©The UK Chinese Ensemble 1998-2010



Past Events





2011


Chinese artists meet Dutch – De Vis en de Waterman II – collaborative concerts with music, poetry and choir. Zaterdag, The Netherlands – 9-10 December 2011

Having collaborated successfully with renowned Dutch guitarist Jan Kuiper on the World of Strings project in 2005, Cheng Yu (pipa lute) with Hu Ruijun (dizi flutes) are invited to join an exciting artistic venture: to combine Chinese and Western music with poetry and a choir of 25 singers for an unusual musical journey – De Vis en de Waterman II.

Time:

20:00, 9th and 10th December 2011

Venue:

De Vis en de Waterman II
Zaterdag
The Netherlands

Further information:

www.jankuiper.com/nederlands/


LYQS meeting Saturday 12 November 2011

The London Youlan Qin Society will hold its next yaji meeting on Saturday 12 November. It will take place at SOAS, in central London. The meeting will be open to members and non-members.

There will be a charge of £4 per person for non-members.

Time:

1:00 pm to 4:00 pm (Members)
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (Non-members)

Venue:

Room L67
Main Building
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG

www.soas.ac.uk/

Directions are at the following URL (Google maps):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Thornhaugh+Street&sll=51.521448,-0.125774&sspn=0.004893,0.010192&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Thornhaugh+St,+Camden+Town,+Greater+London+WC1B+5,+United+Kingdom&z=16/

The nearest tube stations are Russell Square and Euston Square.


The China Project – Scottish Tour, 2-6th Nov 2011
The Silk String Quartet & Emma Smith

Having received two awards from the Scottish Arts Council since 2009, The China Project (previously called The Silk String Quartet & Emma Smith) is excited to announce and launch its first tour in Scotland. It has teamed up with the talented Scottish double bass player Emma Smith to present a fresh and new programme. (For details see our Projects page).

The programme includes:

Waterscape Silhouette (Mo Fan 2006)
Variations on Beijing Opera – (arr. Cheng Yu 2011)
Tundra Swan – (Burnaby Taylor 2008)
In that Remote Place - (Mo Fan 2007)
DydoHorizontigo - (Lau, arr. Emma Smith 2011)
Sky Gardens (Jim Sutherland, specially commissioned 2011)
The Warlocks and The Witches (Strathspey and Reel) by Joseph Lowe


Times, dates and venues:

7.30 pm, Thursday, 3 November 2011
Eden Court Theatre – Inverness

Eden Court
Bishops Road
Inverness, IV3 5SA

01463 234234

Tickets: £12/10 conc/£5 student; Friends £2.00 discount

For more information see http://www.eden-court.co.uk/whats-on/shows/the-china-project

7.30 pm, Friday, 4 November 2011
The Bongo Club – Edinburgh

The Bongo Club
37 Holyrood Road
Edinburgh EH8 8BA

00 44 (0) 131 558 7604

Tickets: £12/£10 conc/£5 student
On the door or from www.thebongoclub.co.uk/

OVER 18s ONLY

For more information see http://www.thebongoclub.co.uk/webpages/programme_month.php?s_month=11&s_year=2011&f_month=November&f_year=2011

9:30-10:45 am, Saturday, 5 November 2011
Workshop with traditional Chinese instruments

For Edinburgh Chinese School & Confucius Institute and Friends

Drummond Community High School

To Book: call Jo Buckley on 07967 205292 or email her at: j.m.k.buckley@gmail.com

7:30 pm, Saturday, 5 November 2011
Brunton Theatre – Musselburgh

Brunton Theatre
Ladywell Way
Musselburgh EH21 6AA

0131 665 2240

Tickets: £13.75/ £11.75 conc

For more information see www.bruntontheatre.co.uk

www.bruntontheatre.co.uk/webpages/whatson_results_full.php?id=1040


The Silk & Bamboo Ensemble Concert, London International Festival of Exploratory Music – 1st Nov 2011

The Silk & Bamboo Ensemble was been invited to play at the London International Festival of Exploratory Music. The group played a selection of traditional and modern music.

