Chinese Guzheng soloist wows New York audiences

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East meets West is not only a phrase, but also the driving force behind a Chinese exchange program that hopes to bring together cultures through music.

Acclaimed Guzheng soloist Yuan Sha led the program's recent performance in New York City.

Guzheng is an ancient Chinese stringed instrument dating back 2,500 years. Yuan Sha, who began to learn the instrument at the age of six, said that it was a great honor to perform at the Lincoln Center.

"It is a great opportunity to introduce traditional Chinese music to western audiences, and to boost cultural exchange between the East and the West," said Yuan.

Yuan Sha, Guzheng soloist, performs. /Xinhua Photo‍

Yuan Sha is also a teacher at the China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Some of her students accompanied her on the trip. She even got some help from the artists of the Juilliard School, who play with the violin.

Yuan was accepted to China's leading music school three years after learning to play the instrument, and has become one of the most important contemporary Guzheng performers in the world.

Back in 2007, she played at the annual Spring Festival Gala along with the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Yuan Sha performs. /Xinhua Photo

She also performed for former US President Barack Obama during his visit to China in 2009. Throughout her training and career, she has learned that her music goes deeper than just mastering the instrument's 20-plus strings.

"Music is not all about showing off skills; music is to express our feelings and thoughts. Music is the echo of your heart and mind," said Yuan.

And Yuan Sha displayed just that at Lincoln Center in New York, where she captivated a diverse crowd with her music, poetry and grace. She ended the evening playing American songs on the centuries-old Chinese instrument.

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