The Scripps College Department of Music and the Gould Center of Claremont McKenna College present a concert performance with a Chinese music delegation from Xiamen University, Fujian, China, celebrating the traditional music and dance of Inner Mongolia on Sunday, February 5, at 3 p.m. in Balch Auditorium of Scripps College. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the Scripps College Department of Music at (909) 607-3266.
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region in northern China bordering Russia and Mongolia. The third largest Chinese province, Inner Mongolia is sparsely populated and composed of many ethnic groups with a Mongol majority. The folk music and dance of Mongolia reflect the demands of the traditional nomadic lifestyle. The songs and dances are used to tell the epic stories from Mongolian folklore of heroes, lovers, and everyday life.
The Xiamen University music delegation features an ensemble of professors of music and folksingers from Mongolia. The ensemble will perform music, dance, and songs from Inner Mongolia or compositions influenced by Mongolian culture. The ensemble features Zhaozhi Du, Suoyila, Li Su, Jie Su, Xiaofang Zheng, and Wei Chen.
Zhaozhi Du, professor of composition at Xiamen University, has been awarded the honor of national composer of the first rank by the People’s Republic of China. Professor Du was formerly a member of the Inner Mongolian Dance and Song Troupe and a professor of music at the University of Inner Mongolia.
Suoyila is a Mongolian folksinger who specializes in Changdiao, pastoral mountain songs from Inner Mongolia. Changdiao songs are characterized by their lengthy vocalization and free rhythm and were recently declared an international treasure by the United Nations.
Li Su is the dean of the College of Arts at Xiamen University and a classically trained cellist who received his formal training and doctorate in Russia. Other members of the ensemble include: Jie Su, a lecturer and pianist at Xiamen University; Xiaofang Zheng, a lecturer and soprano at Xiamen University; and Wei Chen, a folkloric dancer.