A festival day to celebrate Chinese music: unlocking the secrets of one of the longest musical histories of the world.
Programme:
11:00 am Interactive exhibition of bowed string instruments from China and medieval Europe
6:00 pm Concert of traditional Chinese music by the Silk String Quartet
7:45 pm Concert of new Chinese music by the Yin Yang Collective
Hesperides (Basil Athanasiadis) for Chinese ensemble
Mountains and Hills (Kim Ho Ip) for mixed ensemble
Invisible Landscapes (Chen Xiaoyong) for zheng and ensemble
Ghost Opera (Tan Dun) for mixed ensemble
9:00 pm Chinese performance of a western new music classic by the Yin Yang Collective
The consolations of Scholarship (Judith Weir) for mixed ensemble
The Yin Yang Collective comprises the Silk String Quartet and the Chamber Music Company.
Venue:
St Marylebone Church
Marylebone Road
London NW1 5LT
(Baker St/Regents Park Tube station)
Time:
Tuesday, 9 December, 2008 11:00am, 6:00 - 9:30pm
Film screenings of Chinese cinema masterpieces
Live vguqin performance by Cheng Yu
Venue:
Louise Blouin Institute
3 Olaf Street
London W11
Time:
6:00 - 9:00 pm, Thursday 4, 11 and 18 December 2008
Masters Gong Yi and Dai Shuhong from the Jinyu Qin Society, Shanghai and guqin players of the London Youlan Qin Society.
The guqin or qin (7-stringed zither) is China's most celebrated traditional instrument, with an unbroken history of over 2000 years. This was a rare chance to hear the two most acclaimed
Southern China Masters on the guqin and xiao (vertical bamboo flute) at SOAS. For this London trip, the masters performed only for a private event in Clarence House and at SOAS with members
of the London Youlan Qin Society. Master Gong Yi is one of China's most prominent qin players. Dai Shuhong is a master of the xiao. They performed pieces from the refined and introspective
repertoire for the qin. An informal yaji ("elegant gathering") followed the performance.
Venue:
Room G3
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Streets
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
Time:
7:30pm - 9pm on Wednesday 26th November 2008
Hosted by
The London Youlan Qin Society and the Prince's Charities Foundation (China)
Cheng Yu on pipa with the Emperor Quartet.
This special concert was organised by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields as part of the Essex and Jiangsu (China) Festival. It presented the awarding winning
musical creation Ghost Opera, by one of the most highly acclaimed Chinese contemporary composers, Composer Tan Dan (Oscar winner for his film music for "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon").
Cheng Yu was invited to play the pipa for this work with the well-known UK based Emperor Quartet.
Ghost Opera is a five-movement work for string quartet and pipa with water, metal, stones, and paper. The composer describes this work as a reflection on human spirituality, which is
too often buried in the bombardment of urban culture and the rapid advances of technology. It is a cross-temporal, cross-cultural, and cross-media dialogue that touches on the past,
present, future, and the eternal; it employs elements from Chinese, Tibetan, English, and American cultures, and combines performance traditions of the European classical concert,
Chinese shadow puppet theatre, visual art installations, folk music, dramatic theatre, and shamanistic ritual.
Venue:
St Botolph's Church
14 Roman Road
Colchester CO1 1UR
Tel:01206 577905
Time:
7:30 pm, 16 November, 2008
A night of composition and China-West collaboration
This was an exciting, challenging and interesting music adventure between the Quartet and Matthew Barley "one of the most talented young cellists"
(Leonard Bernstein, 1986). Having won the PRS Performance Groups 2007 award, the Quartet was invited by Asian Music Circuit to work with Matthew Barley to present a concert
of primarily new China-West fusion music works.
This high-profile music project premièred some specially commissioned works written by well-known composer Professor Peter Weigold - creator of Armoured
Without at the BBC 2007 Proms, Barnaby Taylor - Composer of Wild China, Recent BBC documentary and Basil Athanasiadis - a talented young composer.
