opera House, the San Francisco Symphony, the New Moscow Symphony and several others. Since her arrival in the U.S., she has performed with a wide variety of ensembles, ranging from jazz groups to major symphony orchestras.

A native of Japan, Keiko Sato received her bachelor of music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music in 1982, studying with Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Gary Graffman. She earned both a master of music and a master of musical arts degree from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Seymour Lipkin and Claude Frank. She has received various prizes in international and national competitions.

Ms. Sato has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras and has played recitals in Japan and throughout the U.S. From 1985-87, she was instructor of piano at Yale, where she is a doctoral candidate. Ms. Sato joined the faculty of The Curtis Institute of Music in 1987.

In addition to the concert, The University of Scranton will host "Basic Training at Camp Udi," a masterclass for student string players, with Ohad Bar-David and Jiebing Chen. It will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 23. Pre-registration is requested.

For additional information, contact Cheryl Y. Boga, Director of Performance Music, at 941-7624, or at www.scranton.edu/music.