Wednesday, January 28, 2009

WORLD FLUTES SHOW - JIAO TONG UNIVERSITY, XiAn, China 2008

Above you can see a design for the flyer / poster for the event.
Some students came early, about an hour before the show started.
The array of flutes.
The beautiful Ana helped me set up, break down, and carry around all of the instruments. Whew!
One of the first flutes I demonstrated was  a Native American flute that I made of bamboo. In a number of conversations with different Chinese people I had met we talked about indigenous issues in our countries - on one hand the Chinese I talked to were proud of the "56 Native Groups" in China, but at the same time they revealed a certain prejudice about these peoples, especially those of Xin Zhiang and Tibet, who, in their perspective, are constantly causing trouble for the Chinese government.
The room got pretty full.
The man in the orange shirt has his own musical instrument store near the South Gate - He has sold me dozens of instruments, and plays beautifully, so I asked him to attend and to share some of his music and experience. He's quietly playing a bamboo flute (di zi) that's about 4 feet long! 
Some students stood in the doorway to observe the spectacle.
The man on next to my friend in orange is another shop owner who also taught me some traditional Chinese music for the "Xun" the Chinese ocarina.
The long haired man in the left of the photo with his arms stretched out is Daoist monk and a classical composer who got his degree at The Xi'an Conservatory of Music.
I'm playing a 3 part song on the Xun with my teacher. I played the first 2 sections, and he played the last.
That my friend and musical instrument supplier playing the di zi, one of his favorite instrumentes.
He also sells the er hu in his store.
A duet with my teacher.
I'm playing a traditional rhythm instrument from Castilla, Spain... it consists of a row of cane grass pieces and one castanet.
I needed a translator to communicate with the audience, so this woman was kind enough to help.
I'm playing a Low Whistle, which the Chinese equated with a "metal xiao". My teacher was impressed with the range of notes that this instruments could produce in 3 octaves, in tune even in the higher harmonics.
I played a Irish frams drum solo which was very well received. They really liked the way the drum could produce a wide range of tones.
I bought that piece of bamboo in Xi'An and turned it into a didgereedoo. The artist next to me is performing Chinese calligraphy, inspired by the music.
He created about 10 different works of art in a little over an hour. Chinese calligraphy and music go very well together - the calligrapher seeks to express ephemeral emotions in the brush strokes inspired by the music and by the characters and their meaning.I brought the paper and the ink, and he brought his brushes. He had enough room to set up next to the flute display.
This master calligrapher is the teacher of my friend who has the instrument shop.
The show was recorded by a professional camerman.
Each work had a different style: the one on the table is thick and block like, while the one behind has a more flowing and free style.


The Chinese that I met were very proud of their language and writing system... and were very impressed with this man's work.

He was kind and humble... I wish I could have understood more of what he said about the works that he created when he addressed the students.

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