Guqin, an over 3,000-year unbroken Chinese music tradition, is at the heart of Chinese philosophy and aesthetics. A stringed instrument of the Chinese literati scholar, the guqin tradition is highly influenced by Daoism and the aesthetics of 'immediacy in emotional impression' guided scholars toward enlightened and individual music expressions as well as a re-connection with nature and the universe.
Dr. Jeff Roberts studied guqin traditional performance and improvisation on a Fulbright Scholarship with renowned Beijing guqin master Li Xiangting. Dr. Roberts will perform traditional guqin compositions and improvisations as well as improvisation in a modern context, using live interactive sampling and playback using Max/MSP software.