Featured in this issue: - University College Dublin

I sing who I am
Identity, ethnicity and
individuality in Chinese music
The 12th International CHIME (European
Foundation for Chinese Music Research)
Conference, jointly organised by UCD School
of Music and the Chester Beatty Library, took
place in October. This was the first major
academic conference on Chinese music to be
held in Dublin. Specialists from the UK,
Europe, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Singapore and the USA gathered to
address the issues of identity, ethnicity and
individuality via individual papers, themed
panels, video sessions, roundtables and
interviews with musicians.
The opening day's proceedings took place
in the Chester Beatty Library. Following opening
remarks and welcome address by Dr Wolfgang
Marx (Head of UCD School of Music) and
Dr Michael Ryan (Director of Chester Beatty
Library) a film on shadow puppeteers of Gansu,
Western China, kickstarted the conference. This
was followed by the keynote paper delivered by
Professor Mercedes Dujunco from Bard College,
New York. A short film portraying Li Guangzu, a
master musician of the pipa four-string lute, was
linked to a live interview with the pipa player Liu
Fang from Montreal to end the first day. An
opening reception took place in the Chester
Beatty Library that evening. Mr Zhang Xinseng
(Ambassador of the People's Republic of China)
and Dr Philip Nolan (Deputy President of UCD)
welcomed the delegates and guests. Both
emphasised the importance and significance of
this conference and its contribution in bringing
Chinese music and its academic studies to the
UCD community and a wider Dublin audience.
An interesting array of papers and panels on
Chinese music was spread across the next two
and a half days in UCD School of Music. The
question of identity, pertinent in Chinese music
among the diasporic community, and its impact
on local music and musical life, were discussed in
papers such as ‘The Corneta China: Chinese
shawms in Cuban Rumba’, ‘The adaptation of
Chinese Yueqin in nineteenth century Japan’, and
‘Singing Czina: the musical repertoires of Czech
sinologists’. A panel on Korean music and the
Korean diaspora in China focused on vocal styles
and the musical embodiment of identity. Issues
of ethnicity were evident in many papers on the
music of ethnic minority groups in China
including the Yi people in Yunnan, the Tibetans
and the Horqin Mongolian in Eastern Inner
Mongolia. A panel on gender identity had papers
focused on the question of masculinity and
music in China, ranging from Uyghur male pop
groups, Korean pop in China, traditional Chinese
shawm bands and the male imagery to the
battle of image and style between Chinese male
pianists Lang Lang and Yundi Li. Lively discussions
and exchanges of ideas flowed freely in almost
every session.
The highlight of the conference was a concert of
music from the plains to the grasslands featuring
the mukam music of the Uyghur people in
Xinjiang, the music of the pipa lute and 22-string
zheng zither, the classical 7-string qin zither, and
Mongolian Long Song, horse-head fiddle music
and overtone singing. The concert, open to the
general public, took place in the Chester Beatty
Library. It was the first time these musical genres
were performed in Ireland, and it was indeed a
rare opportunity for an Irish audience to hear
these masterpieces in one single concert.
A selection of music was also performed at a
lunchtime concert in the open courtyard in the
Arts Café in UCD Newman Building. The informal
concert attracted UCD staff and students, many
of whom expressed their astonishment at the
unique and beautiful sounds.
28
Europe’s largest student
fashion show 2008
UCD is proud to claim ownership of Europe's largest
student fashion event - the annual UCD Fashion Show
- which involves a cast of over 200 students from
across campus, raising thousands for Irish charities in
one of Ireland's largest venues.
The 22nd show will take place in the RDS Simmonscourt
on Friday 29 February 2008 before an audience of 5,300
and will feature 140 students modelling on the catwalk,
20 student dancers and a behind the scenes organising
committee of 30 who are involved in fundraising,
production, ticket sales, marketing and public relations.
Proceeds from the events from 2007 - 09 will go to the
Down Syndrome Centre, an Irish charity fundraising to
build Ireland's first centre to provide dedicated services to
people with Down Syndrome and their families. Because
of the charity's involvement, the show will welcome a
further ten young people with Down Syndrome to
model alongside the students in Simmonscourt.
Bands playing live onstage will include
The Coronas and high energy percussion
group Extreme Rhythm will open the
show. Styling will be by Graham Cruz
who regularly features on RTE’s ‘Off
the Rails’ and dance will be
choreographed by Jane Shortall.
Special awards will include
'Male/Female Model of the Year'
and 'Young Designer of the Year' -
a competition which invites entries
from students in design colleges
throughout the country.
Ticket prices are €10 for schoolgoers,
€20 for students, €40 for adults,
€100 for a family ticket (2 adults and
2 students) and VIP tickets, €100.
They can be purchased online at
www.ucdfashionshow.com and will
be sold on campus in the New Year.
For more information, contact Sheila Campbell,
Campbell PR. Tel: 086 818 5967
About UCD today — UCD today is the campus magazine of University College Dublin. It profiles and celebrates the tremendous variety of activities on the UCD campus. It provides information on issues that affect staff, students and stakeholders and is a
forum to showcase the work of UCD people throughout the university.
Published five times annually by the UCD Communications Office, UCD today also includes major feature interviews by well known Irish journalists.
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