Upper St. Clair senior reaches finals in International Chinese music competition
Theeya Chen of Upper St. Clair was named a finalist in the Dunhuang Cup, a weeklong music competition for traditional Chinese plucked instruments. The USC senior advanced in the teen student category with approximately 20 other students from around the world.
More than 3,000 professional and amateur musicians competed in the annual event in August. Chinese plucked instruments include the pipa, ruan and liuqin.
Chen plays the pipa, which is a four-stringed, pear-shaped instrument that resembles a guitar. She began playing the pipa in 2018.
Chen has performed at many cultural festivals and New Year galas within the Pittsburgh area. She has reached level 7 of 9 at the Central Conservatory of Music, a renowned music school in China that offers in-person and virtual instruction. Additionally, Chen has been internationally recognized as a gold level musician by the Singapore Starshine Arts Festival.”
Not able to attend in-person, Theeya participated in the Dunhuang Cup via video conference. After passing the first round of competition, she needed to learn two performance-level pieces in two weeks for the final round.
Launched in 2019 by the China Musical Instrument Association, the Dunhuang Cup features performances, forums and workshops. Its mission is to popularize traditional Chinese instruments among young music learners.
Chen explained that she had never heard of the pipa until she was presented with the opportunity to take lessons.
“I was offered the chance through my art class because my pipa teacher’s children had gone to the same art studio as me and was looking for students interested in learning the pipa,” she said. “I started it simply because I wanted to be able to play a second instrument, but really fell in love with the culture and music that accompanies it.”
The pipa, one of the most popular Chinese instruments, has been played for nearly 2,000 years.
“The pipa is often described to be like a lute, but many people don’t know what a lute is, so it is comparable to a guitar, as there are frets and picks that are used to pluck the instrument,” Chen explained. “The pipa is held vertically with four strings, using the right hand that wears fake plastic nails to hit and strike the string, and the left hand to press down on the frets to change notes.”
Chen began her musical studies playing piano.