Starting with rustic folk music from the Qing Dynasty, the Jade Chinese Music Ensemble took its audience on a journey through time and space at Logan Performance Hall in early May. The Jade Chinese Music Ensemble is composed of students from UChicago and around the city who specialize in traditional and contemporary Chinese music, as well as world genres like Latin fusion. Emma Edwards, president and instrumentalist of the ensemble, described, “This most recent concert was my idea; I really wanted to do something that [tells] a story and showcase[s] Chinese culture and stories through the music. I wanted to curate something that’s amenable to teaching or sharing this culture.”
The concert opened with “Jasmine Blossoms,” a traditional Chinese song rearranged by the performers into modern jazz. The smooth voice of a saxophone invited us into a bustling world, and we were immersed into the soundscape of an outdoor market on a weekend morning.
Another notable highlight was the “The Story of Lu You and Tang Wan.” Here, the guzheng, a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument, took center stage with an incredible solo by Ziyun Wu. It was transportive. The incandescent piece transfixed the audience, leading us to another place centuries ago saying goodbye to a star-crossed lover. I almost teared up. The drums and piano contributed to this atmosphere with a call-and-response with the guzheng, different voices intertwining on the same melody.
As we journeyed through the rest of the program, the number of players onstage ebbed and flowed. Sometimes a soloist starred; sometimes a quintet riffed off one another. From the audience’s perspective, the ensemble was versatile in its use of different combinations of sounds and roles. From a performer’s perspective, Edwards echoed this sentiment—she was a flautist by training but “started following the members who could play percussion and learning from them.”
The flexibility of each member to attempt other instruments was a strength of this group. Another strength was the stunning soloists. Two captivating solos included “Depiction of Qilian: Whirling Sand” and “Numa Ame: Plane of Sun.” In the former, the dizi, a Chinese bamboo instrument, cascaded down a run and elicited a “wow” from the audience behind me. Without missing a beat, the piano followed, jumping up and down the octaves. The dizi, not to be ignored, was somehow light, bustling, and springy all at once. Both players were extremely dexterous, playing masterful trills and ascensions.
In “Numa Ame: Plane of Sun,” a piano took the solo spotlight. Performer Yixin Chen played rapturously—a haunting, grave, earthy-toned left hand paired with a clear top melody on the right. The fast section was a blur of fingers, spiders crawling up and down black and white keys. Chen’s masterful command of the instrument made me wish I had practiced my scales more. Sweeping melodies, decadent trills, and rampaging octave arpeggios defined this performance.
In “Fading Stories,” the piano’s gorgeous legato, sustained pedals, and melding lyrical lines felt reminiscent of falling leaves, past lives, and seasonal changes.
Meanwhile, “Liyue Medley” featured a duet. The erhu, a two-stringed Chinese bowed instrument, had a lively call-and-response with the piano, which felt hopeful like sunlight peeking from clouds.
After a brief pause for intermission, the stage filled with players and instruments for the final four symphonies, which embraced modern Chinese music from the role-playing game Genshin Impact. The culmination felt celebratory and full of community. Edwards agreed, sharing, “This ensemble has become my child, something that is really dear to my heart because I really felt like we built a close and passionate community of musicians.”
It was such a delight to see everyone together: cellos, violins, guzheng, piano, erhu, flutes, horns…. Ultimately, the show’s highlight was hearing how well these instruments blended together. The ensemble didn’t abide by delineations of West versus East; instead, they divided seamlessly into top, bottom, and middle voices. After the performance, Edwards reflected, “I’m sad to graduate, to leave this, because for me, music is what lifts me up when I’m feeling down and being able to play with other people—I don’t know, [sigh] I just feel this oneness.”
Jade Chinese Music Ensemble welcomes all and is currently recruiting for any instrument. It plays fall and spring concerts, as well as Lunar New Year gigs around Chicago. It can be reached at uchicagokunyu@gmail.com.
