Chinese Canadian Museum
51 East Pender Street, Vancouver
Saturday April 11, 2026
2:30-4:30pm
A public workshop exploring the rich and colourful history and practice of Chinese music and instruments
The Vancouver Chinese Music Instrumental Music Society, in partnership with the Chinese Canadian Museum, proudly presents Erhu to Cantopop: Five Thousand Springs of Chinese Sound, an immersive workshop on traditional Chinese music and instruments on Saturday afternoon, April 11, 2026.
Led by Resident Composer Alan Lau, Artistic Director Jirong Huang, and members of the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble, participants will embark on a vivid musical journey spanning thousands of years. Through stories, sound, and live performance, the workshop invites audiences to discover the rich evolution and enduring aesthetics of Chinese music from multiple cultural and historical perspectives.
Renowned musicians Jirong Huang (erhu/two-string fiddle), Zhongxi Wu (suona/Chinese “trumpet” and sheng/mouth organ), Ling Yang (pipa/lute), and Sarah Tan (guzheng/zither) will bring the music to life through engaging demonstrations and short performances featuring repertoire from diverse regions and historical periods. The workshop will conclude with a rare opportunity for participants to interact directly with the musicians and enjoy hands-on experiences with these traditional instruments.
Complementing the Chinese Canadian Museum’s blockbuster exhibition, Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s–2000, the workshop will also include lively, interactive activities exploring the fascinating relationship between language tones and Chinese music. Participants will gain insight into the development of Cantopop, with special emphasis to pay homage to the legendary composer Joseph Koo Ka-fai (顧嘉煇, 1931–2023)—widely celebrated as the “Father of Cantopop.” Selected manuscripts by Koo, currently on display in Dream Factory, offer a rare window into his creative process.
Erhu to Cantopop: Five Thousand Springs of Chinese Sound is open to the general public and anyone who is interested in Chinese music. The workshop will also mark the launch of VCME’s third New Composers Commission Program, an exciting initiative supporting the creation of new works for VCME. Composers who are interested in the Commission Program are also encouraged to attend the workshop to deepen their understanding of Chinese musical traditions and instruments.
Please contact us if you have any questions.
Download Promo Media here
​Alan Lau, composer-in-residence and musician for the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble, has contributed to various Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble events, including Ten Thousand Springs (2007), Autumn Flight (2014), the Tradition in the Future online symposium (2020), and Future in Past, Part I (2017) and Part II (2022).
As an independent scholar, Alan is a co-author of Qupai in Chinese Music: Melodic Models in Form and Practice (2016) and a contributor to The Oxford Handbook of Music in China and the Chinese Diaspora (2023). He was also an editorial board member of the Asian Musicology Journal.
Alan Lau – Composer in Residence
Workshop Speaker
Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble
Jirong Huang - Erhu
Ji Rong Huang, a graduate from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, is artistic director of the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble and a master of Chinese bowstring instruments.
Since arriving in Vancouver in 1988, Ji Rong has performed for the Canadian Governor General Concert as an erhu soloist and showcased his talent across Canada and the U.S., including appearances on TV and CBC radio programs. He has collaborated with musicians of diverse instrumentation and cultures as well as in interdisciplinary arts.
In 1989, he started the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble, the very first professional Chinese music group in Canada.
Ling Yang - Pipa
Sarah Yusha Tan - Guzheng
Zhongxi Wu - Suona, Sheng
Zhongxi Wu, aka Jonesy to his friends, is a 4th generation of suona players in his family and has added to their many accolades.
An honorary director of the Chinese Wind Instrument Society in China, Zhongxi has played suona for acclaimed music groups including the BC Chinese Orchestra, Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra, Vancouver Chinese Ensemble and Golden Pearl Ensemble. He performs with a joy that lights up the stage.
Among the highlights of his career is when he performed with the Delta Police Pipe Band and shared the stage with Paul McCartney in a Vancouver concert.
Sarah is a master of the Guzheng (Chinese Zither) and is based in Vancouver, B.C.
She began studying the instrument at the age of 10 and graduated from the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, where she studied under different zheng masters, most notably Professor Wang Wei.
She has performed as a soloist for the BC Chinese Orchestra and later joined the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble in various successful international collaborations and creative ventures.
Pipa virtuoso Ling Yang received training from Kan Jin-Tian and Fan Jin-Long, and started her musical journey at the age of seven. She entered the Xin Hai Conservatory of Music in 1988, graduating with distinction in 1992.
Since that time she has concentrated her attention on performance and teaching in Vancouver.
Rave Reviews for Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble from our Audience
“I heard Jasmine Jazz perform at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden last February and I didn’t know I could feel so seen as a Chinese Canadian. Unique arrangements, homage to tradition, and literally the best musicians of these instruments. Zhongxi Wu is a fourth-generation suona player - what craft have you carried forward from your great-grandparents?! Seriously so cool. Regardless of your background, if you’re a fan of different musical traditions, go go go!"
-Andrea Wong, Jasmine Jazz 2023
