MELBOURNE, Australia—At the conclusion of the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts company’s performances in Melbourne, Australia, conductor Ms. Chia-Chi Lin shared her success regarding blending performances by Chinese and Western musical instruments in her orchestra.
“I received training in Western musical instruments when I was little,” Ms. Lin said in an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times. “The Shen Yun Orchestra is a combination of Chinese and Western instruments. It has classical Western instruments such as brass, woodwind, and other orchestra instruments, as well as classical Chinese instruments such as erhu, 4-stringed Chinese lute (pipa), bamboo flute, suona horn, gong, wooden knocker, Chinese drums, and the like.
“Western instruments are well-structured and produce a rich and deep sound, while the instruments in the East are more capable of carrying profound meanings. Like with singing, they are more fluidic. Eastern instruments are truly capable of expressing one’s innermost feelings,” Ms. Lin said.
Ms. Lin made a comparison between the violin and the erhu: “The violin is known for its colorful and bright melody, so it sounds quite pleasant to the ear, but in portraying one’s deep emotions, it is not as expressive as the erhu. When combined in an orchestra such as ours, they produce the best results.”
How Chinese and Western Instruments Are Combined
