Event
“Chinese Music?” “What is Chinese music?” “How does Chinese music sound like?” “Which genres are considered as Chinese music?”… Endless questions could be raised when today’s audiences encounter any form of Chinese music culture. From traditional instruments such as Guqin (古琴, seven-string zither) to the somewhat controversial Westernized Piano Concerto of the “Yellow River,” from the local genres such as Nanyin (南音, the Southern Pipe) to the globally renowned cultural heritage such as Kunqu (昆曲, the Kun Opera), and from the historical ritual music liyue (礼乐, Ritual Music) to the Chinese style in C-Pop, Chinese music takes various forms and has cultivated a dynamic culture on a global scale.
In fact, the history of Chinese music has always been a history of cultural exchange. Not only the modernization of Chinese music at the turn of the 20th century absorbed much influence from interactions with Western societies, but also some earliest musical exchanges between China and the West could be dated back to the exchange and appropriation of instruments such as lute and Pipa on the Silk Road during the 7th century. As the British ethnomusicologist Jonathan Stock has concluded, “studying Chinese music offers a position from which to gain insight not only into Chinese life but also to comment on trends in global musical culture.”
Founding this chamber music ensemble, we wish to set a platform for the Penn community to experiment different possibilities of Chinese music and to experience Chinese music culture through multiple ways—as musicians, audience, or even critics. Regarding instruments, we warmly welcome both traditional Chinese instruments such as Dizi, Guzheng, and Erhu, and Western instruments including piano, violin, cello, flute, and clarinet. In order to bring a high-quality music experience, rehearsals and performances will mainly take the form of small chamber ensembles. Based on standards of timbre and genre, we will creatively bring different instruments together and make unorthodox combinations. (E.g., the Chinese instrument Guzheng and a cello could play a duet!)
The attached video is the Dizi Concerto “Going Westward,” performed by the two directors (Dizi: Devin Dekang Liang; Piano: Bess Xintong Liu), which is a classic example of traditional Chinese instruments collaborating with Western ones.
Our Music, as Envisioned
As any other kind of music culture in today’s world, Chinese music culture is both historically informed and contemporarily relevant. In order to explore the richness of Chinese music culture, the directors would choose repertoire from a variety of genres, time periods, and even ethnic groups. Depending on the instruments and musicians the ensemble recruit every single semester, directors would choose the most appropriate repertoire that not only realizing the potential of the musicians, but also culturally meaningful in some aspects such as compositional background, timbre, or a specific sentiment conveyed by the piece. In addition, through this ensemble, we hope to make music a protocol that connects people from different academic fields and cultural backgrounds in and beyond the Penn community.
In terms of repertoire and instrumentation, we value both traditional Chinese repertory and modern, or even popular ones. It is important to emphasize that the purpose of this ensemble is NOT to claim any form of authenticity. Instead, the directors hope to highlight the richness of Chinese music culture by treating all genres and instrumentations without any prejudice. While the directors will make the final decisions on repertoire and instrumentation, they would like to hear from all musicians about their preferences and opinions. Some possible genres include but does not limit to: traditional Chinese ensemble music (e.g. 江南丝竹Jiangnan Sizhu “Silk and Bamboo Music from Jiangnan”, ), Chinese folk music (e.g. 《茉莉花》, “The Jasmine Flower.”), modern Chinese repertoire composed for Western instruments (e.g. 马思聪《思乡曲》, “Nostalgia” composed for violin and piano, by Ma Si-Cong.), Chinese Pop music ( e.g. “中国风” “Chinese style in C-Pop,” 周杰伦《青花瓷》，Jay Chou ”Blue and White Porcelain.”), movie soundtracks (e.g. 谭盾《卧虎藏龙》原声带, Tan Dun, “Hidden Tiger, Crouching Tiger.”).
