Erhu Teacher in Atlanta, Georgia?

[Lisa]

I would love to take lessons on this lovely instrument. Does anyone know of any Teachers in Georgia? Any help is greatly appreciated.

My Thanks
Lisa

[davidmdahl]

For Lisa in Georgia and George in Florida, I unfortunately do not know of any erhu teachers in your areas. However, not all traditional musicians are comfortable with email and the Internet, so it is often necessary to do some searching.

In an ideal world, there would be an erhu teacher living next door to each of us. Or even better yet, another teacher as well across the street to provide some choice. In reality, Chinese-American populations, and erhu teachers, are not spread evenly across the USA. I expect it is much easier to find a teacher in Los Angeles and San Francisco than some other places.

I would start by looking for Chinese or Asian cultural organizations. The ethnomusicology dept at a major university might also be a good place to check. If there is an active Asian community in your area, there are likely celebrations and festivals during the year, such as Lunar New Year and Autumn Moon.

Don't restrict your local search to just an erhu teacher. If you find any other players or teachers of an Asian instrument, such as guzheng, they may know of just the teacher for you. The world of Asian music is relatively small, but once you find the door, you can find that world open to you.

Sometimes there is no such luck to find a local teacher. If you are determined to play the erhu, then it is worthwhile to have at least one lesson even if you have to travel to another city. It would probably take some research to determine the most likely. I don't know the East Coast that well, but surely at least the Washingon DC area would have an erhu player/teacher.

It would be a lot more convenient to love Old Timey or Bluegrass fiddle, but I share your passion for erhu. Good luck.

Best wishes,

David

[Lisa]

Thank you David,
Thank you for being so sweet in your reply. I actually began my search last night for Asian Cultural centers. I have friends from temple and I will tap into them as well as check some colleges and their music dept for teachers. George when I ask my friends from temple I will also ask about Florida as well, you never know who knows who!

Best Wishes,
Lisa

[davidmdahl]

This has been posted before, but doesn't hurt to do it again. Following are two websites that list teachers and players of Chinese instruments. As always, there are no guarantees that the contact information is current.

www.chinesezither.net/resource.html

www.melodyofchina.org/01artists/mian_01.html

Don't be afraid to contact a guzheng player for information on a erhu teacher. Some people prefer their privacy and don't like to be listed on a webpage, so personal networking may work where searching on the Internet does not pan out.

Best wishes,

David