Standing Rock Cultural Arts'"Around the World" Music Seriespresents"In the Charming Spring, a Brilliant Jewel Rings"《春韵瑾音》A solo recital by Yang Jin, Chinese pipa, zhongruan, and liuqin lutes8:00 p.m., Saturday, March 19, 2016North Water Street Gallery 300 N. Water Street, Suite HKent, Ohio$10 suggested donation (or pay what you can)preceded by 7:30 p.m. meet-and-greet featuring light food and drinks Event description: The Tang poet Bai Juyi (772-846) compared the sound of the pipa, an iconic plucked lute of China, to the tinkling of "pearls large and small falling on a jade plate" (大珠小珠落玉盤). For this performance, Yang Jin, one of China's leading performers of traditional music, whose given name means "beautiful jewel," will share with listeners the crystalline sounds of three plucked lutes: the pipa (琵琶, pear-shaped lute), zhongruan (中阮, round-bodied lute), and liuqin (柳琴, small pear-shaped lute). The program, which will include both ancient and modern pieces, will also feature supporting musicians Jay Xiao (xiao), Haochen Qin (sheng), David Badagnani (dahu), Courtney Lambert and Rob Hassing (percussion), Xiang Fang (violin), and JunZhao Deng (piano). Program: ● Ambush from All Sides (Shi Mian Mai Fu, 十面埋伏) - pipa solo● Little Moon on High (Xiao Yue'er Gao, 小月儿高) and Fish Playing in the Water (Yu'er Xi Shui, 鱼儿戏水), from "Ancient Melodies from the Fairy Island" (Yingzhou Gu Diao, 瀛洲古调) - pipa solo● March in Jiangnan (Jiangnan San Yue, 江南三月) - pipa solo● Spring in the Tian Shan Mountains (Tian Shan Zhi Chun, 天山之春) - pipa solo● Sword Dance (Jian Qi, 剑器) - liuqin solo● Intoxicated Under the Flowers (Hua Xia Zui, 花下醉) - zhongruan with ensemble● "The Butterfly Lovers" Violin Concerto (Xiaotiqin Xiezouqu "Liang Shanbo yu Zhu Yingtai," 小提琴协奏曲《梁山伯与祝英台》) - pipa with violin and piano About the performer: One of the leading pipa soloists of her generation, Yang Jin (杨瑾) was born in Datong, in northern China's Shanxi province, in 1982. She began studying liuqin at age four, turning to pipa at nine. She became a student of the well-known educator Professor Junsheng Wu (吴俊生) in 1994. In 1995 she was admitted to the highly selective and prestigious high school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and subsequently became a student of the Conservatory itself. There, she studied pipa under the guidance of Professors Sun Weixi (孙维熙) and Li Hui (李晖), and received her BA and MA degrees from the Traditional Instruments Department. Before relocating to the U.S., she served as a pipa instructor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. A performer of incomparable technique and exquisite musicality, Yang Jin has received many awards, including first prize in the TianHua Cup (天华杯) National Youth Traditional Music Competition in 1997. She also won the first prize in both the junior and senior secondary divisions of the Dragon Sound Cup (龙音杯) National Instrumental Music Competition in 1998 and 2000, and in November 2004 received the Silver Award in The Chinese Golden Bell Award (中国音乐金钟奖) for Music, China's most prestigious traditional music competition for performers under 35. In November 2009 she won the Merit Award at the 16th Taipei National Music Competition (台北市民族器乐大赛). Very active on stage both inside and outside of China, as a core member of the China Youth Chinese Orchestra (中国青年民族乐团), Chinese Plucked Orchestra of the Central Conservatory of Music (中央音乐学院弹拨乐团), Girls Band of the Orient (东方女子乐坊), and Phoenix Chinese Orchestra (Guoyue Tianjiao, 国乐天娇), she has performed in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, the United States, Britain, Japan, and the Philippines. She recorded music for Zhang Yimou's 2004 film "House of Flying Daggers" and taught actress Liu Yifei pipa parts for the 2008 martial arts film "The Forbidden Kingdom." From 2006 to 2012 she gave over 40 performances across China and Japan with the Phoenix Chinese Orchestra, pianist Richard Clayderman, and pipa player Zhao Cong (赵聪). Equally skilled in the traditional repertoire and new music, in March 2010 she was the only mainland Chinese pipa performer selected to participate in a workshop led by the Kronos Quartet and Wu Man at Carnegie Hall. She has been invited to perform with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project for a U.S. tour in the fall of 2016. Yang Jin served as Visiting Scholar at Kent State University in 2013-14 and currently lives with her family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she maintains a busy performing and teaching schedule. * * * * * The North Water Street Gallery is conveniently located just a block north of the intersection of Main and Water Streets in Kent, Ohio, with free street parking on both sides of the street. Seating is limited, so arrive early for the best seats. ---------------- The "Around the World" Music Series is a new concert series presenting outstanding musicians from diverse cultures in an intimate setting. Concerts are held approximately every other month in the new theater space of the North Water Street Gallery, conveniently located in downtown Kent, Ohio. The series is an initiative of Standing Rock Cultural Arts, and is curated by ethnomusicologist David Badagnani. Facebook event page:https://www.facebook.com/events/1681812065425952/ Standing Rock Cultural Arts Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/SRCAKent Standing Rock Cultural Arts official site:http://www.standingrock.net/