Qiu Xia He

Musicienne prodigieuse, Qiu Xia He est née en Chine, dans la province du Shanxi située au centre du pays. Jeune enfant, elle s'éprend du pipa, luth chinois à quatre cordes, et entame l'apprentissage des techniques nécessaires pour jouer de cet instrument. Dotée d'une dextérité remarquable, d'une forte détermination et d'un grand talent, elle maîtrise dès l'âge de treize ans les arcanes du pipa et commence à enseigner cet art du jeu.

Plus tard, Qiu Xia He participe à de nombreuses compétitions nationales et entre dans la prestigieuse Académie de Xian. Elle y termine ses études et y poursuit une carrière comme professeur de cette institution renommée. À cette période, elle effectue également une tournée à travers la Chine avec une troupe professionnelle de Shaanxi.

Arrivée au Canada en 1989, Qiu Xia He vit à Vancouver où elle travaille actuellement comme musicienne, compositrice, productrice et enseignante. Grande virtuose, elle a joué à plusieurs reprises en tant que soliste avec des orchestres symphoniques réputés et avec plusieurs grands musiciens tel que Celso Machado, John Reischman, et Trichy Sankaran.

Ouverte et fascinée par la musique dans son ensemble, Qiu Xia He explore les trésors de la musique traditionnelle chinoise tout en élargissant son répertoire à des musiques plus occidentales comme le jazz, la musique folk et les musiques traditionnelles européennes. En tant que co-fondatrice du Duo Silk Road, Qiu Xia He ajoute à leurs compositions un air délicat et suave aux saveurs orientales.

Revue de presse

ImaginaAsian Concert 2006
Silk Road Music with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Pierre Simard, Conductor

Review by Kenneth Delong for the Calgary Herald

Each year, as part of Asian heritage month, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra puts on a concert devoted to the musical traditions of the far east.

This year's event, similar in general outline to previous concerts, nevertheless contained some interesting new ele-ments that made it especially satisfying for the listener. Notable was the guest appearance of Silk Road Music, a group of six musicians, four of Asian origin and two from the West. Their style of music and their way of presenta-tion is a fascinating mixture of western and oriental cul-tures, the songs presented in a multilingual fashion, and the instrumental element moving seamlessly among musi-cal traditions ranging from China to Celtic. Central to the spirit of the group is Qiu Xia He, a spirited young lady who is a superb virtuoso on the pipa, a type of Chinese guitar or lute.

Whether the music is soulful or playfully rhythmic, Qiu Xia He was able to plumb the musical center of every piece she played,a remarkable show of innate talent and technical expertise.

Her western male alter ego, André Thibault, was also impressive for his expressive playing and general high spir-its on stage.

The group performed several pieces by it self, ranging from Mongolian and Chinese folk melodies to faux Celtic music, performed surprisingly idiomatically on Chinese instruments.

The remainder of the program included works performed by the CPO under the able direction of Piere Simard, who was also the arranger of three of the items, including a piece by Gustav Holst and composers from Vietnam and Korea.

Of greater musical interest were the works actually com-posed for a symphony orchestra by composers whose cultural roots are in the far east, but whose musical train-ing is western. This included a symphony movement on Taiwanese melodies by Maon Shuen Chen and the fi nal work by Jin Zhang, a conductor/composer working in the Vancouver area. This last was a clever, attractive work enti-tled Spring in the Snow Mountains, which featured some splashy playing by the Silk Road Music.

Filling out the program was an appearance of the Mount Royal College Conservatory Trio, sporting two members of Asian background who play Western music in a completely idiomatic way.

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