July 15, 2007 Allen Yunqing Pan and five of his students were invited to perform for the Annual Chinatown Summer Fair on July 15, 2007.

Lillian Chan, Emily Chan and other students played Purple Bamboo, Melody from the Fishing Boat at Dusk, Red Flower Blossoms on the Mountain, Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon and Liuyang River. Yunqing Pan played the 12-minute Moonlight over Spring River . Most of the songs that they played can be listened online at our Music Download section.

Chinatown Summer Fair is a part of the City of Chicago neighborhood programs. More details of Chicago Summer Programs can be found at City of Chicago website . To know more about Chicago Chinatown, you may visit Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce .

Photos on this event are available in Musicpatio's photo gallery. We would like to thank Mr. Philip Linke, Chicago-based professional photographer, for the great pictures. Mr. Linke is the establisher of Brighton Studio (www.brightonstudios.net).

May 23 , 2007 Allen Pan and his student Edwin Tang were invited to give a special Chinese guzheng music performance at the 9th Asian American Festival on May 23, 2007 at the Daley Center Plaza in downtown Chicago.

Although most of the audience were not familiar with the guzheng, they shown strong interest in this unique Chinese musical instrument and the beautiful sounds after Allen and Edwin played three famous pieces namely "High Mountain, Running River," "Red Flowers Blossoming in Mountain," and "Fisherman's Melody at Dusk."

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Chicagoans across the city are encouraged to recognize the many contributions that the Asian Pacific American community has made to the city and the nation and join in celebrating the richness of their diverse cultures. The annual Asian American Festvial is a five-day festival featuring cultural immersion performances, a food court, a dynamic market place, and fun activities for all ages. The event provides a unique opportunity for the public to attend a unique range of programs, exhibits, and onversations taking place across the city. Photos on this event are available in Musicpatio's photo gallery.

May 3 , 2007 To recognize and celebrate the historical contribution of Asian and Pacific peoples in the United States, the Chicago Public Library organized a series of events through May 2007.

Allen Pan, Lilian Chan, and Emily Chan were invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the Asian Heritage Month Celebration 2007 at the Chicago Public Library Chinatown Branch on May 3, 2007. The event also featured other Asian cultural performances, such as Korean folk dance, Chinese folk dance, Chinese Kongfu, and Nan Quan. The talents of the performers were recognized by the audience from multicultural groups.

Photos on this event are available on Musicpatio's photo gallery.

March 21 , 2007 Allen Yunqing Pan was invited to give a special presentation and performance on Chinese guzheng music at the Montgomery Place, 5550 South Shore Dr., Chicago. The residents of the Montgomery Place are mostly well educated seniors aged from 70 to 105. It was the first time for most people attending the event to see and hear the guzheng. "It is such a delightful presentation," said one lady who used to be a musician. "The guzheng is really a distinct instrument with its unique characteristics. The sound is so soothing and delightful."

The audience asked many interesting questions regarding Chinese instruments and music. They look forward to more cultural exchange events like this in the future.

August 26 , 2006 2nd Annual Chicago Summer Guzheng Music Recital was successfully held on Aug 26th, 2006 at Chicago Public Library Chinatown Branch. For a group of guzheng students and Chinese music lovers in Chicagoland, this event composed an unforgettable page in their summer life.

The Chicago Summer Guzheng Music Recital featured the students of Mr. Allen Yunqing Pan, a guzheng soloist, instructor, and frequent lecturer. Their repertoire at the Recital consisted of folk melodies from different regions of China, both traditional and contemporary. Students from different age groups gave their performances display their newly acquired skills of playing the over-two-thousand-year-old Chinese instrument of Guzheng, or Chinese zither.

Following his vivid presentation on the guzheng history, structure, styles, and musical characteristics, Mr. Pan kicked off the Recital by playing High Mountain and Running River (高山流水).

Dressed in a colorful Chinese traditional costume, Winny Chiu, 13, led the student program by performing Melody of Purple Bamboo (紫竹调). Her confidence and impeccable performance won long waves of applause from the audience.

Ms. Sueylee Chang from Chinese American Service League played Melody from the Fishing Boat at Dusk (渔舟唱晚). This music piece was regarded as one of the most famous traditional guzheng melodies, even though it was composed just 80 years ago.

