The Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2022 in July with a performance by Israeli maestro Dr. Michael Tsalka.
Established in 2015 with the financial support of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, the non-profit research university is part of the Shantou University in Guangdong, China. It focuses on research and innovation in engineering and life sciences.
"I was shocked by the GTIIT campus and development!" said Dr. Tsalka, adding that he hoped that the GTIIT graduates of the Class of 2022 would keep improving it in the future.
Peleg Lewi, Consul General of Israel in Guangzhou, and Prof. Gong Xingao, Chancellor of GTIIT and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the event.
"Music, art and science cross all the boundaries, and build a bridge of communication between China and Israel," Lewi said in his speech. He also pointed out that the Consulate General of Israel in Guangzhou has maintained long-term close cooperation with GTIIT, and the two sides have jointly built a platform for academic and business activities between the two countries.
Lewi also received a special certificate of appreciation from the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Tsalka is a Dutch/Israeli pianist who performs solo and chamber music from the Baroque to the Contemporary periods on the modern piano, harpsichord, fortepiano, clavichord, square piano and positive organ. His performance in China spanned from the warm Clair de lune (Debussy) to the passionate Ritual Dance of Fire (Manuel de Falla), offering the audience a repertoire from the early Baroque era to our days.
In May, the pianist performed at a different event organized by the Israeli Consulate in Guangzhou together with the Dutch delegation. Titled “A friendship in music - Works by Jewish and Dutch composers from across the country centuries,” the recital celebrated the friendship between Israel and the Netherlands.