Kanklės and Sheng

Visiting Lithuanian Kanklės performer, Regina Marozienė and Chinese-Australian sheng performer, Dr Wang Zheng-Ting blend their music traditions, creating a unique world where the Lithuanian zither meets the traditional Chinese aerophone.

Wang Zheng-Ting first met Regina at an academic conference in Europe and remarkably, they found musical commonalities from half way across the world and began a cross cultural collaboration. Keen to extend the adventure, Regina Maroziene is travelling to Naarm/Melbourne for a series of concerts and workshops.

Kanklės is the Lithuanian member of the zither family. Its strings are stretched across a sound box, plucked or struck, and provide a sweet, harp like effect, but each with their own particular sound and intonation, and traditional repertoire.

The Chinese sheng (笙) is a traditional Chinese free-reed wind instrument, often referred to as a mouth organ. It’s one of the oldest Chinese instruments, with origins dating back over 3,000 years.