Lushan is the most mystical mountain in China. Logan Roots traveled from Little Rock to China in 1896, met his wife, and became a bishop there. It was on this mountain that their humble family commenced work that continued through six decades of China's fascinating and tumultuous history; forged strong ties and friendships with religious and governmental leaders, such as Zhou Enlai and Chiang Kaishek, through wartime and beyond; lived through revolutions, floods, famines, and invasions; and Frances Blakeslee Roots came into the world. Frances was destined to live a most extraordinary life. As a pianist, she became a musical ambassador through thousands of concerts for world leaders and masses of music-lovers. The Lushan Suite - written in her birthplace for the 1972 concert for her friend, Premier Zhou Enlai - incorporated the chanting from her childhood of the stone workers who built the Thousand Steps to the top of the mountain. Frances was the first Westerner invited by Premier Zhou back to China after the reopening of China following the Cultural Revolution. The Suite's world premiere in 1972 was internationally acclaimed and paved the way for further diplomacy. With China's history unfolding around her, this is the true story of how Frances channeled her unique talents and connections to unite people in our shared humanity.
