From ancient China to modern times: A night of flute and cultural exploration with Calgary flutist JiaJia Li
Dressed in the traditional Chinese cheongsam in celebration of Chinese New Year, Calgary flutist JiaJia Li slowly unwrapped a patterned cloth and unveiled a number of woodwind instruments.
As the audience of the third installment of Instrumental Stories, a monthly cultural musical program presented by CBC Calgary in partnership with the Calgary Public Library, took their seat and saw the number of instruments laid out, they knew they were in for a unique musical journey that incorporated ancient tradition with modern influences.
Held on January 26 at the Memorial Park Library branch, CBC Radio One's Key of A's host, Tarik Robinson, and JiaJia discussed everything from the significance of the wind instrument in Chinese culture to the different types of wind instruments, including the oldest type of flute in China, the Jiahu bone flute.
JiaJia showcased her mastery of both familiar instruments like the flute, piccolo, alto and bass, and traditional Chinese instruments like the xiao, dizi, hulusi, and xun.
This was an exceptional session as the artist did a fantastic job differentiating between the similarities between the Chinese woodwinds and some western examples such as the flute. JiaJia did a great job blending the two cultures together in an artistic format.- Wen Nie, an audience member
These instruments have a rich cultural heritage and have been used in Chinese music for centuries. With her skillful playing, JiaJia demonstrated the versatility of these instruments and how they can produce a range of melodies, from fast and intricate to slow and mellow, through the breath and finger movements of the player.
Born and raised in Beijing, JiaJia received a musical education from the University of Toronto and Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt. Despite her classical training as a flutist, JiaJia has maintained a deep connection to her cultural roots and actively promotes Chinese culture through her music.
This session showed JiaJia's dedication to preserving and showcasing the richness of Chinese culture.
Our fourth installment as part of the CBC Calgary partnership with the Calgary Public Library, will be on Thursday, February 23, and we will be joined by Syrian-born singer, songwriter and oud player, Aya Mhana.
I think Instrumental Stories is a wonderful project that brings local musicians to the forefront while diving into different music cultures. I can tell from the audience that they were interested in learning more.- JiaJia Li
It'll be an intimate evening with traditional Syrian music and storytelling. Aya's will also be singing her own original songs.
The session is fully subscribed right now, but you can join the wait list here.
Stay tuned for more details on our March session with Aditiya Chaudhuri, who will take us on an exploration of the beautiful and complex world of Indian Classical music through the sounds of the voice, the sitar and the tanpura.
