Chinese instruments find US audience

As the first grading exams in Chinese musical instruments were held in Seattle by Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music, examiner Pang Huanlei was impressed by Eric Einspruch, a 61-year-old student from Portland, Oregon.

"He is very focused on playing and his skill is really good," said Professor Pang, who will decide if Einspruch passed the grade two exam.

The instrument Einspruch was playing is called yangqin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer. He started learning how to play it two years ago.

Lu Jing, yangqin instrumentalist and Einspruch's teacher, proudly waited outside the exam room while listening to the music.

"He did a great job. I believe he can pass the exam," Lu said.

Now a music instructor at Portland State University, Lu began studying yangqin when she was 4. She entered the Central Conservatory of Music, China's top music academy, with the highest admissions-test score for her instrument, at age 12.

Two years ago, Einspruch was dazzled by Lu's yangyin performance at a concert on the campus of Portland State University (PSU). He approached Lu and said he wanted to learn to play the unique Chinese instrument.

"I think the music is very beautiful, and Lu is remarkable," Einspruch recalled.

An independent researcher and a part-time instructor of graduate students, Einspruch has been interested in Chinese culture for many years.

He has been to China four times, starting in 1987. About nine years ago, Einspruch started to study the Chinese language. In 2015, he was in China to speak at a conference.

In 2017 and 2018, he participated in a two-week summer language program to study Chinese at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China.

"Our two countries are two of the important countries on the global stage. I think it is very important for us to understand who we are, and how we are different (and) are the same. We build bridges and learn to work together. So I think cultural experience is very important," Einspruch said.

"To understand a song, a piece of music, I think the best way is to actually play it. It helps deepens the understanding of one aspect of the culture," Einspruch said.

Lu also has served as special music project coordinator for the Confucius Institute at PSU. Since 2017, she has helped produce seven concerts in Portland. She also brought US students who love Chinese music to China for international summer music camps in 2017 and 2018.

"More and more people in the United States are showing interest in Chinese music, Lu said, and the number of her students is increasing every year.

"The grading exam is very important for the students in the United States who want professional, systematic and long-term training," said Wang Yang, founder of Higher Culture and Seattle Echo Pipa Studio, who partnered with the Central Conservatory of Music to make the Seattle exam a reality.

The youngest yangqin student to participate in the exam was Dai Zixia, a 7-year-old girl.

Her parents are first generation immigrants to the United States. They said Zixia fell in love with the instrument when she first watched the performance of a yangqin musician at a local concert.

"We feel like her study of yangqin will help connect her to Chinese culture. We also planned to take her to China to immerse herself into this art of music and Chinese culture," her parents told China Daily.

"We see many Chinese American families starting to choose to let their kids study Chinese musical instruments. Although Chinese instruments are not as popular as piano and violin, the parents hopes their kids learn more about Chinese history and culture through music," Pang said.

Pang believes music is the language of the world and a bridge for cultural exchange.

In addition to cultivating talented musicians, the Central Conservatory of Music has also done a lot of work in promoting national music, including popularization and overseas communication.