Chinese Arts Presents
An evening of Chinese Music and Dance
Celebrate Chinese New Year 2008
The Silk and Bamboo Ensemble
Wednesday 30 January, 7.30pm at The Shrewsbury Music Hall
PROGRAMME
1. Ensemble:
Full of Joy (folk music from Northeast China)
Purple Bamboo Melody ("silk & bamboo" music, Shanghai tea-house music)
Flute and Drum at Sunset (classical civil style, score 1790)
2. Beijing Opera - Farewell to the Concubine -- Liang Qin
3. Yangqin (dulcimer) solo -- Hang Ying
Beautiful African (by Yu Qingzhu, 1982)
4. Man Dance-Ribbon Charm -- Gina Wei
5. Erhu (two-stringed violin) solo -- Qiu Zeng Hui
Harvest Festival (by Gui Wuxiang 1978)
Darkness of the Night (Jinghu - Beijing Opera fiddle)
6. Ensemble:
Jasmine Flower (folk music, Southeast China)
The River of Liuyang (folk music Southwest China)
7. Wind instrument solo -- Liu Xiaohu
Autumn Thoughts at the Dressing Table (guanzi double reed pipe)
Spring Arrived at the Green Lake (Sheng bamboo mouth organ)
8. Dance - Peacock (Dai Minority, southwest China) -- Gina Wei
9. Pipa (4-stringed lute) solo -- Cheng Yu
White Snow In Sunny Spring (classical, early 17th Century)
Dance of the Yi People (Composed by Wang Huiran, 1965)
10. Ensemble:
Colorful Clouds and the Moon (Canoness music)
Moving Up (Canoness music)
This concert is organised by Shropshire Music Trust
The Ensemble's CD is available tonight at a special price of £10 each.
During the day the Artists have been running Workshops in Local Schools
The Silk and Bamboo Ensemble
"...perfect, vibrant performances... technical perfection and brilliant playing..." Songlines.
The Silk and Bamboo (string and wind) Ensemble is a UK-based professional Chinese music group with international recognitions. The group profiles the best in Chinese musical talent in the UK and Europe, comprising established virtuosi performing both traditional and modern music including newly composed and specially commissioned pieces.
Since 1998, the musicians have been performing at festivals and cultural events, have been in demand for media and film recordings and regularly offer educational activities in schools in the UK and Europe. Apart from appearing at London Southbank's Purcell Room, and Queen Elisabeth Hall, the Royal Opera House and the Edinburgh International Festival, the musicians also played in Europe and beyond such as WOMEX (Spain), WOMAD (Canada, Sweden), Spoleto (Italy), Malasa (Germany) and in France. On this special occasion, the group will be playing a selection of traditional and modern Chinese music including classical, folk and regional repertories.
The Musicians
Cheng Yu - pipa lute (founder of the ensemble) currently teaches pipa and guqin at SOAS, University of London, former soloist in the China Central Orchestra of Chinese Music, Beijing, and holds BMus., MMus. and PhD degrees; Qiu Zenghul - erhu and jinghu fiddle (former lead musician with the National Beijing Opera Troupe and a graduate of the China National Beijing Opera School); Han Ying - yangqin dulcimer player and percussionist (BMus from Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and a postgraduate in percussion, with full scholarship and distinction, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester), Liu Xiaohu - dizi (bamboo flute), sheng (bamboo mouth-organ) and guanzi (double-reed pipe) player (former lead wind instruments player in Beijing-based Film Music orchestra). Wan Ying - ran base lutes, born in Beijing and graduated in composition from the Shoobi Music Academy in Tokyo. Since settling in the UK in mid 90s, he has worked in Chinese music both in the UK and in Europe as a music arranger, ran and gehu (base fiddle) player and percussionist.
The Beijing Opera performer
Liang Qin specialises in daomadan (Military Lady's role). She gained a diploma in 1999 from the Performance Department of the National Academy of Chinese Opera, Beijing and graduated in 2002 from the Music Education Department of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. She has given many performances since arriving in the UK in 2004.
The Dancer
Gina Wei was born in Xian, northwest China. She started to dance when she was 6 years of ago and further trained as a folk dancer in the Dance Department in the University of Shaan'xi. She worked as a dance teacher in the Second High School in Xianyang City, Shaanxi before coming to England in 2005. She has performed various styles of Chinese dance widely in the UK.
For more information, please email chengyu@ukchinesemusic.com, or phone us on
+ 44 (0) 20 7813 2732 (t.), +44 0788 089 6003 (m.), or visit www.ukchinesemusic.com
Registered Charity No. 1023243
Last Updated : 31/01/2008