This was a rare opportunity to see this unique music collaboration.
Click here for poster (pdf file, 663 kB)
Venue:
Purcell Room
at Queen Elizabeth Hall
Southbank Centre
London
Time: 7.30pm Thursday, 13 November 2008
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
Venue:
Milbank
London SW1P 4RG
Time: 7:00pm
(private event)
Members of the UK Chinese Music Ensemble performed once again with this popular multimedia spectacular show. Following a summer of Monkey during the 2008 Olympics and a sold-out season at
London's Royal Opera House in July, Monkey: Journey to the West moved to a new home in November. The opera was performed at Monkey's World, a specially designed theatre built exclusively
to host the opera at the O2. The story is based on one of the best-known 16th century Chinese classic novels, by Wu Cheng'en. It is directed by Chen Shizheng, the music is by Damon Albarn
(Blur front singer) and the digital arts are by Jamie Hewlett. Albarn and Hewlett are the artists behind the award-winning animated band Gorillaz.
For details see website.
Click here for poster (.jpg file, 697 KB)
Venue:
The O2
Peninsula Square
London SE10 0DX
Dates:
8 November 2008 - 4 January, 2009 (8 shows a week)
The CD - Monkey: Journey to the West, is out now
In conjunction with the opera "Monkey: Journey to the West", the musicians of our Ensemble had been working with Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz front singer and composer) and a wide range
of musicians on this interesting East-West fusion music creation. It involved instruments and musicians from tradition Chinese, classical Western strings and brass, Pop and electric, a
choir as well as specialised instruments including a musical saw, ondes Martenot, cristal Baschet and glass harmonica. This Gatefold CD has 22 tracks and is accompanying by a twelve-page
booklet containing lyrics and illustrations.
For more information visit: http://www.monkeyjourneytothewest.com/the-album/formats/
Following the successful release last year of our Silk String Quartet CD (now in the Top 3 of the ARC 2007-8 list), the UK Chinese Music Ensemble published its Silk and Bamboo Ensemble
CD in Autumn 2008, with a selection of well-known traditional music from different regions of China. Unlike our Silk String Quartet CD, which features contemporary music, this CD presents
a typical, traditional string and wind ensemble - Silk represents strings and bamboo refers to wind instruments. The stringed instruments on this CD are erhu, gaohu, pipa, yangqin,
guzheng and guqin (solo); wind instruments are dizi, xiao, sheng, guanzi (solo) and hulusi. The CD presents traditional silk and bamboo music, some popular folk music of the Ensemble's
own interpretations and solo pieces.
The CD is published by ARC Music International, catalogue number EUCD 2177.
The CD is now available from in the World Music section of major record shops in the UK and Europe, and from the ARC Music International web site.
Cheng Yu was invited to perform a concert of devotional music on both the pipa lute and the guqin zither - the two most celebrated Chinese classical instruments.
Venue: Brighton Unitarian Church
2pm, 18 October 2008
Web site: www.worldsacredmusic.org
The Shanghai City God Monastery Daoist Music Ensemble
Venue:
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre,
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),
University of London,
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square,
London WC1H 0XG
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
China has 56 different minorities, each with its own unique culture. For the 2008 Notting Hill Carnival, China Arts invited 10 pairs of brides and grooms from China,
who wore the beautiful traditional wedding costumes specific to their particular Chinese minority. As part of the carnival parade, the couples skilfully performed
different dances to express the great variety of Chinese culture. The performances were accompanied by live traditional wedding music.
Venue: Notting Hill
Time: 10:00am-6:00pm
Ticket Information: Free
Venue:
Gwyl Pontardawe Festival
Parc Ynysderw
Pontardawe Leisure Centre
Ffordd Parc Ynysderw
Pontardawe
Swansea SA8 4EG
Time: 9:00am-10:00pm
Website: www.pontardawefestival.com
See the video "Olympic Revolution".
