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Post by davidbadagnani on Dec 27, 2008 11:41:57 GMT
Hello, I couldn't find a comprehensive list of all Chinese ensembles in the U.S., so I did some research and made this one, comparable to the list of American gamelan ensembles that already existed: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_music_ensembles_in_the_United_StatesI haven't included Canada in this list, although I know there are many good ensembles there. Does anyone know of any I've missed? -- David Badagnani Kent, Ohio USA |
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Post by davidmdahl on Dec 29, 2008 19:16:11 GMT
It is good to see that you are back, David. Thanks for the list of ensembles. I was glad, and a little surprised, to see the listing for our Portland group, the Orchids and Bamboo Chinese Music Ensemble. The reference posted is for an upcoming gig, but we are most often in residence at the Portland Chinese Garden. We don't have a web site of our own yet, but I will let you know when and if this happens.
Best wishes,
David
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Post by davidbadagnani on Dec 30, 2008 3:05:26 GMT
I'd love to hear you sometime. We don't have a place like this in Cleveland but our new ensemble is thinking of trying a monthly "tea house" kind of concert--an open jam something like the Irish sessions that are done at Irish pubs, or the Jiangnan sizhu gatherings at Shanghai teahouses. Is yours like that? I wonder how many of these are done in the U.S. The ensembles made up of Chinese expatriate virtuosos are so geared toward concert performance that they wouldn't seem likely to host these sorts of events, which even in China are more of an amateur thing. I'm reading Lawrence Witzleben's book about Jiangnan sizhu now and finding it fascinating, particularly his analysis of the types of people who are attracted to learning and playing this music--he says that most people in Shanghai don't know much if anything about it, and that they can fairly be called a crew of eccentrics. In comparing that to the people I know in American old-time (Appalachian) music circles, it's much the same case. The general populace largely don't know where or when we do our old-time music sessions, and the people who are into it are *really* into it. There are so many parallels, I find, between the sizhu tradition and the Irish and old-time string band traditions. I think Carlos, as someone who plays both, would agree with me on this.
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Post by davidbadagnani on Dec 30, 2008 3:08:38 GMT
Can you give me the date the ensemble was established, and the hanzi for the director's name (Mr. Yang)? I want to be as complete as possible.
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Post by davidmdahl on Dec 30, 2008 5:57:04 GMT
Can you give me the date the ensemble was established, and the hanzi for the director's name (Mr. Yang)? I want to be as complete as possible. I will have to get back you on the hanzi for Dr. Yang. He is traveling in China and will return in January. The date the ensemble was established is a slippery thing. I think that the name "Orchids and Bamboo..." was concocted in late 2007 when Dr. Yang wanted to make a CD for sale at our gigs and the Portland Chinese Garden. The group began rehearsing a few months earlier prior to my involvement. An earlier version of the group, including yours truly, performed at the 2007 Chinese New Year celebration at the Oregon Convention Center. Unfortunately the pipa and guzheng players from that group left town for China soon after. Our current instrumentation includes erhu, gaohu, zhonghu, yangqin, dizi, liuqin, duxianqin (dan bau), and various percussion. The core group is four musicians, and I join in once-in-a-while for special (paid) occasions, especially when the group is short on musicians. I should add that the wonderful guqin master Jim Binkley has joined Dr. Yang at the Portland Chinese Garden, providing atmosphere to Dr. Yang's caligraphy sessions. I wish that I could report on that personally, but I have to work during the day. Best wishes, David |
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Post by davidmdahl on Dec 30, 2008 6:20:47 GMT
I'd love to hear you sometime. We don't have a place like this in Cleveland but our new ensemble is thinking of trying a monthly "tea house" kind of concert--an open jam something like the Irish sessions that are done at Irish pubs, or the Jiangnan sizhu gatherings at Shanghai teahouses. Is yours like that? <snip> Dr. Yang and one or more from the group normally play on Sunday afternoons at the Portland Chinese Garden in the Tea House. I join in whenever I can make the time. Dr. Yang is definitely the master, but we are not an ensemble of virtuosos. A Jiangnan Sizhu group would focus on a fairly limited and homogenous repertoire for decades, but our gig book is fairly diverse and constantly changing. We will get better with time. <g> I have read the Witzleben book and started Alan Thrasher's new book "Sizhu Instrumental Music of South China". It is a different sort of book than the Witzleben, but well worth reading, especially if you can get it from a library. It is EXPENSIVE. It is interesting to compare Jiangnan Sizhu with other folk traditions like Old-Timey and Irish. I suspect that Irish trad at least has much more of a mass appeal. There are hundreds or thousands of different Irish CDs available, while it might be a bit of a challenge to find more than a dozen or two Jiangnan Sizhu CDs. Best wishes, David |
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Post by davidbadagnani on Dec 30, 2008 6:36:34 GMT
Who is John Binkley? I have never heard of him.
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Post by davidmdahl on Dec 30, 2008 8:36:17 GMT
Oops! That should be Jim Binkley. How embarrassing! Jim is a professor at Portland State University who is quite amazing on the guqin. If you google on jim binkley guqin, you will find a few pertinent links.
I really wish I could study guqin with Jim, but I have no more dabble time left and there isn't anything I can see myself dropping to make time for it.
Best wishes,
David
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