Girls of Yellow Diamonds
Girls of Yellow Diamonds
Songs of Asian-American Women
Embedded Files
How It Started
In honor of the one-year anniversary of the 2021 Atlanta Shootings as well as International Women’s Day, we created this recital of compositions by Asian women telling the various stories of Asian women.
Throughout history, Asian women have been oppressed by stereotypes, fetishization, societal expectations, generalizations, and much more. Just within the past two years, with the onset of COVID-19, there was an upsurge of violence against Asian women - violence that is still continuing today.
On March 16, 2021, the Atlanta shootings occurred. This was an attack, not just to the communities in Georgia, but also to Asian communities nation-wide. This was the impetus for us to program a recital uplifting the many and diverse narratives of Asian-American women - the "Girls of Yellow Diamonds." As we observe International Women's Day on March 8th and Women’s History Month, we dedicate this recital to all girls of yellow diamonds: the countless women who birthed, raised, loved, and are us. To reflect this cycle of life, this recital is in four parts: birth, youth, womanhood, and the future.
While the subtitle of this recital is "Songs of Asian-American Women," many of these stories are also universal. We stand together as a diverse group of women that hope to create, communicate, and continue to empower women in spite of cultural and language barriers, gender expectations, and acts of violence.
- Alice Chung and Helen Zhibing Huang
Iterations
Girls of Yellow Diamonds
Philadelphia | Academy of Vocal Arts | March 2022
Performers: Sophia Maekawa, Pauline Tan, Alice Chung, Ting Ting Wong
Winston-Salem | Wake Forest University | September 2024
Performers: Helen Zhibing Huang, Alice Chung, Yong Im Lee Federle
Why
The purposes of this program are to promote a more equitable musical representation in the industry and raise awareness of specific social issues surrounding Asian-American women by showcasing works and narratives of Asian-American women composers that remain underrepresented or even untold in the classical music industry.
Structure
Modeled after the cycle of life and the diversity of Asian-American cultures, the program is divided into four sections: Songs of our Childhood, Growing Pains, Womanhood, and Future. To both support accessibility to these narratives and create opportunities to hear art song in Asian languages, this program features works in English as well as Asian languages that represent the cultural heritage of performing artists. Languages featured in the past include Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Tagalog.
Impact
Girls of Yellow Diamonds would:
1. Provide an opportunity to combat stereotypes that contribute to the portrayal of Asian women by sharing the diverse narratives of Asian-American women
2. Showcase artists and the cultures of the local Asian-American communities by customizing the program repertoire and performers
3. Encourage engagement between opera companies and Asian-American communities through portrayals of diverse voices onstage
Interested in bringing Girls of Yellow Diamonds to a city near you?
View our one-sheet here.
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