Biography

Canada’s Red Chamber frequently tours across Europe and Asia taking inspiration from the rare traditional Chinese repertory for plucked string instruments. The ensemble performs music ranging from ancient Chinese Court music from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), through to contemporary Canadian compositions, and Balkan, gypsy jazz, American roots, and bluegrass music. Red Chamber makes its San Francisco Symphony debut at this performance.

Red Chamber is led by zither player Mei Han with pipa player Guilian Liu, ruan (bass lute) player Zhimin Yu, and multi-instrumentalist Geling Jiang, all born in China. Members of the ensemble have worked with Isaac Stern, Herbert von Karajan, and Seiji Ozawa, and performed for numerous heads of state.

Red Chamber’s first CD Redgrass fostered a viral YouTube video of the same name with Bluegrass mandolinist John Reischman. This was followed by Gathering and Classical and Contemporary Chinese Music, released on the ARC label and nominated for “Best World” release by Songlines Magazine.

(February 2019)