Stephanie Chou - Silent Films in Sound: The Curse of Quon Gwon and The Tong Man

Commissioned by the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Stephanie Chou presents original scores to two classic AAPI silent films.
The Curse of Quon Gwon (Dir. Marion E. Wong, 1916, 33min.) is a pioneering, partially lost silent film, and the earliest known Chinese-American feature film. It’s one of the first films directed by a woman in the United States. The members of a Chinese family living in the US have a curse put upon them for becoming too “westernized”.

The Tong Man (Dir. William Worthington, 1919, 46min.) is a crime thriller starring Sessue Hayakwa, the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man in Hollywood. An opium smuggler is marked for murder in this story of the Chinese Mafia.

Stephanie Chou is a composer/saxophonist/singer who seamlessly blends influences from her Chinese heritage with Western jazz and pop to create a bracingly original sound. She and her band will bring a unique cross-cultural expression and artistic vision to the stage for an evening treat for cinephiles and music aficionados alike. These vibrant scores pair music and movies in both traditional and innovative ways.

Show 7pm / Doors 6pm
Tickets/More info: https://publictheater.org/performances-jp/2026/s/stephanie-chou-silent-films-in-sound-the-curse-of-quon-gwon-and-the-tong-man/
Enjoy two of the earliest AAPI films with new live scores - and be ready for daring sound and vision collisions! Don’t miss this one-night-only movie-music matchup!

Featuring:
Stephanie Chou - voice, alto saxophone, compositions
Andy Lin - erhu, viola, violin
Hyuna Park - piano
Matt Aronoff - bass
Ronen Itzik - drums, percussion

Artist Website: www.stephaniechoumusic.com
Band trailer video: https://youtu.be/MVsSf8Ugt1c
Jazz at Lincoln Center - Sizzle Reel: https://youtu.be/ooZuieEC0Gk
Dragon: https://www.stephaniechoumusic.com/dragon
Broadway World review - “Stephanie Chou Played Wonderfully at Jazz at Lincoln Center”