Jeffrey Roberts, guqin

The Williams College Department of Music presents Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Jeffrey Roberts playing the guqin, a Chinese stringed instrument with a three thousand year tradition in a concert titled, Intercultural Instincts for Spontaneity: A recital of guqin traditional music and modern improvisation. The performance takes place in the historic Rotunda of the Williams College Museum of Art on Saturday, April 21 at 2 p.m. This free event is open to the public.

Jeffrey Roberts presents improvisations that draw on intercultural influences from Tang-era, Central Asian music as well as his own musical language as a composer in the Western classical tradition. He is joined by cellist Ronald Feldman, director of the Berkshire Symphony.

Professor Roberts performs on Chinese guqin in traditional and modern contexts. His study of the guqin repertoire with guqin master Li Xiangting in Beijing served as a foundation for the pursuit of improvisation under the guidance of his teacher. Recently he has integrated Chinese guqin and Western experimental found object sound worlds using computers.

Event Program