Composer's folk sound goes on tour around US

Inside a shabby three-story building close to Guomao, one of Beijing's busiest business areas, the air was filled with the sound of traditional Chinese folk instruments such as the stringed erhu and pipa.

Composer Ma Jiuyue, who works for the China National Orchestra, was leading around 20 young Chinese folk musicians in a rehearsal for their upcoming shows in the United States. The Chinese Ministry of Culture routinely flies folk musicians to perform abroad as a way to celebrate the traditional China Lunar New Year that falls on Feb 19 this year.

Although the US concerts are titled Sounds of China, Ma, who is the artistic director for the shows that began mid-month, told China Daily, "the sounds that you hear will be different from what you may expect from traditional Chinese folk music".