“Sounds from Guangxi," the first concert of new works by composers in residence with the China-ASEAN (Association of Asian Nations) Contemporary Ensemble was held October 10, 2021 in the concert hall of Guangxi Art University. Conservatory DMA composition student Yun Li's Moments on the Xiajian River was part of that performance.
Eleven young composers were invited to Nanning City, Guangxi Province to participate in the gathering of folk songs for use as future musical material. Each piece included a variety of stylistic approaches and reflects how young composers blend traditional culture with contemporary experience.
Yun Li’s work Moments on the Xiajian River was scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, pipa and piano. It painted a scene from summer 2021, when the group took a boat ride through the Xiajian River, Yizhou District, Guangxi. While drifting along the river, light rain pattered quietly. With passing winds and cool rain covering the river, Zhuang folk songs and sheng music could be heard floating in the distance. The beauty of the moment left a deep impression upon Li, a reminder that the present moment is also a form of intangible eternity; and how ideas that represent and escape the temporality of our own life processes can be found in unexpected moments.
Yun Li previously received her bachelor and master’s degree at Beijing's China Conservatory of Music. Her compositional output includes solo and chamber music, as well as works for orchestral and vocal ensembles.
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