Laotong or LaoTong (in English: old sames; written: 老同 in Mandarin) is a type of relationship within Chinese culture, which was practised in Hunan, that bonded two girls together for eternity as kindred sisters.

There were two cultural practises in Hunan in past centuries that acknowledged women's social bonds. One was Laotong, the other was Laotang.

Chinese women commonly refer to each other as "Sisters." This is a recognition of the importance of women's supportive relationships, which helped them endure hardship over their lives. Preparation for marriage might involve a Laotang relationship between several young women; the sisterhood would be dissolved upon marriage. After marriage, new sisterhoods could be formed later between married or widowed women.^[1]

For Chinese women, the Laotong or "Old-Sames" relationship was the most precious friendship bond. This was a more rare and formal relationship between women. A woman could only have one Laotong, and the bond was for life.

Often a Laotong relationship would be formed when a marriage was contracted between families who were expecting babies. This was done before the babies were born. If both children turned out female against the hopes of their families, the daughters could be brought together as Laotong. An intermediary, in some places a matchmaker, would form a Laotong relationship between two girls, similar to an arranged marriage. The Chinese astrological profiles of the girls were considered during the matching process. It was unusual for a Laotong relationship to be broken.^[2]

The relationship was made formal by the signing of a contract, which would be done much like a legal contract, using a seal. Laotong would frequently develop a language to use to communicate between them that only they could understand (a type of Nu shu), allowing them to send messages back and forth to one another.

These elements of the Laotong practise are shown in Lisa See's novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which was made into a 2011 movie directed by Wayne Wang^[3].

China portal

See also[link]

• Nu shu
• Women in ancient China
• Hunan
• Chinese social relations
• Women's history
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

References[link]

Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman,^[1] OBE (born 11 December 1960)^[1] is a British composer, best known for her film work. She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score (for Emma in 1996). (Previously, female songwriters Barbra Streisand, in 1977, Buffy Sainte-Marie, in 1983, and Carly Simon, in 1989, each won Oscars, but in the category of Best Original Song).

Life and career[link]

Portman was born on 11 December 1960 in Haslemere, England, the daughter of Penelope (née Mowat) and Berkeley Charles Portman.^[1] She was educated at Charterhouse School and Worcester College, Oxford.

Portman was nominated for an Academy Award for her scores for The Cider House Rules in 1999 and Chocolat in 2000. She has also composed the scores for dozens of other feature films, as well as an unused score for the film Dangerous Beauty (George Fenton replaced her, but some of her material still remains in the film). For television, she composed the score for all thirteen episodes of Jim Henson's The Storyteller, and two episodes of The Jim Henson Hour ("Monster Maker" and "Living with Dinosaurs").

Her other works include a children's opera, The Little Prince (which was later adapted for television) and a musical based upon the Laura Ingalls Wilder books Little House on the Prairie (2008). Portman was commissioned to write a piece of choral music for the BBC Proms series in August 2007.

On 19 May 2010, Rachel Portman was honored at the BMI Film & TV Awards with the Richard Kirk Award, which is bestowed on composers who have made significant contributions to the realm of film and television music. Portman made BMI history as she became the first woman composer to receive the honor, joining an elite list that includes Christopher Young, George S. Clinton, Mark Mothersbaugh, Danny Elfman, Alan Menken, Mike Post, Lalo Schifrin, John Barry, and John Williams.^[2]

Portman was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.^[3]

Scores[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rachel Portman Official Website
• Rachel Portman at the Internet Movie Database
• Rachel Portman at Chester Novello
• Rachel Portman at The Danish Filmmusic Society (DFS)

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Justyna Steczkowska
Background information
Birth name	Justyna Steczkowska
Born	(1972-08-02) August 2, 1972 (age 39) Stalowa Wola, Poland
Origin	Polish
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer, composer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, violin
Years active	1994–present
Website	www.justynasteczkowska.pl

Justyna Steczkowska (b. August 2, 1972 in Stalowa Wola, Poland) is a Polish singer, song-writer, and actress.

She comes from a big musical family, and played violin in a family band before becoming a solo singer. She has a vocal range of 4 octaves.

Steczkowska became famous when she won a song contest in Poland Szansa na sukces with the song "Buenos Aires". Later, she represented Poland in the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Sama", ("Alone") which was placed eighteenth. After a few CDs with her own songs, she released Alkimja, a compilation of Jewish songs with Polish lyrics. She received multiple awards including a Fryderyk for The Best Song of The Year. She appeared in two films: Billboard and Na koniec świata (To the End of the World).

She took part in the Polish edition of Dancing with the Stars (the sixth edition) where she came in second and in co-hosts Dancing on Ice.

