MUSIC OF CHINA AND INDIA
Yihan Chen
Pipa Ruan |
Christopher Garcia
North Indian tabla, South Indian kanjira and ghatam, olla mbwata, baa wehai, voice |
Yihan Chen, born in Wenzhou, China started learning Pipa when she was eight years old. She was exclusively chosen for the Pipa major by the Middle School Affiliated to China Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 1985 and she was admitted to the China Conservatory in 1991. She studied with Pipa master Wu Junsheng, Wang Fandi and Liu Dehai. She also studied Guzheng with Master Qiu Dacheng and Li Wanfen. After graduating from the conservatory with Bachelor's degree in 1995, Yihan served as the Pipa instructor in the Middle School Affiliated to China Conservatory of Music. Yihan was the soloist in Huaxia ensemble in Beijing from 1995-1999. After arriving in USA, she starts working with Music From China in NYC. Yihan was the prizewinner of the ART Cup Chinese International Music Competition in 1989 and the Freedom international Chinese Music Competition in 1995. As a pipa soloist Yihan has performed in Asia, North America and Europe, such as Spoleto Festival USA 2012, Lincoln Center Festival. de création musicale de Radio France, Le Festival Avignon, Le Festival Musique en Scène, Encontros Acarte 98 Portugal, La Cité de la Musique, Lotus Festival, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival. Yihan has collaborated with such renowned composers such as Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Chen Qigang and Bright Sheng. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress and other leading venues. Her most recent performances include The World Stage Series-Yihan Chen, Pipa at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the Chinese contemporary opera, Feng Yi Ting, at Spoleto Festival USA 2012 and Lincoln Center Festival. Yihan Chen 's recordings include The Brahmin, Three Images Of Laughter (Hugo), Time to Listen (Ellipsis Arts), Zhou Long-Talse From the Cave, and Hua Xia (Delos) |
Christopher Garcia, a native of East Los Angeles, is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, musical polyglot, husband, father, grandfather and great grand father who continues to be invited to compose and play his compositions in 28 countries on 5 continents He is in demand making music on either drumset playing rock or jazz - inside, outside and upside down percussion of North and South India indigenous breath, string and percussion instruments of Mesoamerica and Mexico in traditional, chamber music and symphonic settings ZAPPA music and/or western classical percussion in an eclectic variety of musical settings with a vast array of musical artists ranging from jazz, rock, indigenous, chamber and symphonic music, classical and world music settings, His fascination with rhythm and the color of sound allows him tremendous opportunities and invitations to collaborate in the United States and abroad with a literal who's who with concerts in 25 countries on 5 continents including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and Wales. http://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/previous-performances.html http://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/tabla---teacherslife.html |
WORLD WIDE PRESS
YIHAN CHEN
Lu Pei´s Scenes Through a Window is an extremely smart, colorful and kinetic piece that builds on traditional Chinese music without ever descending into sentimentality. Utterly graceful playing on the pipa by Yihan Chen made it even more delectable…..” WASHINGTON POST Chen Yi´s The Points, for pipa solo, is an unequivocal success. Blending virtuosity and soul, the work was inspired by the brush strokes of Chinese calligraphy (the title refers to the contact points between brush and paper). It was given a magnificent performance by Chen Yihan, who seemed to bring some of the energy of flamenco and even modern rock guitar playing to her intricate plucked figurations.” KANSAS CITY STAR “One of the world’s reigning virtuosos of the pipa . . . transfixed her listeners.” CHARLESTON CITY PAPER |
CHRISTOPHER GARCIA
"Christopher Garcia has been a great friend of KPFK’s Global Village because he plays the most extraordinary music, on the most extraordinary instruments, with the most extraordinary musicians” JOHN SCHNEIDER KPFKS GLOBAL VILLAGE on NPR "While he has devoted much of his life to learning indigenous music, Garcia also revels in playing the new and unexpected…..Garcia's musical vocabulary not only spans centuries and cultures it's also spontaneous." DEUTSCHE WELLE GERMANYS INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTER "We hear a variety of percussion, including instruments from India, Mexico and MesoAmerica. They sing and throb to the pulse of a single person, Christopher Garcia. He produces an extraordinary array of sound and rhythms, effortlessly weaving in and out of familiar Indian patterns to those of traditional MesoAmerica ........." SRUTI MAGAZINE INDIA’S PREMIER MAGAZINE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS "Garcia’s drumming cut through, complemented, and grounded the reverberating echoes of L. Shankar’s masterful slides on the violin… Highlights included Garcia’s percussion solo in the fifth composition, in which he built upon various rhythms for several uninterrupted minutes, playing every drum in front of him, including tapping his face to a fascinating effect………” WESLEYAN ARGUS |