Music Teacher ‘Especially Touched’ by Shen Yun’s Orchestra
CHICAGO—Propelled by popular demand, Shen Yun Performing Arts returned to Chicago July 7-8 to perform just two shows after a set of sold-out performances in April.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese culture by bringing together world-class dancers, choreographers, singers, and musicians from around the world.
“I am a musician, so I was especially touched by the orchestra,” said high school music teacher Tam Trutwin. “It’s an amazing [combination] of the eastern and the western instruments and culture. It was really breathtaking,”
Ms. Trutwin was particularly impressed with the erhu, an ancient Chinese instrument known as the Chinese violin that has a history of 4,000 years.
“The erhu is incredibly expressive, capable of imitating sounds from chirping birds to neighing horses,” states Shen Yun’s website. “Though it has only two strings, it can convey a wide range of emotions.”
Ms. Trutwin said that the erhu “almost brought me to tears.
“I thought that was so beautiful, so beautiful—It just really stood out for me,” she added. “I never heard an instrument played similar to that. I really really enjoyed it, and we will definitely come back and see it again.”
Shen Yun’s mini-drama pieces draws upon the ancient myths and legends of Chinese history, from different dynasties up to the modern day.
“I got the impression that [Shen Yun] was bringing the history of the culture to today,” said Ms. Trutwin. “Whereas you saw … ancient kind of performances, and at the same token they were saying today in China this is what is happening,”
Shen Yun’s performances include Chinese vocalists that, according to Shen Yun’s website, “must grasp the highly difficult technical requirements of bel canto operatic singing while retaining the proper Chinese articulation and diction—today, this is unparalleled.”
“I never heard opera sung in Chinese, and I thought that was amazing because it actually flowed much more easily than I thought it would,” said Ms. Trutwin. “I really thought it was amazing how it fell into rhythm with music. I really enjoyed the amazing singers.”
Ms. Trutwin’s boyfriend accompanied her to Civic Opera House for the July 8th performance. He thought Shen Yun did a good job weaving the traditional and the modern day. “The music is certainly a fusion of the Western and the Eastern music, and has certainly an opera theme: that’s something you normally think of as European culture, but it is sung in Chinese,” he said.
“So I thought it was really just a great fusion of a lot of different things that I didn’t know actually came from China. I had a history lesson today.”
Reporting by Catherine Wen and Maureen Zebian.
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
2012-10-15 22:00:32
Source:
