The Vancouver Chinese Music Instrument Society has teamed up with the Chinese Canadian Museum for an immersive workshop on traditional Chinese music and instruments. Erhu to Cantopop: Five Thousand Springs of Chinese Sound will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (April 11) at the museum.
Highly talented Chinese musicians will offer demonstrations and short performances from different regions and historical periods. They include erhu soloist and composer Jirong Huang, who immigrated to Vancouver from 1988. The following year, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music graduate founded the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble, which was the first professional Chinese music organization in Canada.
Fourth-generation suona master Zhongzi Wu, pipa virtuoso Ling Yang, and guzheng star Sarah Yusha Tan—all members of the ensemble—will also participate in the workshop. Vancouver Chinese Music Instrumental Music Society resident composer Alan Lau will also share his insights in what the organizers describe as “a musical journey spanning thousands of years”.
“Through stories, sound, and live performance, the workshop invites audiences to discover the rich evolution and enduring aesthetics of Chinese music from multiple cultural and historical perspectives,” they state.
The workshop complements the Chinese Canadian Museum’s widely heralded Dream Factory: Cantopop, Mandopop 1980s – 2000 exhibition. Earlier this year, this multi-faceted exploration of Vancouver’s connection to the rise of Cantopop and Mandopop captured the Canadian Museums Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Exhibitions.
The Vancouver Chinese Music Instrument Society and the Chinese Canadian Museum will co-present Erhu to Cantopop: Five Thousand Springs of Chinese Sound. The event will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (April 11) at the Chinese Canadian Museum (51 East Pender Street). For tickets and more information, visit the museum website.
Follow Pancouver on Instagram @PancouverMedia and on X @PancouverMedia. In addition, find Pancouver on Bluesky @pancouver.bsky.social.
