September 18, 2014 / Modified sep 19, 2014 12:16 p.m.

Chinese Culture Festival Returns

Lecture explores the cultural resonance of time telling; trio of young virtuoso musicians performs on traditional instruments.

Chinese musicians 1 SPOT
Sandra Westdhal, AZPM

Staring Sept.19, The Confucius Institute at the University is Arizona presents the 3rd Annual Chinese Culture Festival. The festival will run for the next two weeks, including lectures, music, food and craft demonstrations.

Hai Ren, PhD, an associate professor of East Asian studies and anthropology at the UA, presents a lecture entitled "Countdown to Chinese Dreams" on Monday, Sept. 22 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Ventana Room of the UA Student Union Memorial Center. It's an examination of the ways time has been kept and understood in China, from ancient times before clocks to the current obsession with "countdowns" of all kinds...

Listen:

Chinese clock 1 SPOT
Courtesy of Hai Ren


The Confucius Institute also offers courses in traditional Chinese music at the UA, which this year are being taught by a trio of guest instructors. Each is a virtuoso from the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

Jane Xia strums and plucks the guzheng, a wooden horizontal harp with 21 strings. Bo Chen plays the sheng, a 24-pipe mouth organ that requires a lot of air pressure and breath control from the musician. Max Ma bows a vertical stringed instrument called the erhu, which has a very wide range for only two strings.

The trio visited the AZPM Radio Studio to play a late 19th century composition. Its title translates as Autumn Moon Over the Peaceful Lake...

Listen:


Music recorded and mixed by Jim Blackwood.

The musicians will perform during the University of Arizona Confucius Institute's 3rd. Annual Chinese Culture Festival, including a concert on Sept. 28 at Crowder Hall that is open to the public.

Chinese musicians 2 SPOT
Sandra Westdhal, AZPM
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