She sold over 700,000 albums.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• Moja intymność – 1994
• Sama – 1995
• Dziewczyna szamana - 1996
• Oko za oko – 1996- awarded The Song of The Year title
• Grawitacja – 1996
• Niekochani – 1996
• Tatuuj mnie – 1996
• Niebezpieczne związki (feat. Grzegorz Turnau) – 1997
• Za dużo wiesz – 1997
• Za karę – 1998
• Kici kici maj – 1998
• Kryminalna Miłość – 1998
• Na koniec świata – 1999
• Kosmiczna Rewolucja – 2000
• Podróżując – 2000
• Świat jest niewierny – 2000
• To koniec – 2000
• Mów do mnie jeszcze – 2001
• Mówisz do mnie moja – 2001
• Co to jest miłość – 2001
• Śpiewaj Yidl Mitn Fidl – 2002
• Świt świt – 2002
• Wszyscy braćmi być powinni – 2002
• Zadzwoń do mnie – 2004
• Tłum – 2005
• To nie miłość (to tylko złudzenie) – 2007
• Tu i tu – 2007
• Daj mi chwilę – 2007
• Choć wieje, pada, grzmi feat. Borys Szyc – 2008
• Tajemnice uczuć - 2008
• Czas – 2008
• Filozof (feat. Bogusław Mec) – 2008
• Wracam do domu - 2008
• Odnajdę Cię - 2008
• To mój czas - 2009
• Tango - 2009
• Proszę Cię - Skłam - 2009
• Kim Tu Jestem - ?
• Tylko Ty Znasz Te Zaklęcia - ?

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website-polish
• Biography (Polish)
• Review of To mój czas (2009)
• Justyna Steczkowska Full Artist Discography (Polish)
• Justyna Steczkowska on Last.fm (English)

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Yihan Chen is a Chinese pianist and composer, now living in Plainfield, Indiana.

Biography[link]

He made his debut concert at Hilbert Circle Theater, Indianapolis, USA on February 26, 2006. At 15 years old, he has written compositions including piano solos and sonatas, piano concerto, string trios and quartets, music for Jazz band, concert band and full orchestra. After being in the US for only 5 months, Chen won both the Young Artist Competition sponsored by the New World Youth Orchestras and Young Composer's Contest sponsored by the University of Indianapolis, and appeared on the front page of the Indianapolis Star, The Lebanon Reporter, Hendricks County Flyer, and Plainfield Magazine.^[1] In January 2010, Chen won the senior divion of the same competition. In December 2007, he won the Young Artist Competition sponsored by the Carmel Symphony Orchestra.^[2] He played with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra on the Family Fun! concert on February 10, 2008. Chen has also won the IMTA hoosier auditions and the IMTA composition competition in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Chen has also appeared at the Honors Recital of Indiana University Piano Academy for four consecutive years, and has won the first place of the duet competition in 2008 with Brook Zhang. Chen is also the First Prize Winner of the 2010 Young Artist Piano Concerto Competition co-sponsored by the Paducah Symphony Orchestra and the Murray State University.

Chen is enrolled in the pre-college program of Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. He studies piano with the program director Dr. Karen Taylor, and music composition with the composer Dr. Don Freund.^[3][4]

Works[link]

2010[link]

• A Swan for Choir [天鹅（合唱）]
• Reminiscence for Violin and Piano [回忆（小提琴与钢琴）]

2009[link]

• Nian Nu Jiao for Voice Solo [念奴娇（声乐独唱）]
• Wind Quintet [木管五重奏]
• Etude in C # Minor for Piano Solo [升C小调练习曲（钢琴独奏）]
• Etude in D Minor for Piano Solo [D小调练习曲（钢琴独奏）]
• Two Fantasy Pieces for Piano Solo [梦幻曲二首（钢琴独奏）]

1. Dreamscapes [梦境]
2. Whim [心血来潮]

• Two Visions for Piano Solo [影像二首（钢琴独奏）]

1. Reverie [冥想]
2. Delusion [欺骗]

• DK the Barbarian for Trumpet, Horn, and Trombone [野人DK（小号、圆号与长号）
• Dandelion’s Epic for Log Drums and Conga Drums [蒲公英史诗（木头鼓与康加鼓）]

2008[link]

• String Trio [弦乐三重奏]
• Dance Under the Bridge for two Alto Saxophones [桥下之舞（中音萨克斯管二重奏）]
• Nostalgia from An Old Notebook for Concert Band [陈年笔记本之怀旧曲（管乐队）]
• The Game of Major Seconds for Piano Solo [大二度的游戏（钢琴独奏）]
• Fugue for Piano Solo [赋格（钢琴独奏）]
• Hallucination for Piano Solo [幻觉（钢琴独奏）]
• Invention for Piano Solo [二部创意曲（钢琴独奏）]

