By ESTHER WU / The Dallas Morning News

Most people associate I.M. Pei with grand buildings. After all, the architect is best known for such works as the critically acclaimed Grand Louvre glass pyramid in Paris, the National Gallery's East Building in Washington, D.C., the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong and the Dallas City Hall.

He is a man who creates architectural masterpieces out of concrete, steel and glass. But he also creates bridges, using people as the foundation.

Mr. Pei is the founder of the Committee of 100, which was created to foster better understanding between the people of the United States and China and more opportunities in all fields for Chinese-Americans.

Ieoh Ming Pei, who was born in China in 1917, came to the United States at 17 to study architecture. In 1955, he founded I.M. Pei & Associates, which would become I.M. Pei & Partners in 1966 and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1989, the same year he completed the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center -- his first and only music hall.

Mr. Pei returns to Dallas this week as the Meyerson celebrates its 15th anniversary. He will serve as the honorary co-chairman Saturday for the annual Dallas Symphony benefit gala, featuring violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Ironically in 1989, just months before the Meyerson opened, another event took place across the globe that would become the inspiration for the committee.

On June 4, 1989, Chinese troops moved in on hundreds of students demonstrating for government reform in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Many students and innocent bystanders were killed in the standoff that lasted several days.

"I.M. received more than 300 requests for interviews from journalists, legislators and others in public policy regarding his reactions to Tiananmen Square," said Henry Tang, a New York banker and committee co-founder. "From those requests, other inquiries came in that spanned topics from environmental issues to military spending between the U.S. and China."

Mr. Pei felt that he could not speak for all Chinese-Americans, so he gathered a few prominent Chinese-Americans to discuss the issue at his office.

"They included leaders in the business field, the arts and in sciences," said Shirley Young, the founding chairman of the committee. "These were people who could not only offer their Chinese perspective, but who could speak from a national perspective," said the former General Motors executive. "I.M. envisioned a group of prominent Chinese-Americans joining together to serve as a voice for the community."

The idea stuck.

Since 1990, when the committee made its official debut, its members have instituted regional leadership conferences, promoted cultural exchange programs between China and the United States and conducted the first national survey to gauge U.S. attitudes toward Asian-Americans.

"Through the committee, I.M. has successfully combined the sum of the business, political, cultural, and scientific clout of our members to create a respected and effective national voice for not only Chinese-Americans but also the Asian-American community as a whole," said committee member Wilson Chu, a Dallas lawyer who also serves as the group's general counsel.

"His vision and stewardship continue to inspire and energized us all to step up and to set our sights higher as we take our places in mainstream America," he said.

Membership in the Committee of 100, which is by invitation only, includes Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang, AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho and journalist Lisa Ling.

His buildings may long stand as a monument to the architect, but his committee already has made a lasting impact that will be felt by generations to come.

Mr. Pei will participate in "The Music, The Masterpiece, The Meyerson," a moderated discussion that also will include acoustician Russell Johnson and Morton H. Meyerson from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The discussion at the Meyerson is free and open to the public.