Chinese pioneer percussionist helps integrating percussion with various art forms

A Chinese lead percussionist has helped push forward the integration of percussion and different art forms, making new attempts in performing classical and serious music.

"I have adjusted my performance postures again and again, even the angle at which I raise my head. The purpose is to be in the right state after each beat," said Song Yibo, a lead percussionist from the Beijing Traditional Instrument Orchestra.

Song has always insisted on combining percussion with different artistic styles such as dance and martial arts.

"Then I began to create some works by myself. I found different effects between the performance of one percussionist and of many. The latter presents a beauty of power. So, I started writing music and doing choreography for a team. I tried different styles, including having all the players do the same body movements, do different ones, and play different tunes," she said.

Her schedule is full of performances, the latest of which was at the opening ceremony of the musical festival of the Beijing Chinese Orchestra.

"Song Yibo is one of the most outstanding young percussionists in China. She plays the last piece in today's concert. She has made some breakthroughs in both drum and keyboard performance," said Zhang Ming, permanent conductor of the orchestra.

"You can see me playing a big arrow drum at the beginning of the piece, which has a very dignified sound. After a few bars, it immediately switches to a light and fast melody played on marimba and five gongs of different pitches, which is based on the musical elements of Peking Opera," Song said.

"In recent years, the Beijing Chinese Orchestra has created many large-scale folk music works. We included a percussion part in almost every piece. Song Yibo is the reason we did it. The highlight of each piece has always been the percussion she brought in," said Li Jun, director of the orchestra.

Song has won various awards as one of the pioneer percussionists who attempted different artistic styles on stage. She said she is lucky to be born into a family that loves music.

Song has performed more than 1,000 times on stage, but for this lead percussionist, the learning never stops.

"I'm still making new attempts in performing. Besides playing classical and serious music, I want to do more composition and explore more performing techniques. I hope to find better ways of entertaining while playing percussion professionally," she said.