This recital offers a rare chance to hear the Chinese yangqin, a trapezoidal soundbox with 144 steel strings stretched across it, which the player strikes with bamboo mallets. Reylon Yount is an inventive yangin performer and songwriter, creating an intersection between Chinese and American cultures.The 25-year-old has introduced this rare instrument to the world stage.
As a biracial Chinese American growing up in San Francisco, Reylon began learning yangqin as a way to stay connected to his heritage. He trained at the Central Conservatory in Beijing and has spent most of his unorthodox, eighteen-year career zigzagging between cross-cultural collaborations. He’s performed internationally at venues such as TED, Lincoln Center and Xinghai Concert Hall. His transcultural musicality guides listeners into a new Chinese American cultural space, beyond familiar boundaries of genre and geography. A Harvard College graduate, Reylon recently completed two master’s degrees at University of London and Goldsmiths University. He also hosts Make Sense, a podcast about how artists see the world. He believes that connecting with each other through music – and searching for meaning within ourselves – can help us create steadying threads of continuity in an otherwise fragmented world.
Tickets £16