"The concert is very reflective of hope. Everybody everywhere went through an unquestionably difficult time that was unprecedented. But it's like the crocus coming up for spring out of the snowy winter. We can come back slowly as long as we all cooperate together, and music itself is universal," Flack says.

"You don't even have to speak the same language to be moved by a piece of music. If everyone feels the same way emotionally, we can almost get over any other kind of problems we have."

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy between China and the US, a mission that helped to open up exchanges between the two countries, culminating in former US president Richard Nixon's 1972 China trip.

"Since then, people of all walks of life in China and the US, including those in the art field, have deeply engaged in promoting China-US relations and made contributions to build a healthy and stable bilateral relationship," writes Huang Ping, China's consul general in New York, in a letter to the concert.

Since 2012, Image China has presented a series of Chinese dance dramas at the Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater, including The Peony Pavilion, Silk Road, The Red Dress, The Legend of Mulan, Dragon Boat Racing, Confucius, Soaring Wings and Princess Zhaojun.

A second concert, China Inspirations, will be staged on Nov 28 with artists from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.