2007[link]

• An Unanswered Question for Flute Solo [无回答的问号（长笛独奏）]
• Piano Concerto in G Minor [G小调钢琴协奏曲]
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for Orchestra [晨踏号的航程（管弦乐队）]
• An Unexpected Meeting for Piano Solo [意外的遇会（钢琴独奏）]
• String Quartet [弦乐四重奏]

2006[link]

• The Last Day of School for Horn Solo [放假喽（圆号独奏）]
• The Dance of Water Splash for Piano Solo [水花之舞（钢琴独奏）]
• Prelude for Piano Solo [前奏曲（钢琴独奏）]
• Trio for Violin, Viola, and Cello [三重奏（小提琴、中提琴与大提琴）]
• Duet for Clarinet and Viola [二重奏（单簧管与中提琴）]
• Boss for Jazz Band [老大（爵士乐队）]
• Three Preludes for Piano Solo [前奏曲三首（钢琴独奏）]

1. Prelude [前奏曲]
2. Prelude [前奏曲]
3. Prelude [前奏曲]

• A Man from China for Cello Solo [有一个人来自中国（大提琴独奏）]

2005[link]

• Rondo for Violin and Piano [回旋曲（小提琴与钢琴）]
• A Good Time for Flute Solo [美好时光（长笛独奏）]
• 降A大调奏鸣曲 [Piano Sonata in A Flat Major]
• 云 [Cloud]
• 飘 [Buoyancy]
• 自信 [Confidence]
• 乡野 [Pastorale]
• 大地 [Earth]
• 梵高《星月夜》 [Starry Night (Inspired by the Painting of Vincent Van Gogh)]
• 动力 [Force]
• 黄河 [Yellow River]
• 秋日的诗 [An Autumn Poem]
• 香格里拉组曲 [Shangri-la: A Suite for Piano Solo]

1. 水之魅 [Charm of Water]
2. 草之秀 [Grace of Grass]
3. 雪山之神 [Goddess of Snow Mountain]
4. 理想境界 [An Ideal World]

• 鲁宾孙漂流记 [Robinson Crusoe]

2004[link]

• 江南明珠 – 常州 [Gem of River South – Changzhou]
• 贝多芬印象 [Beethoven Impression]
• 中国小品 [Chinese Bagatelle]
• 爵士乐（老大） [Boss (In the Style of Jazz)]
• 夜曲 [Nocturne]
• 夜曲 [Nocturne]
• 浪漫曲 [Romance]
• F大调奏鸣曲 [Piano Sonata in F Major]
• 梦 [Dream]
• 雅典娜 [Athena]
• 维纳斯诞生 [Birth of Venus]
• 都市随想曲 [Metropolitan Capriccio]
• 遐想 [Reverie]
• 保罗•塞尚《圣维克多山》印象 [Mont Sainte-Victoire Impression (Inspired by the Painting of Paul Cézanne)]
• 乔治•比埃尔•修拉《大碗岛星期日》印象 [A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte Impression (Inspired by the Painting of Georges Pierre Seurat)]
• 克洛德•莫奈《日出》印象 [Sunrise Impression (inspired by the Painting of Claude Monet)]
• 休闲广场 [Leisure City Square]
• 克洛德•莫奈《睡莲》印象 [Waterlilies Impression (Inspired by the Painting of Claude Monet)]
• 浪漫 [Romance]
• 水乡江南 [River South – Home of Waters]
• 迎接阳光 [Embracing Light]
• D大调奏鸣曲《春天》 [Piano Sonata in D Major, “Spring”]
• 春柳 [Spring Willows]
• 夜曲 [Nocturne]
• 晨 [Dawn]
• 思乡曲 [Nostalgia]

2003[link]

• 船歌 [Barcarolle]
• 快乐的新年 [Joyful New Year]
• 小夜曲 [Serenade]
• 练习曲（林中小溪） [Etude (Stream of Woods)]
• 练习曲（大海） [Etude (Ocean)]
• 月光 [Moonlight]
• 圣诞节组曲 [Christmas Suite]

1. 银色的世界 [A Silver World]
2. 平安夜 [Christmas Eve]
3. 永恒的爱 [Everlasting Love]

• 圆梦 [A Dream Fulfilled]
• 美丽的青岛 [The Beautiful Qingdao]
• 卖火柴的小女孩 [The Little Match Girl]
• 练习曲（暴风雨） [Etude (Tempest)]

References[link]