Liu Qichao (; born in

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

) is a Chinese-born American musician. He graduated from the

Shanghai Conservatory of Music The Shanghai Conservatory of Music () was founded on November 27, 1927, as the first music institution of higher education in China. Its teachers and students have won awards at home and abroad, thus earning the conservatory the name "the crad ...

. He now lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Instruments

Liu performs on an array of traditional Chinese instruments, including wind instruments: '' dizi'', ''

suona ''Suona'' (IPA: /swoʊˈnɑː/, ), also called ''dida'' (from Cantonese / '' īdá'), ''laba'' or ''haidi'', is a traditional Chinese music instrument with double-reed horn. The suona's basic design originated in ancient Iran, then called "Sur ...

'', '' sheng'', ''

bawu The ''bawu'' (; also ''ba wu'') is a Chinese wind instrument. Although shaped like a flute, it is actually a free reed instrument, with a single metal reed. It is played in a transverse (horizontal) manner. It has a pure, clarinet-like timbre an ...

'', '' xun'', and '' xiao''; stringed instruments: ''

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-s ...

'', ''

guzheng The zheng () or gu zheng (), is a Chinese plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a major pentatonic scale. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from ''Paulownia'' wood. Other co ...

'', and ''

sanxian The (, literally "three strings") is a three-stringed traditional Chinese lute. It has a long fretless fingerboard, and the body is traditionally made from snake skin stretched over a rounded rectangular resonator. It is made in several sizes ...

''; and percussion: Chinese drums, cymbals, gongs, and woodblocks.

Performances

In addition to his traditional performances, he has also worked in cross-cultural projects, collaborating with the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

Jon Jang Jon Jang (; born March 11, 1954) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Of Chinese ancestry, he specializes in music which combines elements of jazz and Asian musics, and is known for musical works exploring international as we ...

and the Pan Asian Arkestra, and the African Chinese Sextet featuring flutist

James Newton James W. Newton (born May 1, 1953) is an American jazz and classical flutist. Biography He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African-American music, inclu ...

. Due to his special interest in jazz, he has become associated with the

Asian American jazz Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

movement. Liu also leads his own ensemble, Chi Music.

Works

In the 1970s, a revival for the zheng instrument came about in China, as asked for by the government. Qichao wrote a zheng composition during the period called ''Caoyuan Yingxiong Xiao Jiemei'' ("The Heroic Sisters from the Grassland").

Legacy

A book was written by Weihua Zhang titled ''Music making as an expression of a changing Asian American identity: the music of Liu Qichao and Lee Pui Ming'' that prominently featured Qichao and his music.ACMR reports:
journal of the Association for Chinese Music Research, Volumes 11-13, Music Dept. and Asian Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh, 1998, Pg. 133

Personal life

His wife was the late Zhang Yan ( 张燕, 1945–1996), a ''guzheng'' player.

References

External links

Liu Qi-Chao page
from Ancient Future site {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Qichao Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Chinese expatriates in the United States Chinese flautists Erhu players Guzheng players Musicians from California Musicians from Shandong People's Republic of China musicians