Expo 2010 Shanghai Status Report
by Cathy Barbash
With the opening of the Expo 2010 Shanghai less than a month away, the USA Pavilion has finally put online a more comprehensive Calendar of Events. The schedule is a work in progress, and will be updated as events are added.
The first marquee event is the Philadelphia Orchestra on May 7/8, and with admirable full-disclosure it is noted that the Orchestra was invited by the Expo organizers, not the Department of State. (More full disclosure, I’m consulting to the Orchestra for the tour.) The first marquee events presented by the U.S. State Department are jazz greats Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater & the Thelonius Month Institute of Jazz on May 13/14.
The remaining events in May and June, ranging from Ozomatli to the Miami University Collegiate Choral to the Youth Orchestra of San Antoni et al, are self-funded affairs.
Director of Entertainment Operations Jason Meek (jmeek@usanationalpavilion2010.org) recently told me that “We certainly are interested in more performing groups. However, we unfortunately do not have budget for additional performers so we would be limited mostly to groups that are self-funded and would not require a performance fee.” Any groups passing through China during the six-month Expo and willing to open a space on their schedules for an Expo performance are invited to contact him, and his department will assist in booking an appropriate venue and helping out with all necessary arrangements.