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Music & Artists

Students at a "Creating Life with Music" workshop

© MICHAEL METZGER

Creating a Life with Music
Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble conduct "Creating a Life with Music" workshops for advanced high-school music students. These workshops go beyond discussions of technique, incorporating performance and addressing ways for students to pursue careers in music in today's global society.


"I think that music is one of the best ways human beings have invented to share emotions that they cannot express in words."
- YO-YO MA

Instruments

Instruments played by the Silk Road Ensemble originate from a variety of musical traditions from all parts of the world. The histories of many of these instruments offer illustrations of interplay between cultures, both along the historic Silk Road and today.

BawuCelloContrabassDuDukErhu
bawu
Chinese free-reed wind instrument
cello
Western bowed string instrument
contrabass
Western low-pitched string instrument
duduk
Armenian double-reed woodwind
erhu
Chinese bowed lute
     
Galician BagpipesHarpJang-GoKamanchehKayagum
Galician bagpipe
Spanish bagpipe
harp
Western plucked string instrument
jang-go
Korean hourglass drum
kamancheh
Persian spike fiddle
kayagum
Korean plucked long zither
     
Morin KhuurMugham VocalsNeyOudFrame Drums
morin khuur
Mongolian horse head fiddle
mugham vocals
Azerbaijani vocal music
ney
Persian/Azerbaijani
end-blown flute
oud
Middle Eastern fretless lute
percussion
Worldwide family of drums and other struck or beaten instruments
     
PianoPipaSanturSanxianShakuhachi
piano
Western hammered
string instrument with keyboard
pipa
Chinese short-necked plucked lute
santur
Persian hammer
dulcimer
sanxian
Chinese fretless
three-string lute
shakuhachi
Japanese end-blown bamboo flute
     
ShengTablaTarUrtiin Duu (Long Song)Viola
sheng
Chinese mouth organ
tabla
Indian set of drums
tar
Middle Eastern long-necked double-heart-shaped lute
urtiin duu (longsong)
Mongolian lyrical chant
viola
Western middle-pitched bowed string instrument
     
Violin    
violin
Western high-pitched bowed string instrument