China’s Orchid Ensemble
The Gustavus Artist Series brings the sounds of China to Jussi Björling Recital Hall this week as the Orchid Ensemble presents its “Road to Kashgar” concert Saturday, November 15. This performance of traditional and contemporary Chinese music begins at 8:00 p.m. Tickets ($15 & $12) for the performance will be available at the door. They are also available on-line (www.gustavus.edu/events/artistseries) or by calling 507-933-7590.
The Orchid Ensemble has been called “the brightest blossom in the world music scene” and combines its love of traditional Chinese instruments and music with contemporary works, jazz and improvisation. Its recent recording, The Road to Kashgar, was nominated for the Juno Award in World Music. For this concert, the trio will use a variety of stringed and percussion instruments including the erhu (a two-stringed stick fiddle), zheng (plucked wood zither), dumbek, dek (frame drum), udu (percussion pot), marimba and others. This combination of instrumental with voice brings centuries of Chinese music to the stage.
The Orchid Ensemble trio includes Lan Tung (erhu, percussion and voice), Bei Bei He (zheng and percussion) and Jonathan Bernard (marimba and percussion). The Road to Kashgar concert includes traditional works dating back over 2000 years and arranged for the ensemble. With the traditional comes works written in the past decade while employing newer works set to Chinese folk stories.
Saturday’s Gustavus Artist Series concert by the Orchid Ensemble begins at 8:00 p.m. in Björling Recital Hall. Tickets will be on sale beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the recital hall lobby. Tickets may also be purchased in advance at www.gustavus.edu/events/artistseries or by calling 507-933-7590.