Compressing thousands of years of musical tradition into one class can be difficult, but the director of the Music of China Ensemble, Chi Li, has been doing it for 14 years. The Music of China ensemble has been at UCLA for 50 years and is one of the oldest Chinese ensembles in the states.
In the past 14 years, Li has taught students at least 20 different musical instruments including the dizi, a bamboo flute, and the pipa, a pear-shaped four-string instrument.
Carrie Zhao, fourth-year microbiology student and member of the advanced ensemble, has been playing with the ensemble for two years.
“I chose Music of China because it really helped me connect to my cultural background,” Zhao said.
Zhao plays the erhu, which she described as a type of violin that can be found in the Mongolian area of China.
According to Zhao, Li can play a wide variety of instruments, and Li taught her the cipher musical notation, which is used in China.
“She has a very good ear, and she knows who needs help. … (If) you do your part and she does her part, (we’re) able to create something wonderful,” Zhao said.