One of China’s best-known musicians will visit Cal Poly Pomona on May 18 for a performance and to discuss her efforts to preserve traditional Chinese music.
Grammy-nominated Wu Man has toured with artists Yo-Yo Ma and the Kronos Quartet, has collaborated with composer Phillip Glass, and even performed at the White House. She is best known for her virtuosity on the pipa, a lute-like musical instrument that has been played in China for nearly 2,000 years.
“She was a prodigy in China when she was 13 years old,” says Ray Wang, dean of the Cal Poly Pomona University Library, which is helping sponsor the event.
Wang says Wu has been recruited to work with Ma’s Silk Road project, a nonprofit organization that aims to create cross-cultural dialog through music.
“She also has what I would call a mission in her mind — that is to revive traditional music of all countries, all ethnicities of the world,” Wang says.
Wang says that when he, Environmental Design Dean Mike Woo and CLASS Dean Sharon Hilles found out that Wu is serving as an artist-in-residence at the Huntington Library, they “jumped at the chance” to ask her to visit Cal Poly Pomona and speak with students.
“She’s a dynamite speaker,” Wang says. “I’m envisioning a treat that Sunday afternoon.”
Man will perform and speak at the Music Recital Hall on Sunday, May 18 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tickets are free, but space is limited. To request tickets, call 909-869-5250 or email Wang at rwang@cpp.edu.