Week 1 Posting

1. My name is Rebecca Ho. The picture above is a very recent picture; I'm on the left.

2. When I was younger I played the piano. I took lessons for about 4 years, but I stopped during high school because of my busy schedule. I do not currently participate in any musical ensembles nor do I participate in any cultural groups that put on performances. However, I would characterize myself as someone who is an avid consumer of music. I have attended many cultural shows: NSU Culture Night, Chinese American Culture Night, Taiwanese Culture Night, Vietnamese Culture Night, etc. I have also seen some Indian dance and music performances. I sing pretty regularly. At my Bible study we sing songs at the beginning of the evening, and I also sing a lot of songs at church every Sunday.

3. I'm interested in this class because I listen to a lot of music quite often. My taste in music is not restricted to American music or whatever is playing on the radio. I still listen to classical music as well as a good deal of Asian music, particularly of the Cantonese, Mandarin, and Korean varieties. From my personal experience with Chinese music, it's popular for Chinese pop stars to incorporate traditional styles of music in new songs. An example of this is a Taiwanese American singer named Wang Leehom. He calls his style "Chinked Out" - he uses elements of traditional Chinese opera, as well as instruments like the erhu and the guzheng, in his pop/r&b/hip-hop songs. I like listening to this kind of music in particular because it helps me stay in touch with the Chinese aspect of my culture, and I can also practice my Chinese comprehension by listening to Chinese music. I gained a much greater appreciation for Asian music styles when I traveled to Hong Kong and China in recent years past. I also had the opportunity to attend a Chinese opera, "The Peony Pavilion," when it was performed here on campus, at Royce Hall.