Time:

8:00 pm, 1st November 2011

Venue:

35-47 Bethnal Green Road
City of London
E1 6LA

020 7613 7498

For more information see http://www.lifem.org.uk/lifem-2011/programme/silk-and-bamboo-ensemble/


The Silk & Bamboo Duo Concerts: Tenerife, Gran Canaria – 14-16th Oct 2011

Following our many successful performances in Spain, including Seville (WOMEX 2006), Las Palmas (WOMAD 2007), the Gran Canaria Tour 2007, Valencia 2009, the Bidasoa Folk Festival in the Basque Country, Guipúzcoa, Northern Spain August 2009, Girona and Guadlajara again in March 2011, Bilbao and Victoria again in July 2011, Cheng Yu and Max Gittings played a sell-out concert on Gran Canaria. Cheng Yu played both the pipa and the guqin zither, while Max played the dizi and xiao flutes as well as the hulusi (a wind instrument made of natural gourd).

Time:

8:00 pm, 14-16 October 2011

Venue:
Ciclo de Musicas del Mundo
Ermita de San Cristobal
Gran Canaria

www.fundacionmapfreguanarteme.es


The Silk & Bamboo Ensemble Concerts – Macerata, Italy, Launch of the Institute Confucian, University Macerata – 5th October 2011

Following the successful concerts and lectures by Cheng Yu and Charles Rupert Tsua at the Confucius Institute, Turin, Italy, the Silk & Bamboo Ensemble has been invited to play at the launch of the Institute Confucian, University Macerata, to mark this special occasion.

Time:

9:45 pm, 5 October 2011

Venue:
Teatre della Società Filarmonico-Drammatica
Via Gramasci, 30, Macerata
Italy


Melody East: 6 performances at the Hong Kong Festival, London W1 – 12-18th September 2011 (Free and open to the public)

Our new ensemble Melody East has been invited to perform at the week-long “Hong Kong – Live in London” celebration on South Molton Street. Melody East has performed previously at the launch of China Daily Europe, China Telecom (UK) and China Construction Bank (UK), and will again showcase its popular and varied performance. Melody East is a popular and contemporary group focusing on Eastern melodies with rhythmic, techno and electronic presentations.

Date Performance time
Mon 12 Sept 5:45 pm
Wed 14 Sept 3:00 pm
Thurs 15 Sept 1:00 pm
Fri 16 Sept 3:00 pm
Sat 17 Sept 1:00 pm
Sun 18 Sept 5:00 pm

All performances are free and open to the public.

Venue:

South Molton Street, London W1K 5QN (Bond Street, central London).

For more information see pmmourworld.com/hktb-live-in-london-2011


Music performance at the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival – “Discover China’s ‘Black Dragon River’", 6:30 pm, 12th September 2011

Our musicians have been invited to play at the launch of Discover China’s ‘Black Dragon River’ Province photographic exhibition at Regent Street in London. This exhibition is part of China’s Heilongjiang Province’s promotion of its culture and exchange between northeast China and the UK. Our music ensemble has performed many such events recently.

Time:

6:30-9:00pm, 12th September 2011

Venue:

The National Geographic Store, 83-97 Regent Street, W1B 4EW


London Youlan Qin Society’s Autumn Yaji Meeting – Saturday 10 September 2011

The Society’s Spring yaji (guqin and Chinese music gathering) meeting will be open to members and non-members who are interested in listening to and playing music. (There will be a charge of £4 per person for non–members.)

Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Venue:

SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG

www.soas.ac.uk/

The nearest tube stations are Russell Square and Euston Square.


Contemporary Computer Music concert: St. Paul’s Hall, Huddersfield University ICTM 2011 – 2nd August 2011

The musicans of the UKCE have been invited to participate in the ICMC (International Computer Music Conference) 2011 Concert to play newly composed music for Chinese and other instruments with electronics by two selected composers, both from America: Howard Kenty (www.hwarg.com) and John Mallia (Boston University). This was a fairly new area for our musicians and we enjoyed working with them and playing their interesting music works. The ICTM started in 1974 and the theme of the 2011 conference is "innovation : interaction : imagination", emphasising the importance for our field of innovative technical developments, imaginative responses to new situations and, above all, the creative interaction of the technical and the musical.

