A Richmond trio of Chinese zither (a 21 Strings Chinese traditional instrument) players, will debut at Vancouver’s Sound of Dragon Music Festival this weekend.
21 Strings Plus, a band born in a garage in central Richmond seven months ago, consists of three professional Chinese zither players from China.
“We all graduated from top music academies in China and all love playing the Chinese zither, so we formed this trio to have fun,” said Geling Jiang.
The team has invited two well-known local musicians, Mark Amanini and Ray Zhou, to compose original music for the concert.
Jiang has also adapted some pieces written by German and Korean musicians and invited special guest Xian Wen Hu from China to play a solo at the concert.
Jiang hopes to show the audience a variety of Chinese music by mixing traditional and modern elements and by combining Eastern styles with those from the West.
“People will develop a new understanding of Chinese music by watching our performance. The instrument has 2,400 years of history, but the music it plays can be very modern, diverse and advanced,” said Jiang.
“When people talk about Chinese music, they always think about traditional songs that are replayed in Chinese restaurants during Chinese New Year. But actually it’s much more than that.”
Jiang said they do not limit themselves to traditional Chinese music, but instead, always experiment with new techniques and music styles.
She believes that Chinese instruments can fit in to any orchestra made up of other instruments, and can add to the vibe.
“That’s why we are called 21 Strings ‘Plus’ – the Chinese zither has 21 strings, and we welcome any other instrument players to join us and create great works together,” said Jiang.
Jiang immigrated to Richmond in 2004 after working as a Chinese traditional musician for two decades in China. Moving to the then unfamiliar city, she never gave up her music dreams.
Jiang has worked with many professional orchestras and bands and has spent most of her time performing locally and globally in North America, Europe and Asia.
She said that there are many platforms here for people with music expertise, but the biggest hurdle for many immigrants is often language.
“There are many great musicians from other countries, but because of language barriers, they stay in their own communities – which is a pity.
“I took every chance to practise my English; being able to communicate well is so important. And I always took the initiative to approach local musicians or musical groups, and so gradually more and more opportunities opened their doors to me.”
21 Strings Plus’ concert will kick off on Saturday, April 7 at 8 p.m. at Roundhouse Community Centre in Vancouver.
