Interview by William Chan
Bassoonist Zhu Wukun told The Macau Post Daily in an online interview last week that Huafa Music will hold a bassoon workshop this Sunday at the Huafa & CPAA Grand Theatre in Zhuhai.
Zhu studied at Minzu University of China (MUC) and the Zurich University of the Arts, and served as a bassoonist for several orchestras in Switzerland. In 2010, Zhu returned to China and was a bassoonist for the China Philharmonic Orchestra and the China NCPA Orchestra. Since 2015, he has been playing in the Macao Orchestra (OM), and in 2016, Zhu was invited to serve as a guest principal for the KBS Symphony Orchestra.
Zhu joined Huafa Music five years ago and since then has been teaching bassoon, as well as writing scores and conducting the wind section of the Zhuhai Youth Symphony Orchestra (ZHYO). He noted that the average age of the students in the orchestra is 14.
Zhu said that the purpose of Sunday’s event is to promote the bassoon and provide an opportunity for youngsters who are interested in the instrument, or unsure about which instrument to choose, to learn more about the bassoon.
Encyclopaedia Britannica describes the bassoon (known as basson in French and Fagott in German), as the principal bass instrument of the orchestral woodwind family. Its reed is made of a shaped strip of cane that is bent double, and its narrow conical bore leads from a curved metal crook, through a wing joint with left-hand finger holes, to a butt joint with right-hand holes. The bore then doubles back and ascends through the butt to the long joint and bell, where keywork controls the left thumb’s holes.
Zhu noted that he and his students will be performing during the workshop as a showcase of the charm of bassoons. The first performance piece is a bassoon adaptation of a selected section from Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite, which is known for its strong expressiveness and showcases an exciting battle scene. “Unlike the original orchestral composition, the bassoon and piano are the only instruments used. The challenge for the performers is to hold the audience’s attention with much less music diversity,” Zhu noted.
Following this will be a bassoon ensemble performance by Zhu’s students. “Due to the bassoon’s wide range of four octaves, where its classical range stretches from the B♭ below the bass staff to treble E, the ensemble has a great advantage and can play many styles from classical to tango dance music”, Zhu pointed out. The quartet will be performing very diverse pieces from Danny Boy which stresses a singing quality, and the crowd-pleasing Radetzky March by Johann Strauss Sr.
When asked about the music development in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Zhu underlined that collaboration is a necessity for the music education and music industry to thrive. “Macau has a population of only 600,000, and Zhuhai has only two million, which is less than a single district in my birthplace in Chengdu and my university city in Beijing. Therefore, only through intensive cooperation in teaching resources, performing areas and collaborations of musicians can we achieve a win-win situation within the region and advance the quality of the music,” Zhu noted.
According to Zhu, as musicians, their job is to provide professional music education resources and stages for students in Zhuhai, Macau, and elsewhere in the Greater Bay Area to meet the increasing demand for high-quality music education. “After five years of hard work, art education at Huafa* has started to take shape, and young students from Macau, Zhongshan, Guangzhou, and Dongguan now attend weekly classes at Huafa, which was once unimaginable. Therefore, what matters is not whether it is in Zhuhai or Macau, but that there is a platform that enables students to learn with convenience and avoid unnecessary detours for both the students and their parents,” Zhu noted.
The bassoon workshop will be held in the theatre from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free of charge. For more information, visit: mp.weixin.qq.com/s/XL4r88TQz1TI-RnyieH5hQ
*According to Huafa’s website, Zhuhai Huafa Group Co. Ltd, established in 1980, is a state-owned enterprise in Zhuhai and listed among the Fortune China 500. It ranks top in its core business sectors, including urban city operations, real estate development, financial investment, business investment, commerce and trade services, culture and education, and modern services.
This photo taken recently shows Zhu Wukun (left) rehearsing with his students for this Sunday’s performance.
The Zhuhai Youth Symphony Orchestra poses at the Huafa & CPAA Grand Theatre after their anime music concert last Sunday. – All photos provided by Zhu
Zhu conducts the Zhuhai Youth Symphony Orchestra (ZHYO) last Sunday at the Huafa & CPAA Grand Theatre in Wanzai, Zhuhai.
