Gao Hong, Director of the Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble, was awarded an Established Artist grant from the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC). She will compose a Pipa and Zhongruan Duet. On March 22, she was featured on Classical MPR, Chinglish: A Chinese Virtuoso in Minnesota. From March 14 through March 24, she performed 11 concerts and was a guest artist/lecture at Lanesboro Public Library, The Schubert Club Museum, Arlington Hills Community Center, Paul Wellstone Neighborhood House, University of Minnesota Duluth, Concordia College, University of Minnesota, Crookston, University of Minnesota, Morris, and New York Mills Cultural Center. She also performed the world premiere of her multi-media project, a collaboration with Carleton Professor Roger Bechtel, “Chinglish” at the The O’Shaughnessy. Her composition “Courage—for Pipa and Percussion” was nominated for a 2017 JPF Music Award Best Instrumental award on Spotify. It’s the only genre that competes directly with every nominee from the 70+ categories found on Spotify.