Ancient emotions to echo across time and borders

Du was born and raised in Shanghai. An alumna of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and Harvard University, she currently lives in New York and is a professor of composition at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

For Du, this project is not merely about music — it's an exploration of identity, heritage and the power of storytelling across generations. A Pulitzer Prize-winning composer renowned for her boundary-defying creations, Du seeks to use this work to amplify voices that have long been marginalized, bringing ancient traditions into the present.

The Jino people, an ethnic group in southern China, are keepers of a unique and ancient oral tradition passed down through songs that recount the histories, emotions and myths of their people. In 1979, the Chinese government officially recognized the Jino as the country's 56th ethnic group.

Du, alongside her longtime collaborator, director and designer Julian Crouch, journeyed to Baduo village in Xishuangbanna, and spent time with local Jino elders and children to learn about their music, stories and way of life.

"I was struck by the resonance of these songs and how they spoke not only to the past, but also to the present," Du says. "The children of the village, the future bearers of this heritage, sing these ancient tunes with passion and purity."