While we hope every musician who joins us can treat this ensemble as a serious commitment (e.g. coming to rehearsals on time, come with prepared pieces, treat fellow musicians with respect, etc.), we also hope to make rehearsals and performance venues for exchange of sounds and ideas. Besides regular rehearsals of pieces, we encourage discussions, debates, and improvisations on the music.
Directors’ Bios
Bess Xintong Liu is currently a PhD candidate in musicology from the Penn Music Department. Her main research interest lies in the musical exchange between the East and the West in the early 20th century. Her past researches include Chinese choral music history, history of modern Chinese piano artistry, and orchestra diplomacy between China and the Western world. In terms of music teaching, she has taught Western music history from 2017 to 2019 and gave a few guest lectures on Chinese music.
Besides her commitment in music scholarship, she is also an active performer and translator. Since coming to the United States in 2012, she has studied with the American pianist Elizabeth Keller and the Chinese-American pianist Dr. Xun Pan. She has also studied Western Classical singing with the American soprano Ms. Gwynne Geyer. In 2016, she won the College Concerto competition and performed “Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2” with the Franklin & Marshall College Orchestra. Besides giving piano and voice recitals, she also played from historical manuscripts and made recordings for academic purpose. As a translator, she has worked for the Strategic Partnership in Asia of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Devin Dekang Liang is a Chinese Dizi (bamboo flute) virtuoso, and currently a master student in architecture at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. He started studying Dizi performance at the age of five. He has studied with a few renowned Dizi virtuosi including Professor Zhang Fan from the Xinghai Conservatory of Music and Professor Dai Ya from the Central Conservatory of Music. In addition, he has studied traditional Chinese music theory and performance practice with numerous renowned musicians, such as Master Chan Hung-Yin from the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and Master Jiang Guo-Ji from the “Southern School.” While pursuing his undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts, he studied Western Classical flute performance, modern composition theories and performance practice with Professor Cobus Du toit. In 2017, He won the first place in the University Concerto Competition and became the first winner who brought Chinese instrument onto the stage of concerto performance in the University history.
During his studies in the United States, he has actively performed, directed, and studied music in various institutions including UMass Symphony Orchestra, UMass East Asia Studies Center, the Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Harvard University, Yale University, Mount Holyoke College, and Amherst College. In addition, as a member of the GAIA World Music Ensemble at the Berklee College, he was invited to perform at various occasions, such as the 2018 Seattle World Film Festival Opening Ceremony.
Besides Dizi performance, Devin is also committed to conducting. He was very much inspired by the Russian School and different conducting techniques employed by contemporary American conductors. He has conducted a few ensembles such as the UMass Chinese-Western Symphony Orchestra and the Mount Holyoke College Chinese Music Ensemble. As a musician who received both traditional Chinese music training and Western Classical music education, he has cultivated a personal style in his musicianship and cannot wait to share his music with the Penn Community!
Auditions
We warmly welcome any capable musician who is interested in experiencing Chinese music to come and audition. The instruments that we are recruiting include but do not limit to:
1) Western Classical Instruments: Violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, flute, trumpet, bassoon, Classical guitar, piano, and any percussion instrument.
2) Traditional Chinese instruments: Erhu (二胡, fiddle), Dizi (笛子, bamboo flute), Guzheng (古筝, 21-stringed ziher), Guqin (古琴, 7-stringed zither), Pipa (琵琶, Chinese lute), Yangqin (扬琴, Chinese hammered dulcimer), Xiao (箫, vertical flute), Gu (鼓, drum of any size), Hulusi (葫芦丝), Bawu (巴乌).
*Please bring your own instrument unless you are auditioning for piano.
In general, we look for the following qualities in every single musician:
1) Solid performance technique.
2) Musicianship.
3) Experience in ensemble performances.
4) Interests in improvisation.
Every candidate who wishes to join the ensemble has a total of 20 minutes for the recital. The audition is generally divided into two sections:
a) Prepared Repertoire, please see the following list for prepared repertoire.
b) Sight-reading. Specific requirements on sight-reading will be given by the directors on the spot.