RWC will recognize the Asian New Year on Wednesday, January 24, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. in Muntz Hall, across from Ray’s Caf. The celebration will be highlighted with a solo performance by the internationally renowned Ming Ke. A native of Nanjing, China, Ms. Ke studied at the Fine Arts College in Nanjing, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in PiPa performance in 1982.
Her professional studies on the PiPa were with the revered teachers Wang Fan-Di and Lui De-Hai. Following graduation from the Nanjing Fine Arts College, she taught aspiring PiPa students for ten years at the College while giving solo concerts in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Jiangsu, China, and Nagoya, Japan.
Her achievements were further recognized with prizes in several Chinese music festivals and competitions. This now local virtuoso, residing in West Chester, will entertain us with a variety of traditional and contemporary Chinese music on her own instrument, the PiPa.
She has performed as a soloist and with orchestras in China, Japan, Spain, and the United States.
The PiPa is one of the principal Chinese instruments. It is a four stringed and twenty-four fretted Chinese lute. It comes from the Chinese “Pi” and “Pa,” meaning the motion of strumming forward and backward. It is an instrument commonly learned by young Chinese just as western children learn to play the piano.
Ming Ke is a performer, teacher, and ambassador for this instrument. The celebration will be with Chinese cuisine. Members of the International Student Club will also be available to casually talk with anyone about Asian culture.