Echoes of the Qin: Conversations on Music and Craft
This talk is free.
Registration (with a $10 refundable deposit) is required.
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Celebrate the opening of Elegant Sounds: Music, Craft, and the Literati with an evening of music and conversation. Join qin maestros Kee Chee Koon and Ning Xiaojing and qin maker Ning Qunhui as they bring the sounds and stories of ancient China to life. Through performance between musician and maker, we invite you to discover how the quiet elegance of the qin continues to inspire and connect us today.
This talk will be conducted in Mandarin with simultaneous interpretation in English.
SPEAKERS
Kee Chee Koon is the first Singaporean to earn a doctorate in qin studies in China. He spent more than twenty years reconstructing thirty-two ancient qin compositions from Qin Entablature of the Great Return Pavilion, compiled in the 17th century. In addition to researching and performing, Kee is a passionate educator who is dedicated to teaching new generations about the art of the qin.
Ning Qunhui has been making qin using traditional materials and techniques for over two decades. His instruments have been exhibited at the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts (2011) and the Wuhan Art Museum (2014). In 2012, he received the title of Master Craftsman from the provincial government of Hubei in recognition of his efforts to preserve the art of qin-making. In recent years, he has restored more than twenty historical qin from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties.
Ning Xiaojing is a qin performer and professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music, China. Trained in both the qin and guzheng, she has given solo concerts and lectures in Singapore, Taiwan, and Mainland China, including a featured performance with Kee Chee Koon at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. In addition to performing, she teaches university-level courses on qin appreciation and performance and has released an album featuring the qin and Chinese flute.
MODERATOR
Kevin Lam is Senior Curator of Chinese Art at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Before joining the museum, he played a key role in launching Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong, and worked at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, where he oversaw the design and contemporary art galleries. In addition to painting and calligraphy, Kevin is interested in Chinese decorative art and its connections with neighbouring cultures. He holds a PhD in art history from Northwestern University.
Image:
Bo Ya 伯牙. Attributed to Soga Jasoku 曾我 蛇足 (d. 1483). Japan, Muromachi period (1336–1573). Hanging scroll: colour on paper
The ACM Conversations Lecture Series is generously supported by Dalio Philanthropies
