Chinese Music Ensemble, directed by Cynthia Hsiang

PCC Chinese Music Ensemble - Fall 2025 Concert, Cynthia Hsiang, director

On Chinese Instruments:

Erhu 二胡 (Two string Fiddle)

Yangqin 扬琴 (Hammered Dulcimer)

Guzheng 古筝 (Long Zither)

Pipa琵琶 (lute)

Dizi笛子 (Bamboo flute)

This performance is presented to satisfy a portion of the requirements for Chinese Music Ensemble (MUSC 038C).

Program:

Fengyang Flower Drum 风阳花鼓 Chinese Folk Song;

Pastoral Spring Scenery田园春色 Chen Zhenduo(1904-1999);

Little Yellow Bird小黄鹂鸟 Mongolian Folk Song;

Ashes of Yesterday昨日夢灰未泯(2025) Hong-Yi Hiroki Hon;

White Paulownia 白桐曲(1964) Yanjia Zhou (1934-2019) -

Carol Chang, zheng;

The Great River Flows Eastward大江东去（1920） Qing Zhu (1893–1959) -

Haoyi Zhao, vocal;

Little Flower Drum小花鼓 Beimao Liu(1903–1981) -

Monica Chen, erhu;

The Dream of Loulan楼兰梦 Zhao Jiping(b.1945) -

Kyle Lai, guanzi;

- Intermission -

Teresa Teng Medley邓丽君组曲(2015) Recorded by Teresa Teng(1953-1995)

guzheng Trio arranged by Cynthia Hsiang;

Fragrance of the Night夜来香(1978);

Sweet Honey甜蜜蜜(1979);

I Only Care About You我只在乎你(1987);

The Moon Represents My Heart月亮代表我的心(1977);

Don’t Pick the Wildflowers by the Road路边的野花不要采(1974);

Blossoms and Full Moon花好月圆(1950) 黃貽鈞Huang Yijun(1915–1995) -

guzheng duet arranged by Cynthia Hsiang;

Sound of China Guzheng Ensemble:

Cookie Zhao, Carol Chang, Jen Yen, Kathy Lei

A Glimpse of the Mountain Village山村小景(1960s) Liu Sen(b.1937) -

Yuhong Zhang , dizi;

Song of the Phoenix Soaring凤翔歌 Traditional -

Thomas Deng, guzheng;

Echoes of the Market繁声纪(2025) Haoyi Zhao;

Lift Your Veil 掀起你的盖头来 Xinjiang Folk Song;

Song of the Hero 好汉歌 (1997) Zhao Jiping(b.1945);

Dance of the Golden Snake金蛇狂舞（1934） Nie Er (1912–1935) -

Monica Chen/ Kyle Lai, suona;

- Good Evening -

PCC Chinese Music Ensemble -

Cynthia Hsiang, director

Founded in 1997 by Director Cynthia Hsiang, the Pasadena City College Chinese Music Ensemble is an accredited group within the Performing and Communication Arts Department. The ensemble provides students with a rare opportunity to explore the rich traditions of Chinese music through hands-on study, rehearsal, and performance on authentic instruments. Beyond its regular semester concerts, the ensemble actively enriches the cultural life of the community, performing at major events such as the Monterey Park and Huntington Library Chinese New Year Festivals.

Erhu 二胡

(Chinese 2-string fiddle)

Monica Chen

Santino Santillan

Hong-Yi Hiroki Hon

Adam Parker

Guanzi管子

(Chinese double-reed wind instrument)

Kyle Lai

Yangqin扬琴

(Chinese butterfly harp)

Judy Tsao

Laura Xu

Pipa 琵琶

(Chinese lute)

Ling Gonzalez

Laura Xu

Suona唢呐

(Chinese double-reed wind instrument)

Monica Chen

Kyle Lai

Dizi笛子

(Chinese bamboo flute)

Joshua Lee

Kyle Lai

Yuhong Zhang

Zheng 古筝

(Chinese long Zither)

Thomas Dang

Haoyi Zhao

Jessica Tang

Alina Wen Sun

Clae Lu

Sound of China Guzheng Ensemble -

Cynthia Hsiang, director

Cookie Zhao, Carol Chang, Jen Yen, Kathy Lei

Founded in 2006, the Sound of China Guzheng Ensemble is a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles dedicated to preserving and promoting the art of guzheng—China’s ancient zither. Under the direction of Professor Cynthia Hsiang, the ensemble features a roster of award-winning musicians, including Cookie Zhao (National Youth Fine Arts Competition gold medalist) and Carol Chang (CCTV National Folk Musical Instrument Competition winner). The ensemble regularly performs throughout Southern California and internationally, sharing the expressive beauty of guzheng music through concerts, cultural festivals, and charitable events. Notable appearances include the L.A. County Holiday Celebration, the Sound of Asia series in 2012, and performances at the Chinese Guzheng Arts Conference in Yangzhou in 2013 and 2017. Through their dynamic performances and educational outreach, the Sound of China Guzheng Ensemble continues to foster cross-cultural appreciation and elevate the profile of traditional Chinese music in the global arts community.

Program Notes:

The “Fengyang Flower Drum” is a traditional Chinese folk song originating from Fengyang County in Anhui Province. The song's lyrics reflect the struggles and resilience of the people from this region.

“Pastoral Spring Scenery” is an erhu solo composed by Chen Zhenduo in the mid-20th century. It’s widely used in erhu education for its lyrical style and foundational techniques. Inspired by Jiangnan folk melodies, this melody evokes a vibrant springtime countryside—blooming fields, gentle breezes, and rural tranquility

The Mongolian folk song "Little Yellow Bird" is cherished for its heartfelt portrayal of the expansive grasslands and the lively charm of nature's beauty.

