Virtuoso string ensemble Red Chamber and world music artist Randy Raine-Reusch will perform Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Richard and Lucille Ice Auditorium on the Linfield College campus. “Red Chamber: Secrets of the Chinese Court, Passions of the West” is free and the public is invited.
The ensemble stretches the boundaries of traditional Asian music with a spicy fusion that spans centuries, world cultures and musical genres. Its repertoire is inspired by ancient Chinese court music and blended with Balkan, gypsy, jazz, American old-time and bluegrass traditions, along with adventurous free-form music.
Red Chamber is gaining a presence on the international music scene with concerts in Europe, Asia and North America. Their video “Redgrass,” with bluegrass mandolin player John Reischman, has become a viral hit on YouTube, where one reviewer wrote, “That made me grin so wide I thought the top of my head was going to fall off.”
“These virtuosic performers set the stage on fire with hot licks, power and passion,” said Canada’s CBC Radio.
World music composer and performer Randy Raine-Reusch will appear as guest artist. An innovator interested in extending the boundaries of music, he has created distinct new styles on a number of world instruments from his collection of 700. His music, performed around the world, has been influenced by a variety of indigenous cultures and is heavily influenced by Taoism and Zen. CBC Radio called Raine-Reusch the “Noah of music instruments.”
The Red Chamber ensemble is led by Mei Han, a groundbreaking performer renowned for taking the plucked Chinese zheng in adventurous new directions. Her music is deeply rooted in more than 2,000 years of Chinese culture, but she has redefined the zheng, inventing new tunings, developing new fingering techniques, expanding old structures and creating new forms of expression on the ancient instrument.
Han offers “substance and real delicacy, often at the same time, and a quality of weightlessness,” according to Musicworks magazine. “She plays with a spellbinding sensitivity, with a feeling for sound and stillness, for timing and subtle drama.”
Han grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution, listening to songs that praised Chairman Mao, the Communist Party and the working class. As a child, she had no exposure to Western music and even traditional Chinese music was banned and its scores burned. Music that expressed feelings or emotions was considered “unhealthy.”
The Tiananmen Square incident changed Han’s outlook. She turned, she said, “from a young person into an adult” and experienced her first feelings of restlessness and disillusionment with her narrow training. After settling in Canada she embarked on an eager — and emotional — exploration of music from around the world.
“When you breathe new air, new things come out,” she said.
Red Chamber also features Guilian Liu, internationally recognized as one of the world’s premiere pipa (Chinese lute) players; Zhimin Yu, the only ruan (bass lute) virtuoso in North America; and award-winning multi-instrumentalist Geling Jiang.
The concert is co-sponsored by the Linfield Department of Music and the International Programs Office and made possible by the generosity of the Freeman Foundation. The foundation sponsors the China in McMinnville program to enhance Chinese culture and studies at Linfield.
Red Chamber can be visited on MySpace and Facebook, and the ensemble’s music can be previewed at www.mei-han.com/redchamber. Linfield College is located at 900 SE Baker Street in McMinnville. For more information contact the Linfield Department of Music at (503) 883-2275.
