Laura-Mae here. Tomorrow we leave for Seattle so I've spent the past early mornings walking the enormous Shanghai University campus documenting the slogans that are posted along the walkways and roadways. I think they are great window into the culture we've been steeped in for the last two weeks. Here is a sampling of the 15 or so that I collected:
"Be honest and trustworthy; do not spend ethics for profits."
"To create a beautiful living environment for all on campus, take good care of each road, each tree, and each blade of grass. The campus needs your care and concern."
"Live plainly, struggle hard; do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures."
"Be diligent and thrifty, keeping plain living and hard struggle, and be industrious. Cherish the fruits of other peoples' labors in society."
"Be disciplined and law-abiding; not chaotic and lawless."
See you all soon.
Laura-Mae
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
lucy in the sky with electrified buildings and waterways
after a rather, um, hard-edged rehearsal with only one cello, a piano that was so out of tune it sounded like it should be in a saloon in tombstone, AZ ca. 1880, and brains that were trying to wrap themselves around playing music...in china...well...we convened and did the concert at shang da [shanghai university] on thursday. between each of our pieces there were university students and faculty who performed on traditional chinese instruments. some of them played along with a cd. some thought it was rather odd that they performed along with a cd -- but later in a post concert informal discussion heather talked about how hard it is to do things like that and that that really added another layer of difficulty to what they're doing. in fact, we have a very well established tradition in western art music of pieces for a solo instrument with recorded medium. i've written a couple! there are an awful lot of roads around the mountain. i think that's been one of the most interesting things about coming to china: finding things that on the surface seem so odd, off-putting, or strange and then thinking about and finding things within our own culture that are remarkably similar, just initially imagined or conceived in a different way. of course, some things are different -- for sure -- but different doesn't equal negative, just not the same. for instance, many people on the trip found themselves being asked to be photographed with chinese tourists -- pretty common experience for a westerner in china -- and in fact while we were on the huangpu river cruise this evening the 'adults' [sometimes i don't feel like an adult yet] were marveling at this. but then it occurred to me that this really isn't any different from foreigners taking pictures of chinese people with a telescope-lens, or me asking a cab driver to slow down so i can photograph a particularly amazing-looking bamboo scaffolding at a construction site. we're all just people marveling at how different we all are and what interesting ideas we all come up with.
ahem...but i digress...the concert was fabulous. after getting work with the orchestra a few times now, especially here in china, i have begun to understand what it is that one of my favourite composers [to whom there is a brief homage to in the piece of mine that we played!] meant when he talked about enjoying and valuing the human interaction that goes on in making music after you compose the piece. lou harrison refused to do any kind of electronic [art] music once it came along during his life in the 20th century. he felt that there is no human connection or feeling in electronic sounds...and that the sense of community and understanding and, well, everything that goes on in making music is completely absent in electronic music. myself, i actually make some electronic compositions from time to time...and i listen to a lot of electronic or partially electronic music from time to time. i mean, i'm just as happy listening to the flaming lips, who rely heavily on technology in their music, as i am to a john cage piece where he plays a piece of dried cactus and garlic skins. after all, we created the technology to begin with...it's not robots...but at any rate i do understand more what lou harrison felt in his connection to human interaction and dynamics in music as a composer relating to players now after this trip that i never have before.
tonight i joined the group for one last huzzah on the huang-pu river cruise. it was so psychedellic! shanghai is truly a tinsel-town. it's fascinating.....i really cant do justice in describing what it's like to see all of shanghai and pudong lit up and night from the river[maybe someone else...uh...should write about that? anyone?]...but this new china that we saw in all of its 'roid-esque glory was truly a sight to behold, and and interesting ending note to the time we all spent here.
ahem...but i digress...the concert was fabulous. after getting work with the orchestra a few times now, especially here in china, i have begun to understand what it is that one of my favourite composers [to whom there is a brief homage to in the piece of mine that we played!] meant when he talked about enjoying and valuing the human interaction that goes on in making music after you compose the piece. lou harrison refused to do any kind of electronic [art] music once it came along during his life in the 20th century. he felt that there is no human connection or feeling in electronic sounds...and that the sense of community and understanding and, well, everything that goes on in making music is completely absent in electronic music. myself, i actually make some electronic compositions from time to time...and i listen to a lot of electronic or partially electronic music from time to time. i mean, i'm just as happy listening to the flaming lips, who rely heavily on technology in their music, as i am to a john cage piece where he plays a piece of dried cactus and garlic skins. after all, we created the technology to begin with...it's not robots...but at any rate i do understand more what lou harrison felt in his connection to human interaction and dynamics in music as a composer relating to players now after this trip that i never have before.