Composed in 2025 by Hong-Yi Hiroki Hon for the PCC Chinese Music Ensemble, “Ashes of Yesterday” evokes the haunting beauty of dreams once ignited and long extinguished. Through its delicate textures and poignant phrasing, the work reflects on aspirations reduced to ash—yet still glowing faintly with the embers of what was once imagined.

“White Paulownia Melody” is a guzheng solo piece composed by Zhou Yanji in 1964. It features a distinct Henan folk style and was written to commemorate the selfless spirit of revolutionary martyr Jiao Yulu. The work was later reinterpreted and re-arranged by Zhou’s son, Zhou Zhan, and has gained widespread performance and recognition in the 21st century.

“The Great River Flows Eastward” is widely recognized as the first Chinese art song, composed by Qing Zhu (青主) in 1920 while studying in Germany. The text source is Su Shi’s (Su Dongpo) famous ci poem “Niannujiao: Chibi Huai Gu” (念奴娇·赤壁怀古), written in 1082. Influenced by Schubert and Hugo Wolf, Qing Zhu emphasized musical expression of poetic meaning rather than matching tonal prosody. It marks the beginning of modern Chinese vocal music by blending Western compositional techniques with classical Chinese poetry.

"Little Flower Drum" is a solo piece for erhu composed by Liu Beimao in 1943. It vividly portrays the joyful scene of children beating drums to celebrate the Spring Festival.

Composed in the 1980s as a heartfelt tribute to his late father Zhao Wangyun—founder of the Chang’an painting style—Zhao’s five-movement fantasia suite transforms the elder Zhao’s Silk Road-inspired artworks into music. The piece traces his father’s artistic journey from Chang’an to the Qilian Mountains, blending regional folk elements such as Qinqiang, Hua’er, and Muqam with Western compositional techniques to create a vivid musical landscape. Each movement—The Song of Baliu, The Lilt of the Ancient Roads, The Music of Liangzhou, “The Dream of Loulan”, and The Dance of Qiuci—evokes a distinct cultural moment along the Silk Road, while the suite expresses the deep emotional and artistic bond between father and son, celebrating legacy through sound.

“Teresa Teng Medley” for Guzheng Trio was arranged by Cynthia Hsiang in 2015, featuring a selection of Teresa Teng’s beloved classics：Fragrance of the Night夜来香 (1978), Sweet Honey甜蜜蜜 (1979), I Only Care About You我只在乎你 (1987), The Moon Represents My Heart月亮代表我的心 (1977) and Don’t Pick the Wildflowers by the Road路边的野花不要采 (1974). The arrangement captures the tenderness and emotional depth of Teng’s music while infusing the guzheng ensemble with the expressive qualities of chamber music.

"Blossoms and Full Moon" is a beloved classic in the Chinese national orchestra repertoire, composed by Huang Yijun. Originally written as the theme music for the 1950 film Three Stars Accompany the Moon, the piece has since been arranged in numerous versions, including solo and ensemble renditions for erhu, pipa, dizi, and full traditional orchestra. Its graceful melody evokes themes of reunion, harmony, and joy, making it a popular choice for festive occasions such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and weddings. Over time, it has become a household symbol of celebration and auspiciousness.

"A Glimpse of the Mountain Village" is a solo dizi (Chinese bamboo flute) piece composed in the 1960s by renowned flutist Liu Sen. It stands as a quintessential example of his “New School Dizi Art” style. The work masterfully blends the delicate lyricism of the southern qudi tradition with the bold expressiveness of the northern bangdi style. This piece emphasizes emotional expression over technical display, evoking a strong sense of everyday life and humanistic warmth.

"Song of the Phoenix Soaring” is a traditional guzheng piece rooted in Shandong qinshu, a regional narrative singing art. The melody is bright and flowing, rich in local color and infused with imagery drawn from Chinese folklore. As one of the representative works of the Shandong guzheng school, this piece is frequently selected for guzheng proficiency exams, making it both artistically significant and pedagogically valuable

Composed in 2025 by Haoyi Zhao for the PCC Chinese Music Ensemble, “Echoes of the Market” paints a vivid sonic portrait of a bustling marketplace unfolding over the course of a single day. The piece opens at dawn, as vendors quietly set up their stalls and the city stirs to life. By midday, the scene bursts into motion—animated voices, clinking wares, and the vibrant pulse of commerce fill the air. As twilight descends, the energy wanes: the crowd thins, a distant bell tolls, and the streets gradually fall silent. In the final moments, gentle murmurs linger as neighbors gather in the hush of nightfall. Through shifting textures and dynamic contrasts, Zhao captures the ebb and flow of daily life, celebrating its ordinary rhythms with extraordinary grace.

“Lift Your Veil” is a well-known and beloved Chinese folk song, particularly associated with the Uyghur ethnic minority in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. It's a vibrant and cheerful song often performed with dance.

“Song of the Hero” is the iconic theme song of the 1997 TV series Water Margin 水浒传, composed and arranged by Zhao Jiping and performed by Liu Huan. It is celebrated for its bold, masculine energy and folk-inspired orchestration.

“Dance of the Golden Snake” is a Chinese orchestral piece adapted by composer Nie Er in 1934. Drawing from the Yunnan folk tune Dao Ba Ban, it is often performed during festive occasions and symbolizes joy and exuberance.