Seattle Modern Orchestra’s season closer traces elements of movement and migration through an Asian diasporic lens. Fujikura’s concerto was inspired by Polynesian wayfinding / star navigation and features longtime SMO violist Erin Wight. Baldwin Giang joins SMO on pipa in his own concerto, Pipa Boy, accompanied by a film of the composer in places where he has lived, exploring ways identity needs to be interpreted and negotiated. The work explores belonging across cultures and distance, revealing that the pipa is as much a product of human migration as an individual. Movements from Quijiang Levi Lu’s QUAD are interspersed throughout; performers must move through each section of the piece as various restrictions are placed on their perception while the audience witnesses their journey to a common goal.

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