tonight i joined the group for one last huzzah on the huang-pu river cruise. it was so psychedellic! shanghai is truly a tinsel-town. it's fascinating.....i really cant do justice in describing what it's like to see all of shanghai and pudong lit up and night from the river[maybe someone else...uh...should write about that? anyone?]...but this new china that we saw in all of its 'roid-esque glory was truly a sight to behold, and and interesting ending note to the time we all spent here.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
running down the rickshaw...
We had a tour of Shanghai Conservatory, led by their director of international studies - a lovely young woman who speaks impeccable English and seems a little different from most Chinese we've met in her slight, but not un-friendly, Western-seeming detachment. Not aloof at all - she was very pleased to show us the campus and tell us details of how the school runs and what the educational system is like, but her personal space was clearly delineated. The facility is under construction, with one phase completed and another yet to begin, so there was no dust. The facility is modern, but warm. They've used raw lumber, held down with screws, to create the interior steps and decking, and 1/4" metal cable run horizontally and strung in a sleek steel frame to form the railing. The practice rooms have wood floors and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the tree-lined street. It feels great to be there. Ann commented that it was nicer than Juilliard, and our host's demeanor melted for a happy moment with obvious gratitude and pleasure. This is the pre-eminent music college in China and draws students from all of Asia, from what she called "USSR", Australia, and a few from Europe and US. There are over 1300 students attending, with a split between locals who live at home, Chinese from outside Shanghai who stay in a dorm, and international students who occupy a separate dorm.
After lunch, we had tai chi with Professor Chu, a 60-ish woman possessed of a warm gravitas. She led us through a routine called 24 steps which felt more like 240 steps. We were to learn by following along as she performed the moves, which worked alright when she was in front of us, but became difficult when we would turn and face the other direction. This is when the alleged parental eyes-in-the-back-of-the-head would have been useful. Many of the students were tired at the break and left to have some down time, and Professor Chu continued with four of us oldsters, showing us how to warm ourselves and stimulate our circulation upon awaking and advising us on some walking and clapping exercises. These involved slapping oneself and clapping loudly, something I felt a little self-conscious about later on in the hotel room.
In the evening we attended a knock-your-socks-off, jaw-dropping Chinese acrobat extravaganza. There is no way to do justice in words to the overwhelming impressiveness of this experience. I bought a DVD.
On Tuesday we visited the Suzhou Middle School No. 6 which focuses on fine arts, ages 13 - 20. Students are admitted by exam and can choose to focus on visual arts, dance or music. We had a lovely performance by a 19 year old student who played the yangqing (dulcimer but more vibrant). Later, upstairs, we stood in the hallway between rows of practice rooms and those folks who hadn't experienced it before had a chance to witness the cacophony that is conservatory life: simultaneous individual practice in close quarters. Those students can really concentrate! We were treated to another impromptu performance by a girl playing a different plucked instrument (can't remember the name), and then Kayla played her Debussy piano piece beautifully for all of us. It was cool in a "completing the circle" kind of way, because Debussy had been profoundly influenced by Asian music, which he heard at the late 19th century Paris World Expo. It led him to experiment with different scale systems and the fragmentary nature of Eastern music, and to attempt the harp-like textures of Asian plucked instruments on the piano. It was a great pairing of spontaneous performances.
We visited the silk museum and store and were able to see examples of fine old silks and purchase new ones.
Our day was capped with a two hour free period in the old canal district, with the students on their own in this safe, warren-like neighborhood of traditional houses connected by canals and stone bridges. The bus driver wasn't able to locate the neighborhood at first, though, so "Chairman Zhu" (his new moniker, much to the amusement of all) jumped out of the bus and hired a bicycle rickshaw driver to lead us through the construction-ridden downtown. Kyla thought it looked like so much fun that she wanted to ride along in the other half of the seat. So she jumped out, too, and chased them down - with all the construction and bad traffic they were already a full city block ahead and widening the gap quickly. That girl can run! She managed to catch up and jump in but the image of Kyla running at full speed down a busy Chinese "village" street (pop. 2.3 million) in hot pursuit of a rickshaw is not one I'll soon forget!
