Recent seasons programmed by the Fontana Chamber Arts have stretched listening capacities of audiences by commissioning original works by gifted composers and by programming more ecumenical compositions from broader geographic areas of the musical world.

Wednesday evening's season opener, "Bridges from the East," featured four newly commissioned works that required exotic musical instruments from China. The program at Dalton Center Recital Hall was largely successful.

Wang Guowei on the erhu (a two-stringed instrument) and Yang Wei on the pipa (a four-stringed, pear-shaped lute) are exceedingly fine artists who know how to coax extraordinary music from their instruments.

John Bruce Yeh and Teresa Reilly, playing different-ranged clarinets, performed two works together -- the commissioned piece ``Little Cabbage,'' by Bright Sheng (present in the audience), and several selections from ``Two & Three Part Inventions,'' by J.S. Bach.

Rousing Wednesday's audience the most were commissioned works by Victoria Bond (who was present) and Lu Pei.

Victoria Bond stepped on stage to comment on the design of "Bridges," her work for the ensemble. Four actual bridges inspired her, and each bridge was musically conveyed with wonderfully varied effects.

"Railroad Trestle Bridge, Galax, Virginia" used the clarinets to produce the chugging sound of the railroad engine, with the pipa and erhu adding "moving music" and a random train-whistle sound. The concept here was clever and very well effected. "Stone Bridge Over a Reflecting Pool in Souzhou" permitted the erhu and pipa to transform their natural sounds into a lovely, meditative aura..