CMFW – Classical Music For the World

This festival is sponsored by Fo Guang Shan Xiang Yun Temple.

Poster with the Festival Schedule (pdf)Download

A Letter from Younnie Wall, CMFW Founder/CEO

Like a Dandelion…

Dear Friends,

How are you?

Spring has blossomed, and the birds chirping and wildflowers are brightening our minds. I hope all of you are well with faith, the faith that even a tiny light can shine through the darkness.

It is truly a surprising blessing that I’m able to continue my music mission in the new year through this Classical Music For the World (CMFW) Spring Festival, “East in the West: Sounds, Minds, and Dharma.” It all started to happen while I still felt fragile and weak. I’d say that the spirit of music made it possible by bringing everyone together as one with the love of classical music, the sounds that connect us.

It’s hard to believe that 15 years have passed since the spring of 2010 when CMFW was born. Now, CMFW is entering its 16^th year. Thinking about all those years gives me smiles and tears but mostly makes me feel humble and serene. The past years taught me that CMFW’s mission is right and that I could be a wounded healer. If only one heart can be touched and comforted through the musical events CMFW presents, its mission is not in vain. Thus, I will keep moving forward with CMFW’s mission with a light heart, like a dandelion spreading its seeds into the gentle winds.

Indeed, I flew and landed here in the West from the East like a dandelion seed. The air brought me here, and the sun and rain nurtured me. It’s been over 25 years since I left my home country, South Korea, in the Far East. Since then, I haven’t had a chance to go back. I became “East in the West.”

I’m greatly thankful for Fo Guang Shan Xiang Yun Temple, where I feel it is my East Asian home here in the U.S.A. Thank you, Master Hsing Yun and the Buddhist friends who built this beautiful Xiang Yun (Fragrance of Clouds) Temple in my new home, Austin, Texas.

Seeing the same dandelions here in the West gives me nostalgic smiles.

Now, let’s enjoy the gift of music that CMFW Spring Festival 2025: “East in the West, Sounds, Minds, and Dharma” is about to share.

Younnie Wall

A Message from Francesco Mastromatteo, CMFW Artistic Advisor/Artist-in-Residence

“Welcome to “East in the West: Sounds, Minds, and Dharma,” a path of Art, Community, and Life that aims to share cultures, beauty, and, most of all, the belief in the healing power of music through its artistic role of connecting people. The festival events center on the meeting of opposites. On one end, the more Western dimension of doing, of producing, of creating through individual will; on the other end, an Eastern search for a “Dharma,” for freedom of the mind, for a dimension of being, born from a meditation which shines the intimate essence of the inner person.

These complementary dimensions share the stage in the music that artists and audiences will experience in “East in the West.” There will be the excitement of Western rhythm, the passionate and nostalgic melodies of American and European landscapes in musical contexts that lead the audience to the suspension of time for deep listening, and to the meditative dimension created by the Buddhist Temple where chanting sounds temper passions, heal egos, free minds.

To me, “East in the West” itself is the reason for the existence of Art, the most powerful description of Music: a physical action that empowers our minds and opens our hearts. In this way, sound becomes a force of universal unity, and everybody can discover the natural force of Music. Therefore, by joining this festival, you may experience the powerful voice of meditation, the breathing of Art, and the joy of Truth.”

Francesco Mastromatteo

A Message from Venerable Jue Ji, Director of Xiang Yun Temple

“Music has the power to transcend the boundaries of space and time. Even in the places where our feet may not take us, our sound can carry on and echo out. It is in this way that Fo Guang Shan founder Venerable Master Hsing Yun envisioned and embraced music as a means to bring people together. After arriving in Taiwan, he first made inroads with the local community by organizing a local youth choir around contemporary music. This forward-thinking of Humanistic Buddhism continued through his “Sounds of Human World” project, where he bridged Buddhist tradition and modern culture.

It is here at Xiang Yun Temple, we carry on this mission by sponsoring and collaborating Classical Music For the World’s Spring Festival 2025 and a partnership with the Buddhist Light International Association. We hope this music festival will bring joy and unity to the local Austin community. By exploring Buddhist chanting and classical music performances, we can demonstrate the universality of music. That regardless of cultural background and language, we can come together and celebrate.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun said, “A common ground can be found despite the differences. Moreover, harmonious coexistence can be achieved by respecting and embracing one another.”. By opening our minds, our hearts, and our ears, we can find healing and realize harmony in this human world.”

Venerable Jue Ji