After lunch, we had tai chi with Professor Chu, a 60-ish woman possessed of a warm gravitas. She led us through a routine called 24 steps which felt more like 240 steps. We were to learn by following along as she performed the moves, which worked alright when she was in front of us, but became difficult when we would turn and face the other direction. This is when the alleged parental eyes-in-the-back-of-the-head would have been useful. Many of the students were tired at the break and left to have some down time, and Professor Chu continued with four of us oldsters, showing us how to warm ourselves and stimulate our circulation upon awaking and advising us on some walking and clapping exercises. These involved slapping oneself and clapping loudly, something I felt a little self-conscious about later on in the hotel room.
In the evening we attended a knock-your-socks-off, jaw-dropping Chinese acrobat extravaganza. There is no way to do justice in words to the overwhelming impressiveness of this experience. I bought a DVD.
On Tuesday we visited the Suzhou Middle School No. 6 which focuses on fine arts, ages 13 - 20. Students are admitted by exam and can choose to focus on visual arts, dance or music. We had a lovely performance by a 19 year old student who played the yangqing (dulcimer but more vibrant). Later, upstairs, we stood in the hallway between rows of practice rooms and those folks who hadn't experienced it before had a chance to witness the cacophony that is conservatory life: simultaneous individual practice in close quarters. Those students can really concentrate! We were treated to another impromptu performance by a girl playing a different plucked instrument (can't remember the name), and then Kayla played her Debussy piano piece beautifully for all of us. It was cool in a "completing the circle" kind of way, because Debussy had been profoundly influenced by Asian music, which he heard at the late 19th century Paris World Expo. It led him to experiment with different scale systems and the fragmentary nature of Eastern music, and to attempt the harp-like textures of Asian plucked instruments on the piano. It was a great pairing of spontaneous performances.
We visited the silk museum and store and were able to see examples of fine old silks and purchase new ones.
Our day was capped with a two hour free period in the old canal district, with the students on their own in this safe, warren-like neighborhood of traditional houses connected by canals and stone bridges. The bus driver wasn't able to locate the neighborhood at first, though, so "Chairman Zhu" (his new moniker, much to the amusement of all) jumped out of the bus and hired a bicycle rickshaw driver to lead us through the construction-ridden downtown. Kyla thought it looked like so much fun that she wanted to ride along in the other half of the seat. So she jumped out, too, and chased them down - with all the construction and bad traffic they were already a full city block ahead and widening the gap quickly. That girl can run! She managed to catch up and jump in but the image of Kyla running at full speed down a busy Chinese "village" street (pop. 2.3 million) in hot pursuit of a rickshaw is not one I'll soon forget!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
clangity clang clang clang
although i was not able to hear the traditional chinese music at huzhou, i still managed to hear some today here in shanghai.
much of chinese shopping is organized by neighborhoods -- and that includes music-related things. the music street here in shanghai is jingling rd...although it took me a long time to figure that out. i wandered around that general neighborhood for quite some time simply enjoying the scenery of the hustle and bustle of shanghai life. eventually i happened upon one music store and asked if there was a street for music...indeed there was! jingling lu [road].
once there i had hours of fun testing out various chinese percussion instruments. there were enormous calf skin drums, bamboo clackey things whose name currently eludes me, smaller bells, and, of course, a plethora of different gongs. i cannot stress enough how much i love gongs...and how good and inexpensive they are here. anyway, after testing lots of different instruments i purchased 1 20-inch gong [which got a lot strange looks as i walked home], plus two other smaller gongs. i have a sinking feeling i'll be headed back to jingling lu some time before the end of my visit.
on the way home i happened upon what seemed to be a senior citizens music club. they had stacks of sheet music lying around, and then there were 20 or so people sitting around drinking tea and listening as a song was sung...they all were taking turns singing, and there was a house band of a pipa, erhu, and someone playing the aforementioned bamboo clackey-things. it was quite lovely.
that's all for now...looking forward to the performance on thursday...
nat
much of chinese shopping is organized by neighborhoods -- and that includes music-related things. the music street here in shanghai is jingling rd...although it took me a long time to figure that out. i wandered around that general neighborhood for quite some time simply enjoying the scenery of the hustle and bustle of shanghai life. eventually i happened upon one music store and asked if there was a street for music...indeed there was! jingling lu [road].
