We're delighted to invite you to the first talk in our "Instruments in Chinese music" series. The series will feature three talks hosted by Po Hang Yuen, each focusing on a different instrument.
The first in our series is the erhu, or the Chinese fiddle. The talk will focus on the historical development of the erhu. We will explore how the instrument is made and learn about its diverse repertoire since the early 20th century.
The guest for this talk will be Xinjie Yang.
Xinjie Yang is a Chinese conductor, erhu player, and pianist. She started learning the piano at the age of three, the erhu at nine and conducting at 16. She studied the erhu under the renowned Chinese erhu players Ma Youde and Xu Ke and was later admitted to the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Japan. Subsequently, she obtained a master's degree in conducting from the Royal Northern College of Music. She participated in the Attune Awards for Young Musicians project, where she introduced and performed the erhu to young musicians.
Po Hang Yuen (Arthur) has earned degrees from University of Hong Kong, King’s College London, and Royal Northern College of Music, and is now pursuing his doctorate in Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Dance with Julian Anderson, Malcolm Singers and Raymond Yiu. Having studied composition for five years, Yuen received numerous commissions and collaborative opportunities from leading soloists and ensembles, including the Avanti Chamber, BBC Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, London Mozart Players, Phace, Psappha, Sofia Philharmonic, and Trio Immersio. His piano trio Triptych has won the third prize in the professional section of the “The New Melodies” II International Composers Competition. The music was published by Dmitry Danilov Music Agency LLC and performed at the Whitehall of the Polytechnic Institute in St. Petersburg. Last July, Yuen’s Cosmic Embrace for large ensemble received its world premiere in Finland, as a part of the Avanti Summer Sounds Festival directed by Unsuk Chin.
About the public talk series
Manchester Confucius Institute public talks are free, informal and informative lectures aimed at anyone with an interest in Chinese culture and language.