The Chinese Music Summer School has been running successfully since 2003, organised by Asian Music Circuit with musicians from the UK Chinese Music Ensemble. This year's Chinese Music Summer School gave five full days of expert tuition on Chinese instrumental music. It included master classes on the guqin (Chinese 7-string zither) with guqin master Professor Zeng Chengwei (Sichuan Conservatory of Music, China), pipa (Chinese lute) with pipa virtuoso Dr Cheng Yu, and erhu (Chinese fiddle) with erhu soloist Hu Bin. It was a rare opportunity to learn and explore Chinese music in the UK. Classes were open to all takers, beginners and advanced.
Invited by The National Trust, the Silk and Bamboo Ensemble performed two concerts in the natural beauty of Stourheard Garden.
Venue:
The Pantheon Temple, Stourhead Garden
The National Trust, Stourhead Estate Office, Stourhead
Near Warminster
Wilshire, BA12 6QD
Time: 25 and 26 July, 7.30pm
Details: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Venue:
Buxton Festival
3, The Square
Buxton
Derbyshire SK17 6AZ
Time: 10:00pm
Following the successful sell-out tours in Manchester, Paris and the USA, this show came to London's Opera House for the first time since its launch in 2007. This multimedia production
was directed by Mr Chen Shizheng, the music was by Damon Albarn (Blur front singer) and the digital arts were by Jamie Hewlett. Albarn and Hewlett were the artists behind the award-winning
animated band Gorillaz.
Venue:
Royal Opera House
Covent Garden
London, WC2E 9DD
020 73044000
Times:
Wed 23 July: 7.30pm
Thurs July 24: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Fri 25 July: 2.30 and 7.30
Sat 26 July: 2.30 and 7.30pm
www.royalopera.org
The Quartet was been by the Swedish Chamber Music Festival to give concerts as well as workshops.
Lycka Kammarmusik Festival
Billa Solgården
S-360 43 Åryd
Sweden
Details: www.lyckafestival.com
Organised by Asian Music Circuit, there will be China Day classes on music, story telling and calligraphy to pupils of various ages.
Sydenham School
Dartmouth Road
London SE26 4RD
Venue: Lancaster City Hall
Time: 1:00-2:00pm
Website: www.lancaster.gov.uk/artsdevelopment
Essex Jiangsu Festival 2008-2009 Launch
House of Commons (invited guests)
Palace of Westminster
Time: 4:00-6:00pm 23 June
Venue:
Kingsford Community School and Language College
Kingsford Way
Beckton
London E6 5JG
Tel: 020 7476 4700
Time: 10:00-11:00am, 21 June 2008
Our Chinese musicians collaborated with Grand Union to present performances combining Eastern and Western musical elements.
Venue:
Christ Church,
Commercial Street
London E1 6LY
Spitalfields Festival: 020 7377 1365
Time: 7.30pm, 18 June, 2008
Venue:
St Mary's Church
Ashford, Kent
TN30 6TJ
Time: 7:00pm
Venues:
WORKSHOP
Brady Arts and Community Centre
192-196 Hanbury Street, London E1 5HU
Time: 11am-12pm
CONCERT
Wilton's Music Hall
Grace's Alley
Wellclose Square
London E1 8JB
Pre-concert Chinese Tea Ceremony: 6-6.30pm
Concert: 6:45-7:45 pm
Website: www.spitalfieldsfestival.org.uk
Venue:
Van Emden Theatre (HUMSS)
The University of Reading
Whiteknights
Reading
Berkshire RG6 6AA
Website http://www.rdg.ac.uk/music
Venue:
Horniman Museum
100 London Road
Forest Hill
London SE23 IPQ
Times:
Performance 1: Gallery Square, contemporary music, 12-2pm
Performance 2: The Conservatory (concert) 2:00-4.30pm
Website: www.horniman.ac.uk
Cheng Yu was invited to give a pipa recital for the exhibition "Heaven on Earth: Missionaries and the Mathematical Arts in 17th century Beijing"
Venue:
Museum of the History of Science
University of Oxford
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3AZ
Time: 6:00-8:00pm
The musicians from the UK Chinese Ensemble worked once again with US composer Randy Edelman on another major Hollywood film - The Mummy. This is the fourth film music project
on which our musicians have worked with the same composer. The music is significant in the film and "is longer then the actual film, with over 140 minutes music" said Randy.