once there i had hours of fun testing out various chinese percussion instruments. there were enormous calf skin drums, bamboo clackey things whose name currently eludes me, smaller bells, and, of course, a plethora of different gongs. i cannot stress enough how much i love gongs...and how good and inexpensive they are here. anyway, after testing lots of different instruments i purchased 1 20-inch gong [which got a lot strange looks as i walked home], plus two other smaller gongs. i have a sinking feeling i'll be headed back to jingling lu some time before the end of my visit.
on the way home i happened upon what seemed to be a senior citizens music club. they had stacks of sheet music lying around, and then there were 20 or so people sitting around drinking tea and listening as a song was sung...they all were taking turns singing, and there was a house band of a pipa, erhu, and someone playing the aforementioned bamboo clackey-things. it was quite lovely.
that's all for now...looking forward to the performance on thursday...
nat
Monday, April 21, 2008
Huzhou teachers' college
Day 4 of our stay in Shanghai - we were greeted in Huzhou yesterday by an audience of music undergraduate students who had awaited our arrival in the performance hall for over 45 minutes. When we stepped in the side door they burst into applause - what a welcome! We were hurried to the backstage area to unpack and get ready to perform - immediately! The lower strings, of course, had not touched an instrument since leaving Seattle and had to navigate the different fingerboards with no opportunity to noodle around. The orchestra played splendidly. Afterward, three of the university music students performed for us on the erhu (Chinese 2 string violin), an instrument resembling a dulcimer (whose name I forget) and piano. They said later they were so nervous because they had never performed for Americans. But their music was so expressive, warm and virtuosic, you never would have known. For a 10 AM concert, the erhu player was dressed in gold lame! After the music was finished, we stayed for photos - many, many photos, as seemingly all Chinese now have digital cameras and want to pose with Americans, usually making a peace sign with their fingers, although one young man had fashioned a small "anti-CNN" flag and posed with Ben, holding it proudly across his chest with a Chinese flag in the other hand.
After lunch, Peter bought 3 pineapples (for about $2.50 US) and Robert Y bought an length of black sugar cane taller than him that the woman shopkeeper adroitly shaved with a serious looking cleaver. The students all noshed on it while we took a stroll along the canal.
This is a traditional canal neighborhood of one-story residences, a barber shop and tiny businesses. It would not be featured in any guidebook. We saw an outdoor hibachi-like cookstove going and a man being shaved with a straight razor. Every now and then, instead of a house there would be a pile of rubble. Our guide from the university explained that all these houses would be torn down in the near future and replaced with new ones, thereby providing a more modern, comfortable and hygienic living quarters for the residents. But, as he said, they would lose "something Chinese" along the way. It's sad, but the issues around modernization are so complex, as we're learning on this trip, that it is not possible to say that it's a bad thing. Our guide said that next time we came to China we would no longer see this neighborhood.
Our host, Mr. Zhu, was so concerned that we had been rained upon during the stroll (which hadn't been on the official itinerary) that he phoned ahead to our kitchen staff to have hot, sweet ginger "tea" awaiting us upon our return. Can you imagine such a luxury in Seattle?
Today we'll see the Shanghai Conservatory and later tai chi and the acrobats.
After lunch, Peter bought 3 pineapples (for about $2.50 US) and Robert Y bought an length of black sugar cane taller than him that the woman shopkeeper adroitly shaved with a serious looking cleaver. The students all noshed on it while we took a stroll along the canal.
This is a traditional canal neighborhood of one-story residences, a barber shop and tiny businesses. It would not be featured in any guidebook. We saw an outdoor hibachi-like cookstove going and a man being shaved with a straight razor. Every now and then, instead of a house there would be a pile of rubble. Our guide from the university explained that all these houses would be torn down in the near future and replaced with new ones, thereby providing a more modern, comfortable and hygienic living quarters for the residents. But, as he said, they would lose "something Chinese" along the way. It's sad, but the issues around modernization are so complex, as we're learning on this trip, that it is not possible to say that it's a bad thing. Our guide said that next time we came to China we would no longer see this neighborhood.
Our host, Mr. Zhu, was so concerned that we had been rained upon during the stroll (which hadn't been on the official itinerary) that he phoned ahead to our kitchen staff to have hot, sweet ginger "tea" awaiting us upon our return. Can you imagine such a luxury in Seattle?
