In 1421, Third Ming Dynasty Emperor, Zhu Di, sent out an armada to circumnavigate the globe, led by five Mongol Muslim Eunuchs. These remarkable Chinese admirals rounded the Cape of Hope sixty-six years before Dias, passed through the Strait of Magellan ninety-eight years before Magellan, surveyed Australia three centuries before Captain Cook, Antartica and the Artic four centuries before the first Europeans, and America seventy years before Columbus. The great admirals Zheng He, Hong Boa, Zhou Man, Zhou Wen and Yang Qing deserve to be remembered and celebrated too, for they were the first, the bravest and most daring of all. Those who followed them, no matter how great their achievements, were sailing in their wake. ORCHESTRATION Piccolo 2 Flutes (doubling on Alto Flute) 2 Oboes English Horn 2 Bb Clarinets Bass Clarinet 2 Bassoons Contra Bassoon 4 Horns in F 2 Bb Trumpets 2 Tenor Trombones Bass Trombone Tuba Six percussionists: Marimba Vibraphone Tubular Bells (A3, G3, D3) Crash Cymbal Tam tam 4 Timpani Snare Bass 18-22 1st Violins 16-20 2nd Violins 14-18 Violas 10-12 Celli 8-10 Basses Duration: (51:29)