This Hollywood major blockbuster action film was released on 1 August to coincide the 2008 China Olympics.
Starring: Jet Li, Maria Bello, Brendan Fraser, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Russell Wong, Luke Ford, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Isabella Leong, Tian Liang
See Film, Television and Radio for more information.
Cheng Yu and the UK Chinese Ensemble musicians worked with composer Barnaby Taylor to create music for this 6 part TV documentary for BBC 2. was shown on Sunday evenings on BBC2.
11th May - Episode 1: Heart of the Dragon
18th May - Episode 2: Shangri-La
25th May - Episode 3: Tibet
1st June - Episode 4: Beyond the Great Wall
8th June - Episode 5: Land of the Panda
15th June - Episode 6: Tides of Change
See the Projects page for more information.
Venue:
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Time: 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Venue:
The Sage Gateshead
St Mary's Square
Gateshead Quays
Gateshead, NE8 2JR
Venue: Younger Hall, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland KY16 9AL
Time: Friday, March 14th, 7:30 pm
Free Lecture-demonstration on Chinese Music
Speakers
Maestro Yan Huichang (Artistic Director, Principle Conductor of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra) with
Dr Cheng Yu (Artistic Director, UK Chinese Music Ensemble, SOAS pipa and guqin teacher)
Guest Musicians: Wong Ching (pipa) ,and Feng Siusin (vocal)
Content
A study of the heritage and evolution of traditional Chinese instrumental music through a comparison between traditional Chinese music ensembles and the full-sized modern Chinese orchestra. (Recordings and video will be shown)
Venue: Room G52, SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H
Time: Wednesday 12 March 2008, 2-4pm
Venue:
The Great Court
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Time: 6:30am-9:00pm
Web site: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Venue:
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Time: 6.30pm-9:00pm
Web site: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Venue:
The Great Court
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Time: 6:30-9:00pm
Invited by China Arts (UK), here was a rare opportunity to see the Bai Ling Shadow Box Show Troupe as they tour the UK for the first time during Chinese New Year February 2008.
This is one of the finest Shadow groups in China. They had already performed in France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the United States, and Japan to a rapturous reception, and
achieved extraordinary popularity there.
Shadow puppet box shows first appeared in Beijing around the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is a popular traditional theatre genre that combines singing,
acting and dramatic movement performed by characters exquisitely carved out of leather. All the characters are operated by highly skilled artists behind a screen with live
musical accompaniment, which gives a colourful and vivid silhouette effect. The troupe brought a specially designed programme for both children and adults. It was great fun
to watch and a privilege to be able to appreciate an authentic Chinese art.
Dates:
3rd February: Harrow, London
8th February: South Bank International School: 13:00-13:30, 14:15-14:45
9th February: British Museum: 16:00-17:00, 20:00-21:00 (free)
9th February: Marylebone Theatre
10th February: Victoria and Albert Museum (daytime, free)
15th February: Ann Bernhardt Nursery School: 13:30-14:30
17th February: Tower Hendon (East London)
19th February: Foreign and Commonwealth Office: 19:00-20:00
Venue:
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Hope St.
Liverpool L1 9BP
Opening Time: 7:30 pm
Venue:
The Great Court
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Time: 6:30 -9:00pm
Venue:
Clare Hall, University of Cambridge
Time: All day
This concert was a high-profile talent showcase on a substantial scale by 12 of the best UK-based professional Chinese musicians performing collectively, including the
award-winning group The Silk String Quartet. The concert demonstrated twenty different Chinese instruments, many of which are rarely heard or seen in the UK, such as
the guqin zither, xun clay ocarina, and the xiao vertical bamboo flute. The concert also featured the 5-stringed pipa lute, which was lost in the Tang dynasty (8th century),
and Cheng Yu who won three major British awards for her project to recreate this instrument with music based on that period. The evening will highlight music from the time
and culture of the First Emperor. New compositions on contemporary Chinese instruments provided a present-day counterpoint to our presentation of early Chinese music.
