鼓樂 | Gu Yue

(Percussion Clinic 1 - 2 hours)

鼓樂 (Gu Yue), the Chinese expression for drum music. is a clinic designed to engage audiences from both within and outside the percussion community. This workshop discusses my personal journey, beginning with my roots in Chinese folk music, my transition to the United States, and my process of reconnecting with my cultural heritage through the exploration of my relationship to Western music. It goes on to showcase various cultural ceremonies and festivals and their musical interpretations. It also imparts the theoretical foundations of 鑼鼓經 (Luo Gu Jing), an ancient practice of rhythmic solmization fundamental for transmitting our music orally. Attendees also gain practical experience in playing diverse gongs, cymbals, and drums associated with the 鑼鼓 (Luo Gu) tradition, a kind of instrumentation ubiquitous across numerous Chinese provinces. The workshop culminates by challenging the conventional notion of unchanging tradition, highlighting that it is often employed to reconstruct a cultural memory.