Memories of Old Friends

Call to Support China Earthquake Relief

Dear Friends,

More than 69,019 people have now been confirmed dead following the May 12 earthquake.  From May 19 to 21, 2008, China is holding three days of national mourning.

On Monday May 19, NAGA held a memorial service in Union City, CA to raise awareness in the local community, to pray for the people who are suffering as a result of the disaster, to mourn those who lost their lives and to ask people to contribute and make donations. To mourn the victims we began with a 3 minute silence, then Professor Yongan Wang gave a multimedia presentation on the current situation in the earthquake-hit region. A lot of moving photos and videos were shown. Afterwards, NAGA director Wang Fei played the guqin melodies ˇ°Memories of Old Friendsˇ± (Yi Guren) and ˇ°The Priest Pu'an's Prayerˇ± (Pu'an Zhou). Finally, we lit candles. All the attendees were in tears and expressed their deepest condolences for the victims and sincere sympathy for the bereaved families.

It is never too late to help. The most effective way to help the disaster relief effort is through donations. Your gift will help the survivors rebuild their communities and their lives. Here are some organizations for you to consider. Alternatively, you can take advantage of the various employer-matching programs that are being offered by many U.S. corporations. 

Tzu Chi Foundation China Earthquake Relief

http://www.us.tzuchi.org/usa/home.nsf/photonews/k11802

MercyCorps China Earth Quake relief

http://www.mercycorps.org/chinaearthquake/?source=1062

American Red Cross Foundation
http://www.redcross.org/news/in/profiles/Intl_profile_ChinaEarthquake.html

 Chinese Red Cross Foundation
http://www.crcf.org.cn/gb/jianjie/jkindex.asp

Give2Asia's Disaster Relief Fund:

http://www.give2asia.org/page12020.cfm?CFID=14960855&CFTOKEN=99920627

Jet Li Red Cross Foundation
www.one-foundation.com

PKU Alumni Association
www.pkualumni.org

MITBBS Foundation            
http://www.mitbbs.com/article1/Donation/27176194_0_1.html

Tsinghua Challenge Education Foundation

http://tsinghuafoundation.org/earthquake08/index.html

Shin Shin Educational Foundation
http://shinshinfoundation.org/

Hong Kong Red Cross

http://www.redcross.org.hk/

 

We appreciate your support! Let's think once again about the melody ˇ° Memories of Old Friendsˇ± (Yi Guren) (video played by Professor Li Xiangting) to mourn the earthquake victims.

 

 

 

North American Guqin Association

http://www.guqin.org

http://www.youtube.com/user/chineseculture

http://chineseguqin.ning.com/

 

About the North American Guqin Association

The North American Guqin Association (NAGA) is a nonprofit cultural arts organization dedicated to the public presentation and preservation of the art of the guqin, spreading community appreciation of Chinese culture through the traditional art of the guqin and building a bridge for cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the Chinese and American communities. NAGA offers guqin classes, performances, recordings, workshops etc.

If you are interested in our upcoming events, whether as an attendee or as a volunteer, and want to meet our NAGA officers and performers, please take a look at our upcoming events:                          

1.     The Living Tradition of the Guqin
Saturdays and Sundays

June 28 through July 27
12:00 noon ¨C 4:00 pm

North Court

Asian Art Museum

200 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: 415.581.3500

http://www.asianart.org/asiaalive.htm

 

2.      Sound of the Sages Concert

Thursday, 7:00pm

July 3, 2008

Asian Art Museum

200 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: 415.581.3500

http://www.asianart.org/performances.htm

 

3.      Guqin Workshops

September  20, 21, 27, and 28, 2008

Asian Art Museum

200 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102

Tel: 415.581.3500 or 866-841-9139 ext 1555

 

These programs are presented by NAGA in collaboration with the Asian Art Museum and are made possible by LIVING CULTURES GRANTS from The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA).