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Wu Man and the Bay Area Shawm Band, 2/15/08
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Carnegie Hall News
Back to Press Release List > 01/11/2008 - Wu Man and the Bay Area Shawm Band, 2/15/08
RENOWNED PIPA PLAYER WU MAN PERFORMS WITH THE BAY AREA SHAWM BAND
IN ZANKEL HALL ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15 AT 8:30 P.M.
On Friday, February 15 at 8:30 p.m., in Zankel Hall, pipa virtuoso Wu Man shares the stage with the Bay Area Shawm Band, whose compelling music stems from the ancient folk traditions of rural China. The program, featuring solo and collaborative works, contrasts the refined bell tones of the Chinese pipa with the wild and raucous earthy sounds of the souna (double reeds) and percussion used in Chinese village ceremonies. This performance is presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with the World Music Institute.
Traditional shawm-band musicians, often male farmers in China, perform daily-life celebration music in and around their villages, mostly at weddings, funerals, and market fairs. Since the early 1980s, many young Chinese artists and musicians have immigrated to the West, producing a new wave of talent in the areas of art, film, fashion, and music. The Bay Area Shawm Band, which consists of conservatory-trained traditional Chinese musicians from the San Francisco Bay area, was assembled by Wu Man to connect with the ancient traditions of the Chinese shawm. Band members include Zhang Yu (souna), Wanpeng Guo (sheng), Hong Wang (guanzi/percussion), and Xian Lu (dizi). Wu Man and the Bay Area Shawm Band draw influences from the many styles to which they have been exposed and combine them with the more urban influences in contemporary works. The music they explore during this performance originates in the northern provinces of Hebei, Xian, and Shang Dong, and the southern part of China known as the Shanghai region.
Wu Man is an internationally renowned pipa virtuoso, cited by the Los Angeles Times as “the artist most responsible for bringing the pipa to the Western World.” Born in Hangzhou, China, Wu Man studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing where she became the first recipient of a master’s degree in pipa. Wu Man was chosen as a Bunting Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard University and was selected by Yo-Yo Ma as the winner of the City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize in music and communication. She is also the first artist from China to have performed at the White House with the noted cellist with whom she now performs as part of the Silk Road Project. Wu Man has collaborated with other distinguished musicians such as David Zinman, Yuri Bashmet, Kronos Quartet, and Cho-liang Lin. In the orchestral world she has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and many others. Her touring has taken her to the major music halls of the world including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Upcoming recordings include Terry Riley’s Cusp of Magic with the Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch Records), Lou Harrison’s Pipa Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO Resound), and an album with the Silk Road Ensemble (Sony/BMG).
Zhang Yu (souna) graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and was a soloist and member of the souna section in the Central National Orchestra, one of the top orchestras in China. Wanpeng Guo (sheng) studied the sheng, souna, guanzi, and dizi at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing. The principle sheng player in the Central National Orchestra, he received honors for being a First Class Performer by Cultural Department of China and toured throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, and Korea. Hong Wang (guanzi/percussion) currently serves as artistic director of Melody of China, a San Francisco-based ensemble. He has performed works by Meredith Monk and Tan Dun, and with musicians such as Max Roach, David Murray, and Wei Wu, among others. Xian Lu (dizi) began studying flute as a child and participated in numerous competitions and festivals winning first prize in the wind instruments category at the First Chinese Folk Music Instrument Competition. Most recently, he served as Guest Professor of Wind Instruments at Laney College in Oakland, California.
In addition to this concert, this season’s world views series includes Armenia’s premier folk troupe, the Shoghaken Ensemble on January 26, and Brazilian singer-songwriter-guitarist Lenine on May 9. Earlier this season, the series featured performances by 17 of Central Asia’s finest artists in a program entitled Spiritual Sounds of Central Asia; and a performance of Turkish and Kurdish folk music with the Nevzat Akpinar Ensemble.
Carnegie Hall’s world views series is presented in partnership with the World Music Institute, which is dedicated to the study and presentation of the finest traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world. Growing out of a concert program developed at New York’s Alternative Museum begun in 1976, the World Music Institute has presented music from more than 100 countries in regions throughout the world.
Program Information
Friday, February 15 at 8:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
WU MAN AND BAY AREA SHAWM BAND
Wu Man, Pipa
Bay Area Shawm Band
Wanpeng Guo, Sheng
Xian Lu, Dizi
Hong Wang, Guanzi/Percussion
Zhang Yu, Souna
Presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with the World Music Institute.
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
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Ticket Information
Tickets, priced at $36 and $44, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street. Tickets may also be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or online by visiting www.carnegiehall.org.
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