'Silk and bamboo' jam set by ensemble
Traditional musicians play the Chinese erhu, ruan, yangqin
By Gerald M. Gay
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.13.2006
Jennifer Kubecka moves her bow gracefully across the strings of her traditional Chinese violin, the erhu, generating a series of melodic hums.
Moments later, Ping Zhou joins in on the yangqin, or hammered dulcimer. She is followed by a blend of ditzu (flute), ruan (lute) and dual vocal accompaniment in specific Chinese dialects.
All the sounds of a traditional Chinese folk ensemble found in a nontraditional locale: a University of Arizona classroom.
The Summer Thunder Chinese Music Ensemble is a product of the UA Asian Music Club started at the university in 2005. The group, made up of students and community members, plays a free show Saturday at the 17th Street Market, 810 E. 17th St.
"What we are doing is in a tradition that occurs around Shanghai called 'silk and bamboo' music," said Summer Thunder music director Paul Amiel. "These old guys would get together in a tea house and just jam like blues musicians. Some of them were good. Some just sat around and watched and played songs they knew by ear. It is not a performance. They play for each other, and we are taking that approach rather than being a slick orchestra or performance group."
The formula seems to work for the 15-or-so regulars who gather each week to practice at the university's music building.
On a recent Wednesday evening, Kubecka is one of the first ones in to rehearse. She takes great care in tuning her two-stringed erhu, which closely resembles a croquet mallet with strings.
Kubecka is a harpist by trade and a graduate student studying music and library science at the UA.
Her interest in Chinese music first emerged on a tour with the university group HarpFusion through China and other parts of the Far East last year.
"We had just come back from a tour and picked up the erhu," Kubecka said. "This actually belongs to the harp department, but because I've agreed to write pieces for the erhu I'm allowed to use it.
"It was easy for me to pick up the basics, but I still struggle to get a pure sound. I am still learning."
Yangqin player Ping Zhou is one of only a few musicians in the group who is actually Chinese.
Zhou was born in China and has been playing the dulcimer since age 10.
It was her studies in optics, however, that brought her to the UA. She was recruited by Summer Thunder last fall at an on-campus concert performed by popular Chinese Ensemble, the Twelve Girls Band.
"It is very cool to find a group like this," Zhou said. "I didn't really know there were so many people interested in Chinese music, so many who are not even Chinese."
Trumpet player and UA music major Martin Reinhold is one of Summer Thunder's primary ditzu players.
Reinhold — a German exchange student — took up the trumpet because of the large number of oompah bands found in his home country, but he has always held an interest in cultural instruments.
"I play in a powwow band back in Germany, so I do lots of different kinds of music," Reinhold said. "I also play didgeridoo and the Irish flute. So this is another area I can explore."
"I love the people and the fact that each of us comes from different backgrounds and we are able to come together with this common interest," Kubecka noted. "Considering we only meet once a week and we've only been together a short time, it has really come together."
Zhou added, "I think life should be more colorful and should be more fun. It is good to spend one night a week to meet new people and play this kind of music."
Contact reporter Gerald M. Gay at 573-4137 or ggay@azstarnet.com.
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