Heart to Heart MV

On May 1, 1982, 41 years ago, under the leadership of the then Mayor Kevin White, the cultural metropolises of Boston, USA and Hangzhou, China, two cities separated by 7,000 miles yet sharing many common traits, became sister cities through mutual efforts. Over the course of more than four decades, this friendly relationship has grown increasingly steadfast. On May 1, 2022, the City of Boston organized a commemorative event marking the 40th anniversary of the friendship between Hangzhou and Boston. Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston declared May 1 as "Boston-Hangzhou Day" and issued an official proclamation certificate. To support the upcoming 19th Asian Games scheduled for September 23, 2023, in Hangzhou, with the kind concern and backing of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and City Council President Ed Flynn, Boston Film Academy (BFA) and American Academy of World Music (AAWM) jointly initiated, in collaboration with NAHA (North American Hangzhou Association), the creation of a song titled "Heart to Heart." This song serves as a manifestation of Boston's sister city bond with Hangzhou and its support for the Asian Games.Thanks AWA (American Weston Academy), and US-China Music Institute Bard College Conservatory of Music for supporting. The song was co-composed by TianTian Feng, the composer of the theme song for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics torch relay, and Lucas Li, an emerging singer-songwriter from Boston. The lyrics were penned by Leakey Li and TianTian Feng. The music video was directed by the renowned director Leakey Li, produced by Lulu Lai (Co-founder of Boston Film Academy), supervised by Gary Yu (President of North American Hangzhou Association) and Yazhi Guo (Dean of American Academy of World Music), with Heping Zhang , a distinguished film and television planner, lyricist, and National First-level Screenwriter, serving as the artistic consultant. The song features vocals by TianTian Feng and Eyzaguirre, both from Berklee College of Music. It also brings together an ensemble of talented Boston musicians, including Wes Wirth on bass, Yazhi Guo on suona, Lucas Li and Jorge Martinez on guitar, Kendall & Essa on pipa, Easton Boyors Jackson on drums, Joaquin & Eric on saxophone, and Siying Yang providing vocal harmonies, Melonie Bi on bamboo flute, and Daniel Dou responsible for arrangement and production. This group of exceptional musicians from Boston collaborates to deliver a captivating performance. The title "Heart to Heart" is derived from the theme of this year's Asian Games, "Heart to Heart @Future" The song conveys the heartfelt encouragement for the athletes on the sports fields of the Hangzhou Asian Games and the collective pursuit of "friendship" and "peace" by humanity. Simultaneously, it expresses the warm wishes and blessings from Boston and overseas Chinese communities for the successful hosting of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The song "Heart to Heart" seamlessly integrates the distinctive local style of Hangzhou's storytelling music (Pingtan) with the song. The fusion of Eastern and Western musical elements is perfectly balanced, and the incorporation of traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa, suona, and bamboo flute highlights the unique charm of Chinese ethnic music.