The Wesleyan Chinese Music Ensemble, directed by Joy Lu is made up of a variety of traditional Chinese instruments, including plucked lutes and zithers, hammered struck zithers, bowed fiddles, and bamboo/reed flutes. Participating in this course provided me with the opportunity to explore the modern Chinese ensemble and a variety of Chinese musical styles. Specifically, I learned the techniques of the yangqin, a struck zither that has a similar physical form to the hammered dulcimer – a European folk instrument that I have played for more than ten years.
