Tang Junqiao () is a Chinese educator, musician and practitioner of the Dizi. She has performed

traditional Chinese music ''Guoyue'' ( 國樂; literally "national music"; also ''minyue'' (民乐), ''huayue'' (華樂) or ''zhongyue'' (中樂)), refers to the music composed for Chinese musical instruments, which is an extension of the Chinese traditional music. I ...

with orchestras worldwide including the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and Bamberg Symphony. In the year 2000 she performed on the soundtrack of the Chinese martial arts film ''

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 epic romantic drama wuxia martial arts film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Z ...

'' which went on to win multiple awards for its musical score.

Biography

Tang was born in

Anshan Anshan ( zh, s=鞍山, p=Ānshān, l=saddle mountain) is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning' ...

into a family of musicians, with both her father (Tang De Zong) and uncle being flute players in Chinese opera troupes. After learning to play different types of

Chinese musical instruments Chinese musical instruments are traditionally grouped into eight categories (classified by the material from which the instruments were made) known as (). The eight categories are silk, bamboo, wood, Rock (geology), stone, metal, clay, gourd and s ...

which included the Dizi and the

Suona The ''suona,'' also called ''dida,'' laba or ''haidi'', is a traditional double-reeded Chinese musical instrument. The ''suona's'' basic design originated in ancient Iran, then called " Sorna". It appeared in China around the 3rd century and ...

, she enrolled at the Shenyang Conservatory of Music college to further her education. In 1992 she moved to Shanghai to join the

Shanghai Conservatory of Music The Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SHCMusic) is a municipal public college in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the City of Shanghai and is part of the Double First-Class Construction. The college was founded on November 27, 1927. The Sh ...

where she studied under flautists Zhao Songting and inventor of the

Koudi The ''koudi'' (Chinese: 口笛; pinyin: kǒudí; also spelled ''kou di'') is a very small Chinese flute made from bamboo. It is the smallest flute in the Chinese flute family. Its original shape derives from prehistorical instruments made with ...

Yu Xunfa Yu Xun-fa (俞遜發) (January 8, 1946 – January 21, 2006), was a Chinese flute player who invented the wind-instrument known as the koudi. Born in Shanghai, he popularized the art of the flute in Chinese culture during the 1970s. Biography ...

. After playing for a few years in Shanghai, Tang was approached by composer

Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a pairing which has shaped much of his life and mu ...

whom had been looking for musicians that could perform

on his score for the film ''

''. Along with the

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra in Shanghai, China. Its music director is Long Yu. Founded in 1879, the SSO is the oldest List of symphony orchestras#China, Chinese symphony orchestra. Originally, it was known as the ...

, Tang used her ability to play traditional Chinese instruments to help produce the movie's soundtrack which later became one of its most notable features. The success of ''

'' allowed Tang to perform concerts worldwide including for as many as 30 world leaders during

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...

s to China. In 2003 Tang left the

to visit composer Guo Wenjing in Beijing and to study his renownedly difficult piece ''Chou Kong Shan''. Two years later she returned to Shanghai to join the orchestra and with them performed in the United States at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

to critical applause. In 2016, Tang started a project with support from the China National Art Fund to reproduce the sounds of the ancient bone flutes found at the

Jiahu Jiahu () was the site of a Neolithic settlement based in the central plain of ancient China, near the Yellow River. It is located between the floodplains of the Ni River to the north, and the Sha River to the south, north of modern Wuyang in ...

village archaeological site in Henan, China. The ancient flutes are the oldest known musical instruments from China, the oldest instruments ever found that are still functional, and among the first known multi-note instruments in the world. Tang and her team created over 30 flutes attempting to reproduce a similar sound, ultimately settling on a replica made of synthetic resin material and bitter bamboo as the best match. In 2018, Tang played music specifically composed for the replica instrument in the musical multimedia play, "Flute: Sound of Nature", at its debut at the Shanghai International Spring Music Festival.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tang, Junqiao Living people People from Anshan Chinese flautists Year of birth missing (living people)