Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man to lecture at Oberlin through Jacobson-Cocco Lecture Series
As a part of Oberlin Shansi’s Jacobson-Cocco Lecture series, the world’s premier pipa virtuoso Wu Man will deliver a lecture on “Unexpected Cross-Cultural Collaborations: A Lecture by Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man” on February 24th at 4:30pm in Dye Lecture Hall.
Wu Man is a soloist, educator, and composer for the pipa, a lute-like instrument that has a history of more than 2,000 years in China. She has premiered hundreds of new works for the pipa, is a founding member of the Silkroad Ensemble, and is a frequent collaborator with visual artists and other ensembles. Among her accolades, she was named Musical America’s 2013 “Instrumentalist of the Year.”
In her talk, Wu Man will discuss traditional Chinese music, her personal journey creating a career for herself in a country which had no pipa tradition, and the ways she has engaged in cross-cultural collaborations, like with the Kronos Quartet and the Silkroad Ensemble. The lecture will also feature a demonstration of her instrument as well as Q&A following the lecture.