The Master and the Sandgrabber – Ensemble + Electronics by Howard Kenty

InterzonalHap2 – Erhu and Guzheng + Electronics by John Mallia

Time: 7.30 pm 2 August 2011

Venue:

School of Music, Humanities and Media
Creative Arts Building
University of Huddersfield
Queensgate
Huddersfield HD1 3DH

www.icmc2011.org.uk/


The Silk String Quartet Concerts – Bilbao and Victoria-Gasteiz, Spain, 23-25th July 2011

Following our many successful performances in Spain including Seville (WOMEX 2006), Las Palmas (WOMAD 2007), Gran Canaria Tour 2007 and Valencia 2009, and at the Bidasoa Folk Festival in the Basque Country, Guipúzcoa, Northern Spain August 2009, Girona and Guadalajara in March 2011, the Silk String Quartet will perform in Bilbao and Victoria again in July 2011.

Time

8:00 pm, 23rd July 2011

Venue:

Portico de la Catedral Santa María
c/ Fray Zacarías Martinez 9, 01001 Vitoria-Gasteiz

EVENT / FESTIVAL ABIERTO POR CONCIERTO


Chinese Four Arts Summer School – 27-31 May 2011

The project

A 5-day course to study and experience the four quintessential Chinese traditional arts – the classical guqin, or qin (7-stringed zither), qi (Weiqi or Go, a board game for training the mind), shu (calligraphy) and hua (brush painting). This was the first time such a course has been held in the UK, enabling participants to study the techniques, aesthetics and cultural meanings of these four interlinked art forms with a focus on the qin. Invited experts included qin grand master Professor Li Xiangting from the China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, UK based painter and calligrapher Guo Le, and Go teacher Tony Atkins.

Organisers, partners and sponsors

The project was initiated by the London Youlan Qin Society in collaboration with the Prince’s Charities Foundation (Sponsor), the British Museum and SOAS, University of London.

For a full report on the Chinese Four Arts Summer School, icluding photographs, see Chinese Four Arts Summer School May 2011.

A 7 minute TV programme by Phoenix TV can be seen at:

http://v.ifeng.com/news/world/201108/a89cfc06-038f-4370-927e-e76fa87bb006.shtml

Here is a newspaper report by the Sun Post (page 2).


Concert: The Classical Guqin Zither – Elegant Orchid: BP Lecture Theatre, The British Museum – 27th May 2011

The concert features China’s most acclaimed guqin grand master and literatus Professor Li Xiangting, (specially invited from China for the project), Dr Cheng Yu, president of the London Youlan Qin Society, and the English Chamber Orchestra. This rare concert showcases both old and new music for the guqin, including traditional masterpieces, improvisations and painting based on poems and verses suggested live by the audience, as well as a newly commissioned piece by Raymond Yiu (winner of the British Young Composer Awards 2010) for guqin and Western String Quartet.

Time: 7:00pm, 27th May 2011

Venues:

BP Lecture Theatre, The British Museum

For a report on the concert, see Concert: "The Elegant Orchid".


The Silk & Bamboo Ensemble concert: Bury St Edmunds Festival – 25th May 2011

Time: 1.00pm, 25th May 2011

Venue:
Bury St Edmunds Festival & The Apex
The Apex
Charter Square
Bury St Edmunds IP33 3FD

Event Bookings: 01284 758100
Email: bookings@theapex.co.uk

Box Office: 01284 758000
Email: boxoffice@theapex.co.uk

www.buryfestival.co.uk

www.theapex.co.uk


The Silk String Quartet concert: Radley College, Oxford – 19th May 2011

Invited by Radley College, Our String Quartet will play a concert at the one day conference on China for Radley College (Oxford) and Downe House Girls School (Newbury)

Time: 2:00-4:00pm 19th May 2011

Venue:

Abingdon
Oxfordshire OX14 2HR
Telephone: 01235 543000

http://http://www.radley.org.uk/


The Silk & Bamboo Ensemble concert and workshops: Plymouth University – 7 May 2011

Our Ensemble has been invited to give a concert and 2 workshops at the Chinese Festival - University of Plymouth and Plymouth College of Art University of Plymouth.

