Happy Friday everyone,
Thank you for subscribing to Wu Fei’s Music Daily. This is episode #402 — High horse school 麒麟斋.
This composition was created and recorded yesterday on multitrack muted guzheng, performed by me.
I am excited to announce that my chamber orchestral composition Hello Gold Mountain will be performed on September 9, 2021 at the Schrott Center for the Arts in Butler University in Indianapolis, IN.
Concert detail is below or click here to Schrott Center’s official page.
Wishing you all a restful weekend!
Wu Fei 吴非
wufeimusic.com
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JCA Signature Series: Hello, Gold Mountain: A requiem for lost possibilities of the Jewish community of Shanghai
SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 @ 7:30PM
Hello Gold Mountain is a requiem for lost possibilities of the Jewish community of Shanghai.
CAN’T MAKE IT IN-PERSON? WATCH THE LIVESTREAM HERE!
The work, an original composition by Wu Fei, will feature chatterbird along with Wu Fei, guzheng, and Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, oud (Silk Road Ensemble).
The piece is inspired by stories of Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai from Europe during World War II. From 1933 until the end of the war, Shanghai was often the only port at which Jewish refugees fleeing Europe could disembark without a visa. In the early 1940s, more than 20,000 Jews lived in Shanghai and contributed to its cultural and civic life.
But the Jews could not stay. As China’s bloody civil war came to a close in 1949, most fled. Many emigrated to the US, often arriving at the port of San Francisco, or Old Gold Mountain.
What musical possibilities were lost because the times did not allow neighbors from these different cultures to grow old together, sharing songs and stories? Similarly, what artistic creations will be lost if Europe and the United States close the door to refugees and migrants from lands in chaos?
Wu Fei
Born and raised in Beijing, Wu Fei is a composer, vocalist and performer of the guzheng (Chinese zither), as well as the piano. She began performing guzheng at the age of six, and spent her formative years studying composition at the China Conservatory of Music. She holds an M.A. in Composition from Mills College where she studied improvisation and composition.
Wu Fei has performed and recorded with musicians such as John Zorn, Fred Frith, Billy Martin (Medeski-Martin-Wood), Carla Kilhstedt (Tin Hat Trio), and Grammy winning musicians Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck. Her commissions range from a composition for the Percussions Claviers de Lyon (France) that premiered in the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, to live performances in Paris and Tokyo for Hermès. She has composed for Balinese gamelan, symphony orchestra, choir, string quartet, chamber ensemble, film, and modern dance. Fei has performed at The Great Hall of The People in Beijing, EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, The Stone and MoMA in New York City, Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, Vossa Jazz in Norway, Europalia in Belgium, and Madame Guitar Festival in Italy. Fei has also been a guest lecturer and performer at institutions including China Conservatory of Music, University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and The Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz
Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz — acoustic bass, electric bass, oud, gimbri — was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1975 to Polish and Egyptian parents. He was given his first instruments, the pots and pans from the kitchen and a three-string guitar at the age of two.
Shanir is featured on over 50 releases on John Zorn’s Tzadik record label since 1999 – producing and arranging for many of the bands he works with, including Rashanim “The Gathering,” Edom “Hope And Destruction,” Pitom “Blasphemy And Other Serious Crimes,” and the “Kef” self-titled debut. In 2011, Shanir produced and arranged the cd “Caym,” featuring Cyro Baptista’s Banquet Of The Spirits – comprised of compositions by John Zorn as part of the Masada “Book Of Angels” series on Tzadik. Other cds by Cyro Baptista include the self-titled debut of “Banquet Of The Spirits” and “Infinito” – with compositions and arrangements by Shanir. He has performed in concert halls and festival stages all over the world with John Zorn, ABRAXAS, Banquet of the Spirits, Yemen Blues, Zion80, Edom, Pitom, Rashanim, Satlah, Kef, Pharaoh’s Daughter, and recently joining Yo-Yo Ma playing oud, bass, gimbri, and arranging music for the Silk Road Project.
In 2017, Shanir founded a new record label called Chant Records.
chatterbird
chatterbird is a chamber music ensemble that explores alternative instrumentation, stylistic diversity, and interdisciplinary collaboration in order to create thoughtful, intimate, and inventive musical experiences. Formed in 2014, chatterbird performs classical music that skirts traditional boundaries, sliding between classical, jazz, hip-hop, rock, avant-garde, and country, creating a thoughtful and inventive way to discover and experience modern classical music. chatterbird brings cutting-edge chamber music repertoire into spaces where you wouldn’t usually find it, like bars, galleries, breweries, basements, and everywhere in between.
Incredible artwork of nature! Photo by Jeremy Goldkorn on August 26, 2021.