Emily Chan, 13, played Xiao Hua (小花) and Tears of Empress (湘妃泪) for the audience. Xiao Hua was the music from the '79 movie Xiao Hua, which described the touching story of three siblings during the civil war of China. Tears of Empress originated from the Pipa music Sa Shang Qu (塞上曲), describing the sorrow and loneliness of Empress Wang, Zhaojun (王昭君) being away from her home country.

Dan Cai played a popular love song Moon Represents My Heart (月亮代表我的心). Dan has learned the guzheng for only half a year, but her courage and skills impressed the audience.

Ms. Shuiling Cheung played Liuyang River (浏阳河). On the date of the performance, she has learned guzheng for just 8 months. Although this was her first on-stage performance, the audience witnessed her solid skills as well as her emotional performance.

The youngest performer, Lynn Kang, played Moonlight on Spring River (春江花月夜). This piece is a shortened version from the most famous Chinese orchestral composition. Lynn just celebrated her 8th birthday few weeks ago. It is hard to imagine a young learner of the traditional Chinese instrument can play so well and so impressively. Born and raised in the United States, Lynn receives formal education of Chinese language and culture from her parents. Her performance showed her understanding of Chinese traditional music.

Mushroom Picking (采蘑菇的小姑娘) was played by Yuwei Lei, who has just learned guzheng for three months. This brave girl has performed a few times for her classmates in different cultural communication events.

Jennifer Choi, 13, played the Song of the Weaving Maids (纺织忙). The fast rhythm of the music symbolized the busy scene of weaving maids working in front of the looms.

Iris Zhao is the daughter of Ms. Si Chen who is the director of the Library and provided great support for this event. Iris performed Getting Upstairs (上楼), a happy melody from the Yueju opera Story of Western Chamber (西厢记).

Jasmine Wong, 13, has been learning guzheng continuously from Mr. Pan for more than four years. As the "elder sister" among all guzheng students, she usually played the most challenging piece in every concert and recital. Last year, she performed the Lotus out of Water (出水莲). This time, she played the exciting music piece Red Flowers Blossoming in the Mountain (山丹丹花开红艳艳). The music depicted the beautiful scene of mountain covered with red flowers, implying the happy feeling of the people during harvestseason.

Melody of Bamboo Rafts (小小竹排) was a popular hit among Chinese people during the 70s and 80s. The guzheng version of this song was played by Miaozi Guo, a high school senior and the daughter of Consul Xinhui Guo from the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. Her proficient skill and understanding of the music took the audience onto a journey in the sceneric Wuyi Mountain and Canyon.

The highlights of the recital were the duets. The first duet, Great Wall Melody (长城谣) was played by Winny Chiu and Jasmine Wong, who both played solo music in the recital. Great Wall Melody was composed in the warring 1940's when millions of Chinese people were separated from their families and hometown. Winny and Jasmine's performance expressed the sorrow of people as well as their vision for a peaceful world.

The concert finally reached climax as Mr. Pan and his wife Huibi Liu played the exciting Dancing Music of Yao People (瑶族舞曲). Passion and emotions originating from every single note plucked by the couple captivated the audience. Not only is their immaculate skill truly admirable but their brilliant and melodious guzheng sound.

As the waves of loud applause for the outstanding performances of all performers of the Recital, Mr. Pan expressed his deep appreciation for the Chicago Public Library Chinatown Branch, sponsors of this event -- AllCare Orthodontic Center, LLC and Chiu Quon Bakery, students and their loved ones who provided generous support and made the Recital incrediblysuccessful and unforgettable.

Photos and video clips on this event are available on the gallery of www.musicpatio.com. Special thanks for Mr. George Kang who contributed his precious time and talent to organize the photos and edit the video clips.

Also many thanks for Ms. Aubrey Cheung and Shuiling Chiu's motivated children and nephews who participated as MCs and receptionists for the recital. Joyce Chiu and Donna Lui, two talented college freshmen, served as our bilingual MCs for the Recital. Ike, Sean, Matthew, and Eric served as the receptionists and coordinators.

August 8 , 2006 Professor Wang, Tingxiu from Oakton Community College is going to host a series of 16 seminars this fall introducing Chinese culture. The topics include Chinese language, history, ideology, art, music, cooking, science and modern development.

Mr. Pan is invited to give a seminar on November 8, 2006 about the history of Chinese music instruments.

