Local teenager Peggy Chan Pui Yan is well on the way to realising her dream of becoming a professional musician by performing her first solo concert, at the Macau Cultural Centre on Monday. Chan plays the guzheng and has been doing so for almost 10 years as well as the piano.
According to Wikipedia, the guzheng, also known as the Chinese zither, is a Chinese plucked string instrument with a history of more than 2,500 years. It has 16 (or more) strings and movable bridges. The modern guzheng usually has 21 strings, and is 1,600 mm long. It has a large, resonant cavity made from wutong wood. Other components are often made from other woods for structural or decorative reasons. Guzheng players often wear fingerpicks, made from materials such as ivory, tortoise shell, resin or hard plastic, on one or both hands.
Despite only being 16, Chan has played for an array of VIPs including President Xi Jinping and Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On, as well as taking part in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s 20th anniversary for the city’s reversion to Chinese rule.
Peggy Chan Pui Yan (left) poses for a photograph with Stuart Laing, The Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in the grounds of the college on Monday. Photos provided by Peggy Chan Pui Yan
