Guzheng

[ateolf]

Mary Beth and I went up to Crosstown Arts to see Wu Fei perform. She was at Big Ears but we weren't able to catch her performance there. She did a lot of talking about her life story and her journey through music and it was all very interested. She talked about her instrument, the guzheng (a Chinese zither). She played classic Chinese pieces as well as her own recent compositions and improvisations. It was a pretty unique blend of old and new. At one point she had a "prepared" piece where she put key rings on some of the strings. She did some singing in places and it was very nice. Her family traveled with her (she currently lives in Nashville). During one piece her kids started talking or laughing or something from the back of the room and it blended nicely with the music. And she was wearing a blue Chinese dress and bright pink cowboy boots (another nod to her national and cultural duality). It was a very enjoyable performance. Oh and talk of her time studying at Mills College studying under Pauline Oliveros and Fred Frith. Amy and Chris from Sonosphere put it on and it seemed to be a big success. It sold out and all. So that's cool. Was going to go to a couple other shows last night but ended up staying in. Today would have been Horace's "11th birthday" (i.e. I took him in 11 years ago). Still miss him so much.