If you are interested in attending this faculty-only seminars, you may contact Prof Wang directly. The details of the seminars may be found at the following URL:

http://www.oakton.edu/user/~tingxiu/Seminars/Chinese-Cultures/

August 6 , 2006 The 2nd Chicago Summer Guzheng Recital will be held in Chicago Public Library Chinatown Branch on Aug 26, 2006. The address for this event is 2353 S Wentworth Ave, Chicago, IL. The recital will start at 2:00pm and is free for the public.

Allen Pan and his students will perform 15 famous guzheng songs, including High Mountain and Running River (高山流水), Fishermen's Evening Melody (渔舟唱晚), Liuyang River (浏阳河), Melody of Purple Bamboo (紫竹调), Butterfly Lover (梁祝).

Last year, the recital was held in Chinese American Service League. Some pictures can be found in our photo gallery. During this event, audiences will not only listen to famous guzheng songs, but also have the great opportunity to know other guzheng lovers in Chicago land.

June 3, 2006 The Asian Chronicle USA TV Comcast Cable Channel 35 & 19 aired the 30-minute interview on May 27th and June 3rd. This is the first time that the Asian Chronicle USA TV has shown any program related to Chinese music, especiallyguzheng.

Two students, Edwin Tang and Jasmine Wong, were with Yunqing Pan during the interview. Edwin played Fisherman's Evening Song; and Jasmine Wong played Liuyang River. Yunqing Pan played High Mountain and Running River.

During the interview, Yunqing gave some introductions to both guzheng and Chinese music, including the history, styles and famous music pieces.

The Asian Chronicle USA TV is a non-profit program sponsored by Comcast TV, City of Chicago and local Asian communities. The program covers north shore area and northwest suburb of metro Chicago, including Skokie, Schaumburg, Wheeling, Northbrook, and many more communities. The coverage may be found here.

May 25, 2006 May is the Annual Chicago Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The Asian Heritage Festival was held between May 22 and May 26. On Thursday noon, May 25, Yunqing Pan and two of his students, Lily Hong Ochs and Emily Chan, gave a 15 minutes performance in the Daley Center in Chicago downtown.

Emily and Yunqing played Xiao Hua (Little Flower) together. Lily played the Zi Zhu Diao (Melody of Purple Bamboo) by herself. Yunqing played High Mountain and Running River. It's worth noting that this is the first time that Emily Chan has ever played guzheng on stage.

Asian Heritage Festival is the most popular Asian cultural festival in Chicago. It's held annually right before Memorial Day on Daley Plaza or Daley Center. Pictures are now available in our Photo Gallery.

May 24, 2006 Yunqing Pan was invited to perform for the grand opening event of a new Citibank branch in Chinatown. Yunqing played for more than one hour during the ceremony.

This new Citibank branch is located at the cross-section of Archer Ave and Wentworth St. It's the 9th bank in the Chinatown and the first international bank in this area. This bank is also first fully Chinese-staffed bank in Chinatown area.

During the ceremony, the special guests included Gene Lee, Deputy Chief of Staff from Office of the Mayor, and Jimmy Li from the White House. Many famous community leaders were also present at the opening ceremony.

The bank showed its community involvement with traditional Chinese cultural programs, including Lion Dance and guzheng music. Yunqing was the only musician that performed during the 2-hour ceremony, which brought relaxation and joy to all the guests.

Yunqing and his students have been invited by many local organizations and companies to perform during the past years.

May 7, 2006 Lily Hong Ochs and Yunqing Pan gave a performance for the Asian culture event organized by the Ramayana Institute held in the India House in Schaumburg. This event is part of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month programs in Chicago every May.

During this 4-hour event, different culture groups from Asian countries delivered to the audience 9 fantastic performances full of their unique cultural backgrounds. The dance programs included dances from India, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Philippineand China. Guzheng was the only cultural music performance for that evening. Lily played 紫竹调 (Melody of Purple Bamboo); Yunqing played 山丹丹花开红艳艳 (Red Flowers Blossom on the Mountain). All audiences was amazed by the beautiful design and sound from guzheng; many expressed great interests to listen to the guzheng music again.

As part of the program, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White was invited to the event as the Keynote Speaker. Other guests included consul generals from India, Indonesia and Thailand.

Pictures are now available in the Photo Gallery.