Workshop 1: Singing & Percussion, 4.00-5.30pm

Workshop 2: Making Chinese Music, 4.00-5.30pm

Concert: 7.30pm 7 May 2011

Venue:

University of Plymouth and Plymouth College of Art
Hepworth House, Drake Circus,
Plymouth, Devon. PL4 8AA.
Tel: 01752 587960
Fax: 01752 587969
Email: elaine.budd@plymouth.ac.uk

http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/community

The Silk String Quartet: London Marriott Hotel (private function) – 7th April 2011

For International Exchange Centre, China Zhejiang Provincial Tourist Company’s London Events.

Time: 18:30 – 20:30, 7th April 2011

Venue:
Eaton Room
London Marriott Hotel
Grosvenor Square
London, W1K 6JP

Chinese music performance – Hua Gallery Opening Preview, Battersea, London – 16th March 2011

Time: 6.00-9.00pm, 16 March 2011

Venue:
Hua Gallery
Unit 7B, Ground Floor, Albion Riverside
8 Hester Road, Battersea
LONDON SW11 4AX

Gallery: +44 20 77381215

Web: www.hua-gallery.com


UK Chinese Ensemble – China theme concert, Sofitel Heathrow, London – 15th March 2011

Time: 7.30 - 10pm, 15th March 2011

Venue:
Arora Suite at the Sofitel Heathrow
Sofitel London Heathrow, Terminal 5
London Heathrow Airport,
LONDON TW6 2GD

The Silk String Quartet Concerts Spain Tour: Girona & Guadalajara – 12-16th March 2011

Following many successful performances in Spain in Seville (WOMEX 2006), Las Palmas (WOMAD 2007), Gran Canaria Tour 2007 and Valencia 2009, and at the Bidasoa Folk Festival in the Basque Country, Guipúzcoa, Northern Spain August 2009, the Silk String Quartet will perform in Girona and Guadlajara again in March 2011.

Time: 7:00 pm, 13th March 2011

Venue:
Joventuts Musicals de Banyoles
Auditori de l'Ateneu

Time: 8:00 pm, 14th March 2011

Venue:
Tearto Moderno
C/ Benito Carvarri
19001, Guadalajara

www.jmbanyoles.com/banyoles/557-agenda/1172-the-silk-string-quartet/


London Youlan Qin Society’s Spring Yaji Meeting – Saturday 12 March 2011

The London Youlan Qin Society will hold its next yaji meeting on Saturday, 12th March. The meeting is free of charge to members of LYQS and to staff and students of SOAS. Otherwise there is a charge of £4. The meeting will take place at SOAS, in central London.

Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Venue:

Room G51
Main Building
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG

www.soas.ac.uk/

Email: jmgjoseph@btinternet.com, chengyu@ukchinesemusic.com

Directions are at the following URL (Google maps):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Thornhaugh+Street&sll=51.521448,-0.125774&sspn=0.004893,0.010192&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Thornhaugh+St,+Camden+Town,+Greater+London+WC1B+5,+United+Kingdom&z=16/

The nearest tube stations are Russell Square and Euston Square.


Pipa and Guqin Solo Recital, ICIA, Bath University – 17th February 2011

Cheng Yu has been invited to play a selection of old and new music on both the Pipa and guqin as part of Set in Play – the 2011 theme for ICIA at Bath University.

