Today we’d like to introduce you to Yun Liu.
Yun, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I came to the U.S. for graduate school after finishing my undergraduate study in China with the first place of the class. I studied ethnomusicology at the University of Oklahoma while receiving full scholarship. Ethnomusicology is a research area where people study the history, culture and evolution of traditional music from different parts of the world. I have been a big fan of traditional Chinese music since I was a child. Since college, I set up my mind to have promoting traditional Chinese music as the career of my life.
From the day I came to the U.S., I realized that I would have the perfect opportunity and platform to achieve my goals here, getting more and more people outside of China to know traditional Chinese music, and eventually appreciate the beauty of traditional Chinese music. My master’s research was about using western music theory to analyze traditional Chinese music. I hoped that I can help people to understand these music even if they can’t read Chinese or have never been to China. In 2015, I finished my master’s thesis on using western music theory to analyze a famous traditional Chinese composition, The Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto.
I moved to Houston in 2017, Soon after I moved to Houston, I got to know the Houston Chinese Traditional Music Group (HCTMG), and joined the group in late 2017. Since established in 2009, Houston Chinese Traditional Music Group is the most famous traditional Chinese orchestra in Houston, which has hosted more than 12 large traditional Chinese music concerts, bringing the most authentic Chinese music to thousands of people in Houston. To recognize the contribution of our group, the City of Houston and Harris County named January 15, 2011, and August 27, 2011 as Houston Chinese Traditional Music Group Day.
The vision of our group aligns perfectly with what I wanted to do: promoting traditional Chinese music, and letting more people have the opportunity to feel the music in live, not just on TV or from recordings. Today I play both solo and the first Guzheng in the orchestra. Guzheng is an iconic Chinese zither instrument with 21 strings. My first performance after joining the group was a Guzheng solo, Celebrating the Lantern Festival, played at the 2018 New Year’s concert.
Celebrating the Lantern Festival is a good example of music from the central China region. In the next two concerts after that, I played a famous music from mid-west China, Song of Mulberry Field of Qin, and the masterpiece of south China Hakka music, Lotus Emerging out of Water. I try to present music from different regions and cultures of China to our audience at each of the concerts, so that they may get a feel of these different styles every time they attend our concert.
Year 2019 marked the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between U.S. and China, and I was honored to have the opportunity to perform at the concert celebrating this precious milestone of the U.S.-China relation, hosted by the Consulate General of China in Houston. I performed the Autumn Moon Over the Calm Lake, a famous Guzheng music from the southern China. The audience really liked the music, and Consul General Li Qiangmin highly praised my performance. Ms. Nell Calloway, granddaughter of the Flying Tigers General Claire Lee Chennault, also came to me after the concert to show her appreciation. Shortly after this concert, Ms. Jingjing Clemence, who was the then Asian Advisory Council Chair of Congressman Pete Olson, invited me, to perform the Guzheng music Fisherman’s Song at Dusk at the Chinese Lunar New Year Party hosted by Ms. Clemence.
After the performance, Congressman Pete Olson said he really enjoyed the music and I’m a real traditional musician. The Chinese Lunar New Year party was a wonderful opportunity for me to have more people to enjoy the most authentic traditional Chinese music, and promote the cultural exchange between the U.S. and China.
In April 2019, I was invited to record the talk show New York Lounge, hosted by the American Chinese TV network SinoVision, in which I shared my experience of broadcasting traditional Chinese music in the US. In October of the same year, I also interviewed by the News China Magazine. In November, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to have an interview with the Chinese Music magazine, which is the only magazine on Chinese music that publishes internationally. In the article, I was honored as an ambassador of traditional Chinese Music.
I now live in Katy, TX with my husband, Tao, and our daughter Libby. I teach Guzheng in my spare time and hope I can help more and more people, with and without Chinese heritage, to appreciated and enjoy the beauty of the instrument, and the beauty of traditional Chinese music.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The first and probably the biggest challenge for me during this journey is probably when I came to the US, I barely speak any English. I could understand so little in the class that I had to record all the lectures where allowed and spend much more time after hours to go through the materials and make sure I understand what had been discussed during the class. I was extremely nervous every time I had to meet my advisor Dr. Paula Conlon, fearing that she could revoke my scholarship or even send me out of the school. But she was always supportive and helping me with the language barrier and never give up on me. With all the extra time spent, after a few months I felt like I can get the majority of the points from the lectures and didn’t need to take recordings for the class anymore. After two years of the program, I was able to graduate with 4.0 GPA so I guess the effort paid off.
When I first moved to Houston, I wasn’t sure what I could do in this big city other than taking care of my family. When I learned about the HCTMG, I was very excited but in the same time a little afraid, of maybe I wasn’t good enough to join them. I reached out to the president Mr. Zhang, and to my surprise he was really willing to have me and gave me an opportunity to play solo in the upcoming New Year’s concert. Concert turned out to be a big success and my role kept growing ever since.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a traditional Chinese musician specialized in Guzheng and vocal (Chinese folk songs). I play both solo and the first Guzheng in the orchestra. Guzheng is an iconic Chinese zither instrument with 21 strings. I’m also a solo vocalist and perform along with the Orchestra.
Since I moved to Houston, I participated many important performances, such as the annual New Year’s concerts by HCTMG, and the Spring Festival concert hosted by the the Consulate General of China in Houston in 2019. Since the pandemic has hit in early 2020, then we had a baby, I feel like it’s the family’s safety first so I haven’t done any public performance in a past year or so.
With the pandemic getting better and hopefully be over us at some point, I will be back to the stage and bring the authentic Chinese music to our communities across Houston.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I think the most important lesson is being perseverant and things will go your way. There are a lot of challenges that I had to hang on upon and with some time, hardworking will always pay off. Be positive, and be always ready once the opportunity comes.
Contact Info:
- Email: yunliumusicstudio@gmail.com
- Website:yunliumusic.com