The concert was in two halves: the first featured music and instruments from ancient times; the second contemporary and new music. It included two premières "The King of Qin
Destroys the Formation" - (5 stringed pipa with Chinese orchestra) and "Spring Festival Prelude".
Venue:
BP Lecture Theatre
Clore Education Centre
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Web site: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Time: 7:30pm
Venue:
Buxton Festival
3, The Square
Buxton
Derbyshire SK17 6AZ
New in its form and style, unique in its instrumentation and presentation, the all-female Silk String Quartet is the first and the only Chinese String Quartet in
the UK and Europe. The four group members have all been trained since childhood on their instruments. The group combines traditional and modern, Chinese and Western
music in a fresh and creative way. The repertoire included a wide range of new and traditional compositions performed in the Quartet's own style.
Time: 7:00pm
Venue:
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
Web site: www.soas.ac.uk/concerts
Venue:
Trinity Theatre
Church Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent, TN1 1JP
Time: 12:00 noon - 10:00pm
Web site: www.trinitytheatre.net
Venue:
The Great Court
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Opening Time: 10:00 am - 10:00pm
Venue:
National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place,
London WC2H 0HE
Time: 10:00am - 9:00pm
Part of an evening of celebrations at the Southbank Centre for Chinese New Year, this unique and beautiful quartet - featuring zithers, dulcimer, fiddles and
lute - combined traditional and modern, Chinese and Western music in a fresh and creative way.
Venue:
The Ballroom
Royal Festival Hall
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XX
Time: 6:15pm - 7:45pm
Web site: www.southbank.co.uk
Free entry
Venue:
Richard Attenborough Centre
University of Leicester
Lancaster Road
Leicester LE1 9HN
Time: 7:30pm concert, workshops during the day
Web site: www.le.ac.uk/music
Venue:
The Great Court
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Venue:
Logan Hall
University of London
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL
Time: 7:00 - 9:00pm
Venue:
The Red Hedgehog
255-257 Archway Road
Highgate
London
N6 5BS
Time: 6:00 - 10:00pm
Web site: www.theredhedgehog.co.uk
Venue:
Lakeside Arts Centre
University Park
Nottingham NG7 2RD
Time: 7:00 pm doors open, 7.30pm concert
Web site: www.nottingham.ac.uk
Venue:
Shrewsbury Music Hall
The Square, Shrewsbury SY1 1LH
Time: Concert 7:30pm, workshops during the day.
Also online at www.musichall.co.uk
An 'East-West dialogue' on the pipa and piano by Cheng Yu and Mark Troop
Chinese modern dance
A demonstration of Chinese calligraphy by Kam-Sang Law
Poetry recital by Hi Ching
Guzheng recital
Tea-tasting
A sketch by True Heart Theatre
Venue:
Mary Ward House,
5-7 Tavistock Place
London WC1H 9SN
Ticket information: Free
Time: 2.00 pm - 4.00 pm
In Partnership with World Beaters Arts and Culture, China Arts designed and delivered a ten week workshop programme on music, dance and storytelling for this school. Early education on arts and music is important and China Arts provided suitable artists with a set of targeted programmes on a weekly basis to enable the children to taste, develop an interest in, and have hands-on experience of Chinese arts forms. The children learned from simple hand clapping with rhythms, through percussion instruments to singing and dancing, not only from Chinese but also from other Asian cultures. This was a great opportunity for the children to play and to experience Chinese and Asian culture from an early age in multi-cultural Britain.
Venue: TBC
Time: 9:30 am - 2:45 pm