Time: 8:00 pm, Thursday, 17th February 2011

Venue:
ICIA Arts Theatre & Arts Complex
Institute for Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath BA2 7AY

Box Office: 01225 386777

Email: ICIAinfo@bath.ac.uk

www.bath.ac.uk/icia


Live Music and Fashion, V & A Museum – 30th January 2011

Having won a prize in the 2009 London Nottingham Hill Carnival, the UK Chinese Music Ensemble and China Arts will again collaborate to present a costume show at the V & A Museum.

Invited by the V & A museum, our costume show coincides with the Museum’s exhibition "Imperial Chinese robes from the Forbidden City" (7 December 2010 - 27 February 2011). Whilst the exhibition focuses on the robes of the Imperial Qing (1644-1911) Court, our costume show demonstrates various qipao (for women) and changshan (for men) worn by civilians from the Qing period to the present. These will include a range traditional and modern qipao, some dance and performance costumes, officials' costumes as well as minority nationality costumes. It will be performed by team of volunteer models with live music by the UK Chinese Music Ensemble.

Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm, Sunday, 30th January 2011

Venue:
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL

Tubes: South Kensington, Knightsbridge
Buses: C1, 14, 414 and 74

www.vam.ac.uk/

UK Chinese Ensemble & China Arts Chinese New Year concerts and workshops, V&A Museum, London – 30th January 2011

A full-day free Chinese music and arts event. Jointly organised with China Arts and the V&A Museum to celebrate Chinese New Year at the V&A Museum. The programme will include:

Calligraphy & Ink Painting Workshop
书法国画工作坊

Chinese Paper-Cutting Workshop
中国剪纸工作坊

New Year Lion Dance
迎新岁舞狮

Chinese Costume Show 12:00 - 1:00 pm
中国服装表演

Music and Opera Performance 2:15 pm and 3:45 pm
中乐及京剧表演

Touch & Play Music Workshop
中国乐器初阶

Time: 10:30 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday, 30th January 2011

Venue:
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL

Tubes: South Kensington, Knightsbridge
Buses: C1, 14, 414 and 74


The Silk & Bamboo Ensemble Chinese New Year concert and workshops, Wiltshire Music Centre – 29th January 2011

The Silk and Bamboo Ensemble has been invited to welcome the Year of the Rabbit with a concert of traditional and modern Chinese music and dance – expertly performed on instruments such as the pipa lute, erhu fiddle, guzheng zither and dizi flute by the wonderful Silk & Bamboo Ensemble. A good opportunity for families with children to experience Chinese music and dance as well as taste Chinese food. There will be fun workshops on both music and dance for adults and children before the concert.

Date: Saturday 29 January, 2010

For adults of all ages: Learn Chinese songs and melodies. Bring your own instrument (violins, guitars, flutes, clarinets etc.) - or just sing. (Some Chinese instruments also provided.) Music workshops (duration 1 hour) 4:00-5:00 pm

For children aged 5+: Learn Chinese songs and rhythms. Bring your own percussion instruments (small drums, cymbals, gongs etc - some also provided)

Fan Dance workshop (duration 1 hour, for children aged 5+) 4:00-5:00 pm
Great fun to learn for children aged 5+ (props will be provided)

Delicious Chinese food on sale from 5.15pm!

Concert: 6.30pm

Venue:
Wiltshire Music Centre
Ashley Road
Bradford on Avon
BA15 1DZ

For booking and details call 01225 860 100 or visit www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk/whatson/upcoming


The Silk String Quartet Concert, National Liberal Club, London – 19th January 2011

Please note that this is a private event, not open to the public.

Time: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, Wednesday, 19th January 2011

Venue:
1 Whitehall Place
Westminster
City of London
SW1A 2HE

Nearest underground: Embankment

Tel.: 020 7930 9871

www.nlc.org.uk/


The London Youlan Qin Society’s New Year yaji meeting, SOAS, University of London – 15th January 2011

The Society is pleased to announce that its 2011 New Year yaji meeting will be open to all and free of charge.

Time: Saturday 15th January 2011, 2:00 - 4:00 pm

Venue:
Room B111
Brunei Gallery
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG (nearest tube stations are Russell Square and Euston Square).

www.soas.ac.uk/




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