The ANU Chinese Classical Music Ensemble has been charming Canberra audiences for nearly 20 years with fine performances of Chinese music. Ensemble members are drawn from students and staff at the ANU and from the wider Canberra community.

The Ensemble plays traditional Chinese instruments, including guzheng (horizontal zither), yangqin (hammer dulcimer), erhu (two-stringed fiddle), pipa (four-stringed fretted lute), ruan (“moon” guitar), dizi (horizontal bamboo flute with membrane), xiao (vertical bamboo flute) and daji (percussion). These instruments give Chinese music its distinctive sound. Chinese music, like Chinese culture, has an ancient history and many genres. It has been said that while Western music has focussed on developments in harmony, Chinese music has focussed on melody, resulting in beautiful music. The Ensemble plays across several genres including sizhu (“silk and bamboo”) music from Jiangnan – the area south-east of the Yangtze River, qupai (“named tunes” from opera) and folk dance melodies.

The performance will feature ancient classical pieces, some of which are literally thousands of years old, to music written in the 21st century.

https://floriadeaustralia.com/program/anu-chinese-classical-music-ensemble/