Dr. Nan Liu

“Echoes of Nature,” a concert combining traditional Chinese art and music, will feature Haiqiong Deng on the zheng and qin instruments and artist Dr. Nan Liu on Friday, Sept. 7, at MTSU.

The free public performance, set for 7:30 p.m. in Hinton Music Hall inside MTSU’s Wright Music Building, is designed to introduce traditional Chinese art and music to people from different cultures.

Both Liu and Deng have lectured and performed throughout North America for the last decade for audiences of all ages. Their presentations of music, Chinese painting and calligraphy through “Echoes of Nature” draw audiences closer to this traditional culture.

Haiqiong Deng

The zheng, which also is called the gu-zheng, is a plucked half-tube wood chordophone with movable bridges over which a number of strings are stretched. It is the parent instrument of the Asian long zither family, which includes the Japanese koto and Korean gayageum.

The qin, also known as the guqin, is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family. It has been played since ancient times and is favored by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement.

Chinese painting in the traditional style is known as guó huà, which means “national” or “native painting.”  The traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black or colored ink. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which guó huà are rice paper and silk.

For more information on any MTSU School of Music performances, please call 615-898-2493 or see the complete listing of concerts at www.mtsumusic.com at the “Calendar of Events” link.