Elizabethtown College features lecture on Wu Man and the Chinese pipa

February 3 faculty forum precedes Gretna Music concert with Wu Man

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Wu Man Chinese Virtuoso

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (01/27/2010)(readMedia)-- Wu Man, virtuoso pipa musician is the subject of a faculty lecture at Elizabethtown College at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, in Musser Auditorium, Leffler Chapel & Performance Center. "Wu Man and the Chinese Pipa: A Curtain-Raising Act from Behind the Iron Curtain," sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Faculty, the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, and the Department of History, is a discussion about the musician and the origins of her music. The event is free and open to the public

Led by Dr. David Kenley, associate professor of history, and Dr. Karendra Devroop, assistant professor of music education, the lecture is a prelude to Gretna Music's Feb. 14 Wu Man concert.

Kenley will speak about the pipa, a lute-like instrument with a history of more than two thousand years, and how it is a new/old symbol of China. He will compare the old symbol (Great Wall) to the new (pipa). "Throughout history, the pipa has been a symbol of a multi-cultural and tolerant China, willing to adapt and innovate in response to both domestic and foreign influences," Kenley said. "It is an ideal new symbol for 21st century China." When plucked the pipa, which consists of 26 frets and six ledges arranged as stops, makes a "pi" and "pa" sound-hence the name.

In addition, Dr. Devroop will discuss Chinese music and give a brief historical background of Man, who was born in Hangzhou, China, and studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing where she became the first recipient of a master's degree in pipa. The professor will pay particular attention to her impact on Chinese music.

Man, who now lives in Boston, was cited by the Los Angeles Times as "the artist most responsible for bringing the pipa to the Western World." A Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard University, she was selected by Yo-Yo Ma as winner of the City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize in music and communication. She also is the first musician from China to perform at the White House. Man has collaborated with Ma, David Zinman, Yuri Bashmeet and Cho-liange Lin, and has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.

Contact: Debra Ronning, 717-371-1120