A light melody of lute music flowed through Meadows Atrium today, capturing the attention of listeners. Just 30 minutes earlier the room was full of chatter but the audience silenced when the noon concert began.
World-renowned Chinese lute virtuoso Lin JiaQing kicked off the tenth year of the Brown Bag Concert Series on Wednesday. He is the first chair of the Folk Music Dance Troupe of China and performed eight songs from the Han dynasty. The series was hosted by SMU’s Expanding your Horizons.
JiaQing came on stage wearing a traditional Han dynasty costume from The Last Emperor, a 1988 film where he played a court pipa player during the Han dynasty. His concert attracted about 40 people.
“It is almost 2,000 years old and traditionally there is a hat you wear with it too,” JiaQing said in an interview through a translator after the concert.
Jamal Mohamed, Elaine Whitmire, Michael Nesuda, Jay Apaji, and Ehsan Matoori collaborated in the last three songs. The five are performers in the Meadows World Ensemble.
JiaQing will stay in Dallas until Sept. 12, performing with the Texas Performing Chinese Art Association. The next concert in the Brown Bag Concert Series will be Nov. 18 at noon.
