Wu Man Introduces The Pipa To A Mass Audience

By John Roos

Wu Man has been on a mission for more than 30 years now. Her quest, however, is a little bit tricky.

The composer and pipa player strives to contemporize the ancient Chinese instrument to reach a wider audience while simultaneously staying true to its traditional roots. Sound like she’s walking a tightrope? Not in her capable hands.

Resolute that the pipa-- a lute-like acoustic instrument with a long, straight neck and round resonator with snake skin or wooden sound board that’s played with a forward and backward plucking motion--does not become marginalized as only appropriate for Chinese music, Wu Man carves out a niche for the pipa in numerous art forms. Under her care, the pipa has emerged in new solo and quartet works, concertos, opera, chamber, electronic, and jazz music as well as in theater productions, film, dance and collaborations with visual artists including calligraphers and painters.

On the traditional side, Wu Man – who performs Saturday evening at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad--faithfully champions the 2000 year history of the pipa. She has taught many educational seminars and master classes across the globe that embrace not only technique but the discipline and commitment necessary to take command of the instrument.

Yet the pipa is not something to be revered and showcased in a museum. To breathe and thrive, explains Wu Man, the pipa must extend its reach. This attitude has led her and her cherished instrument to diverse collaborations across artistic disciplines while performing with many of the world’s major orchestras, including the Austrian ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, among others.

Wu Man has also performed throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia with the eclectic and acclaimed Silk Road Ensemble, an ongoing musical collective which was founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998 to create music that engages differences, sparks radical cultural collaboration and fosters passion-driven learning to build a more hopeful world.

Following that lofty ideal further are two more recent works: The 2014 Grammy Award-nominated “Our World in Song,” featuring familiar folk songs from around the world arranged by Wu Man with Hawaiian instrumentalist Daniel Ho and Cuban percussionist Luis Conte; and her 2013 “Elegant Pipa Classics,” which combines traditional pipa repertoire with modern compositions (both recordings released on the Wind Music label.)

Her boldest recorded odyssey though is 2005’s Wu Man and Friends (Traditional Crossroads). Here she concocts a spicy musical gumbo by blending Chinese, Ukrainian, Ugandan, and Appalachian traditional music as she plays alongside various musicians from these regions. Just with song titles alone such as “Bat-Out-of-Hell Kozachok,” “Dance of the Yi People” and “I’m Going Back to North Carolina,” this one is worth seeking out, folks. It truly is.

Wu Man was born in Hangzhou, China and studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she became the first recipient of a master's degree in pipa. Accepted into the conservatory at age 13, her audition was covered by national newspapers and she was hailed as a child prodigy, becoming a nationally recognized role model for young pipa players.

Over time though, her restless spirit broke loose and Wu Man scratched the itch to explore uncharted territory.

“Musicians are always looking to reach out, to try something new,” said Wu during a recent `WeChat’ interview from Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province and one of the oldest cities in China. “It’s a little scary when you mix up contemporary western string instruments, ancient Chinese folk music . . . then toss in some classical and Ugandan music. But there really are no musical boundaries because music inherently travels so well. It really does.”

Wu Man moved from China to the U.S. in 1990 and currently lives with her husband and son in Carlsbad. For this rare hometown gig, she will be performing with composer and mandolin player William Bradbury, who is also a Professor of Music and Music Technology up the road at Cal-State San Marcos. So what type of performance can her audience anticipate?

“I like to talk a little about the pipa’s rich history in-between songs,” said Wu, “and I’m looking forward to the intimacy of this venue. It will have a living room type of feel . . . very warm and relaxed. About 70 percent of what we’ll play together will be improvisational and that frees me to put my mind inside of the moment. I know that I will feed off the energy from the audience, too, and when that happens it can really take you away.”

*Wu Man and William Bradbury perform Saturday evening at the Museum of Making Music, 5790 Armada Dr., Carlsbad. 7 p.m. $25-$30. (760) 438-5996; www.museumofmakingmusic.org.