MUSIC
Jin Wang
Cross-Cultural Musician Mixing Sounds From The East and West
By Priscilla Jacqueline Hioe Posted Feb 15, 2008
Growing up in a family of music lovers, Jing Wang remembers images of her mother singing alongside her father playing the reed organ or the accordion as a young child. “Music played a very important role in my family’s life. Music or musicians became frequent topics for us to discuss,” explains Wang. Born in Wuhan City, China, Jing Wang’s musical training began when she was five years old. Wang began learning musical sight-seeing and ear training from her father. She also learned to play the reed organ and later the piano. Wang began playing the erhu, after her father noticed an ad in the paper offering lessons. Although Wang always like the erhu, she admits her attraction was not love at first site. However, her original reactions changed in 1996, after graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music in China. It was upon graduating when Wang realized through more and more performances that the erhu had become an essential part of her life. Wang no longer felt forced to practice and take lessons as she began to appreciate and enjoy the erhu. Now she considers the erhu as her best friend in life.
The erhu, or Chinese violin, according to Wang, is an extremely expressive instrument which has a natural sound quality resembling a human’s voice when played. Unlike Western stringed instruments, the erhu has only two strings with no fingerboards and frets. Erhu students in China are trained in a Westernized way, explains Wang, many of the repertoires and training books that have been published are rearrangements of violin compositions.
While performing, Wang tries to imagine the larger picture of the music she plays. Before learning to embrace her musical performances, Wang originally paid closer attention to the details of musical theory when studying at the conservatory. Wang explains that she focused on the mechanical aspects such as, dynamics and tempo rather than expressing the essence of the song. Now with a greater appreciation for the erhu, Wang has learned to listen and enjoy the sonic details she creates on an expressive level instead of attending to technical trivia.
As a composer, Wang introduces the Chinese erhu into Western contemporary music with her own musical scores. Wang’s broad collection of compositions varies from chamber ensembles, avant-garde jazz improvisations and multicultural ensembles. Her composition, LÜ, for erhu and computer, was presented at national conferences as well as the International Computer Music Conference. LÜ also won the Pauline Oliveros Prize given by the International Alliance for Women. With Wang’s professional training on a traditional Chinese instrument, she strives to express her individuality and personality through her music. Wang tries to search for a balance between traditional (Eastern) and modern (Western) sounds. Wang’s compositions have been selected by music festivals in France, Italy, Cuba, Spain, and the United States. She is the recipient of the ASCAPLUS Award given by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. Wang was also one of the finalists for the II Electro-acoustic Miniatures Interational Contest in 2004.
With concerts spanning from China, Singapore, Macao and the United States, Wang’s extraordinary talent as an erhu performer has been sought after by many. Wang has been invited to perform at numerous venues and international music festivals, including Chicago’s East Meets West Music Arts concerts, NIU World Music Series Concerts, and the Maud Powell Music Festival to name a few. Wang was selected as the Premier Winner of the Annual School of Music Concerto Competition at NIU and was the only contestant to play a non-Western instrument. Her scheduled performance at the Cobb Symphony Orchestra on February 23-24 will be a cross cultural conversation; mixing sounds from the East and West as well as the ancient and modern. Wang hopes the concert will allow her audience to enjoy and experience the sounds of China.
Currently, Wang is working on her doctoral dissertation which reflects the concept of the “balance of dichotomy”: East vs. West, tradition vs. modern, and acoustic vs. electronic. Wang is also a teaching fellow for the Composition Division at the University of North Texas. Wang hopes to finish her dissertation by the end of this year and has started looking for college-level teaching jobs. Her main interests are teaching compositions, music theory, and world music. Wang recently received an invitation for a world-wide traveling performance project working with other Western and Easter instrumentalists. “I will see how that goes…my ideal life would be a combination of being a good composer and a good performer,” explains Wang. In the future, she plans to continue performing at concerts and recitals, engaging audiences around the world with the unique sounds of the erhu.
Jin Wang: Erhu With Cobb Symphony Orchestra
Date: Feb 23-24
Time: Saturday 8:00 pm, Sunday 3:00 pm
Venue: Murray Arts Center (formerly
Dozier Center for the Performing Arts)
For more info: www.cobbsymphony.com