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ABOUT ME

Pipa performer and an ethnomusicological explorer, Yu-Xin Mei was born in Tianjin, China. Mei received her B.A. in Pipa Performance at China Conservatory of Music, Beijing, and her M.A. in Pipa Performance and Education at Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Guangzhou, China.

 

Mei grew up in a Chinese traditional cultural family. Her parents were Beijing Opera performers and she started musical training at age four. After four years of at the education of Beijing Opera, she began to study pipa, a Chinese traditional instrument. With rigorous and strict musical education both in the Chinese and European traditions, Mei graduated from China Conservatory of Music and became a professional musician working in Zhuhai Chinese Traditional Chamber Orchestra (ZCTCO) in 1997.

 

During 1997 to 2006, as a soloist and the Art Director at ZCTCO, Mei has performed various concerts in China and also traveled the world to places including Portugal, France, Germany, Norway, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the U.S. In 2006, Mei returned to school to pursue her first master's degree at the Xinghai Conservatory and then became a professor of Pipa at the conservatory in 2009.

 

Mei holds a strong interest in traditional and folk music of China and the world. Mei realized that she was increasingly attracted by cultural meaning and connotations attached to the spectacular music scenes of world music. Therefore, Mei started her ethnomusicological journey in the U.S.; she became a graduate student at the University of North Texas in 2012.

 

Currently, Mei is undertaking her fieldwork and writing her thesis: The Study of Chinese Traditional Music Group in Houston. Through her project, she is exploring not only Chinese immigrant music in the U.S., but also discovering the distinct cultural factors and characters which influence the transmission and development of Chinese music in the U.S. and throughout the world.

Copyright @ Yu-Xin Mei; Olso, Norway, 2013

    Characters are applied to quietly record out lives; paintings permanently freeze time; but music is performed dynamically. 

   

    Continuously repeating histories construct the world we live in. In this turbulent historical river the only unique thing is our culture, in which music is the most shining star.  Music reflects the shimmering glory of humanity and showcases her diversity. Music allows us the freedom to express ourselves, to a certain extent, music exceeds languages. Music is able to communicate while transcending the boundaries of race, geography, time, and space. For example, Gao Shan Liu Shui (The Lofty Mountain and Flowing River) has performed more than two thousand years and still enchants its bosom friends; also the sonatas composed by Mozart two hundred years ago continues to touch our hearts today. No matter who we are, we cannot escape from music or musical environments because music is a part of us.

 

    In the immense musical world of European classical music and popular music, there is another incredible world of music: ethno music, also named world music. As an enthusiast of world music and an explorer of ethnomusicology, I am willing to uncover the unknown and the enthralling veil of world musical culture with my friends.

 

        文字用以记录,画面可以定格,而音乐则当演奏。

        我们生活的世界是由不断重复的历史所构成的,在历史长河的循环往复中,唯一不曾重复的就是我们的文化, 而音乐则是我们人类文化中一颗璀璨的明星。音乐的魅力在于她所闪耀的人性光辉,并且呈现出五彩斑斓的多样性。音乐赋予了我们极大的自由去表达自己,在某种程度下她可以超越语言。音乐可以让我们超越地域、时空和种族的界限进行交流——千年前奏响的高山流水,今日仍在寻觅她的知音;百年前莫扎特写就的奏鸣曲,仍在抚慰着我们的心灵。无论你是谁,你都离不开音乐,或者说离不开音乐的环境,因为音乐就是我们的一部分。

        在浩瀚的音乐世界中,除了我们熟知的欧洲古典音乐、以及俯首皆是的流行音乐之外,还有一片我们身处其中而不知的音乐世界——民族音乐,又被称为“世界音乐”。作为民族音乐学的热爱者和探索者,我愿与朋友们一起探索、寻找那些迷人的未知音乐世界,以及揭开她神秘的面纱。

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