Today we'll see the Shanghai Conservatory and later tai chi and the acrobats.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
i'm going to pass over the gefelte fish...
so, after arriving in china on wednesday evening i headed for pudong [across the river from shanghai] and have been thoroughly enjoying myself...writing music, meandering around in shanghai, getting into arguments with taxi drivers, eating amazing food, marveling at the complex dance that is the traffic, viewing art, buying fake antique old communist tchotchkies...and what else? ah yes, waking up at 2am because of jet lag and counting the minutes until you can go buy some baozi on the street each morning...
in other news, apparently there are, like, 500-ish jews in shanghai from all over the world from at any given time, as the seder meal in a huge ballroom was absolutely packed. some of the families were mixed -- half chinese -- so it was a truly unique experience to observe a hasidic guy in an enormous hat speaking in perfect chinese to his kids as his wife looked on. totally wild. i couldn't imagine what on earth the chinese wait staff must've been thinking was going on as they came around and washed everyone's hands, watched as hundreds of people put their pinkies into their wine glasses and flicked symbolic drops, hide the matzoh, etc. a good time was had by all, and i'm sure that the orchestra really must've been feeling the required 4 glasses of grape juice you were supposed to drink by the end...
lechaim!
in other news, apparently there are, like, 500-ish jews in shanghai from all over the world from at any given time, as the seder meal in a huge ballroom was absolutely packed. some of the families were mixed -- half chinese -- so it was a truly unique experience to observe a hasidic guy in an enormous hat speaking in perfect chinese to his kids as his wife looked on. totally wild. i couldn't imagine what on earth the chinese wait staff must've been thinking was going on as they came around and washed everyone's hands, watched as hundreds of people put their pinkies into their wine glasses and flicked symbolic drops, hide the matzoh, etc. a good time was had by all, and i'm sure that the orchestra really must've been feeling the required 4 glasses of grape juice you were supposed to drink by the end...
lechaim!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
fun and games at the Great Wall
We had the awesome experience today of walking the Great Wall - at least a tiny portion of it. Some of our group - girls - spent a good 30 minutes having their picture taken with Chinese tourists who wanted to have a snap of themselves posing with American kids. Our relentless schedule continued with a drive past the Olympic village and stadiums. There is construction everywhere! But there are also trees being planted on the order of thousands. New sidewalks are being laid in brick and housing for the athletes will be converted to apartments for Beijing residents. It's really quite beautiful and impressive. The swimming facility - called the "water cube" - is very interesting. It has two layers of permeable "skin" on the outside which permit rainwater to collect, and, warmed by the sun, heat up the building. It looks like gigantic, psychedelic blue bubble wrap. And the birdsnest stadium is so cool-looking.
Many more conversations today with Amanda about politics and history. She is extraordinarily knowledgeable, and hearing a Chinese person's point of view on history is eye-opening. We appreciate her openness and candor, as well as her warmth. We will be sad to say goodbye to her tomorrow morning.
Some of us attended a kung fu ballet extravaganza in the late afternoon while others shopped in the public market. The kung fu show was a full-on Broadway-type production detailing the life of a Zen Buddhist kung fu student and his attainment of self-mastery as well as some pretty kickin' kung fu. They do all their own stunts live onstage with an amazing musical score reminiscent of all the great hits of the twentieth century: think Stravinsky, Carmina Burana, Charles Ives.
Tomorrow we're on the train all day and will post from Shanghai later.
Everyone is having such a wonderful time, with absolutely no problems thus far. Knock on wood!
Many more conversations today with Amanda about politics and history. She is extraordinarily knowledgeable, and hearing a Chinese person's point of view on history is eye-opening. We appreciate her openness and candor, as well as her warmth. We will be sad to say goodbye to her tomorrow morning.
Some of us attended a kung fu ballet extravaganza in the late afternoon while others shopped in the public market. The kung fu show was a full-on Broadway-type production detailing the life of a Zen Buddhist kung fu student and his attainment of self-mastery as well as some pretty kickin' kung fu. They do all their own stunts live onstage with an amazing musical score reminiscent of all the great hits of the twentieth century: think Stravinsky, Carmina Burana, Charles Ives.
Tomorrow we're on the train all day and will post from Shanghai later.
Everyone is having such a wonderful time, with absolutely no problems thus far. Knock on wood!
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