The sounds of the matouqin and pipa will blend with violins and oboes as Valparaiso University hosts the Great Lakes Music Festival in what has become an international collaboration of musicians.
On Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection, the public is invited to enjoy the sounds of this blend of east and west in a free event led by Dennis Friesen-Carper.
“This year we will be hosting a professional instrumental ensemble from Changzhou in Jiangsu province not too far from Nanjing,” he said. “That group has about a dozen players on traditional wind, string, and percussion instruments. Their pipa soloist will perform part of a concerto with the Valparaiso University Symphony Orchestra. They will be joined by three teen-aged prize-winners on the Mongolian matouqin, ‘horse-head fiddle’ and an accompanying string ensemble.”
Other instruments include the erhu, a two-stringed vertical fiddle; the guzheng, a lap harp; a pipa, or a pear-shaped lute; the dizi, a bamboo flute; the yangqin, a hammered dulcimer; and the sheng, a bamboo mouth organ. In addition to instrumentalists, vocalists will also add to the symphony of sound.
“A choir from the Nanjing Arts University will also be here, singing with the University Symphony and the massed orchestra. These groups will do a series of performances in the Great Lakes region in addition to performing with us. The Changzhou ensemble members will lead classes on their instruments, and help a group of selected high school students in performing on the lap fiddle called erhu,” Friesen-Carper said.
The international groups will be on campus at Valparaiso University for the daylong event to interact with seven high school orchestras from six programs in three states.
“All of those players will join the Chinese musicians and University Symphony for two selections in a massed orchestra for the finale: Kangding Qing Ge, a love song from Sichuan province, and a medley of tunes from the Yao minority in the mountains of southwest China. We’ve now been in the Chapel for a few years and amass an orchestra of over 350 players,” he said.
The day is co-sponsored by the Confucius Institute at Valparaiso University, Jianyun Meng, director, and the Valparaiso University Symphony Orchestra, Dennis Friesen-Carper, director and artistic director of the Festival.
Heather Augustyn is a freelance writer.
Great Lakes Music Festival
When: 6:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Valparaiso University Chapel of the Resurrection
Tickets: Free
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More info: 219-464-5093 or www.valpo.edu/music/performances