Yangqin & Zheng
Yangqin was carried into China from the Middle East in the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644). The modern Yangqin is fitted with steel alloy strings for brighter and louder tone. With about 5 octaves, it has the widest range of scale amongst the Chinese plucked instruments. To play the instrument, a musician strikes the strings with two lightweight bamboo beaters (also known as hammers) with rubber tips. This produces a high and tinkling timbre in its top registers, a soft and beautiful tone in the middle and a strong rich sound in the lower registers. The metallic tone resembles the harpsichord. A professional musician often carries several sets of beaters, each of which draws a slightly different tone from the instrument, much like the drum sticks of Western percussionists.
Wenying Wu
Admitted to the instrumental music department of China Conservatory of Music middle school in 1987. In 1993 accepted into China Conservatory of Music directly with honors, majoring in Yangqin, and minoring in percussion under the renowned Professor Wang Yidong. Ms Wu is also well-versed in performing the Guzheng. In 1997 she entered the China Radio Art Troupe of the National Orchestra after graduation. In 1999 Ms Wu co-recorded Elementary Course of Dulcimer with the well-known dulcimer educator and performer Professor Xiang Zuhua of Chinese Conservatory of Music, and gained unanimous praises from peers. In 2000 she toured with the troupe in the Four Classics—Dream of the Red Chamber Theme Concert, a program beloved by the audience. In 2005, she authored the book Yangqin Made Easy published by the China Drama Press and personally recorded the accompanying teaching material. It was reprinted by Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press in 2008, and was highly praised by the experts. In August of the same year, Wu performed the yangqin at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. In 2014, she performed solo at the National Centre for Performing Arts. Wu was invited to judge at instrument competitions numerous times in Beijing. She has toured with the troupe to France, Canada, Russia, India, the Czech Republic, Australia, New Zealand, North Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In 2021, Wu won the 1st place in the Chamber Music silver medal, 3rd place in the Composition of the China Dunhuang Cup National Instrumental Music Competition, and the 3rd place in Walnut Valley National Hammer Dulcimer Championships.
China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra Lunar New Year Prelude (Year: 2017)
China Film Orchestra The Moon Reflection in Three Pools (Year: 2012)
Student performance
Plucked instrument ensemble Firebird (Year: 2013, Concert hall capacity: 1,122 seats)
Junior Ensemble
Freshmen Dulcimer
Sophomore Yangqin
Junior Guzheng
Sophomore Guzheng
Ms. Wenying Wu is a wonderful artist with both virtue and art. She teaches children with patience, strict requirements, and meticulous guidance. Not only does she cultivate children’s musical literacy, but also pays attention to the shaping of good characters. Since learning from Ms. Wu for a year and a half, I have observed my son from zero basics of the Dulcimer to being able to play ensembles and solo music with his classmates, such as Good News, Jasmine, Tractor Comes, Happy Xinjiang, The Sun Rises over the Grassland and so on. As a parent, we are very grateful to Teacher Wu for her hard work and meaningful music education to kids. Great student comes from great master!
Online music course is a creative way of teaching. Ms. Wu is very caring and patient with my kid during classes, helping him adapt to this new music education model. Thank you so much for your great teaching!
— Alex Qin-Truong parents
Teacher Wu is a very serious and responsible teacher. She is not only highly skilled at the Dulcimer but also very good at teaching. Teacher Wu is of high moral character and one of the rare teachers we have ever seen in the United States who cares children seriously. It is especially difficult to find good teachers and hope that the school will cherish them. I believe that under the education of a good teacher like Mrs. Wu, the school will continue to cultivate many good heritage musicians to make the orchestra better!
Despite all the difficulty due to remote teaching, our Ms Wu is really dedicated to her online class since we started. It’s going very well!
— Terence He mother
Teacher Yingzi is very kind. Both Sylvia and I like her very much. Because of the teacher’s patient teaching, strict urging, and enthusiastic encouragement, my child has made a great improvement. When we had difficulties for not carrying the instrument every time, the teacher helped us resolve the problem immediately and positively, making us grateful. Sylvia will continue to learn and strive for an early stage performance!
The effect of the net class is much better than expected. The teacher teaches very seriously and has been concerned about the child’s practice during the week.
— Sylvia Huang mother
The teacher is very kind and very popular with students. Her classes are very careful and patient, and has a strong sense of responsibility. She often urges students and parents to complete the homework so they may advance and continue learning. The teacher has a strict teaching attitude, which is not only directed at her students’ learning, but also shows her work ethic! The teacher always insists on arranging courses for the students according to the school’s required progress, focusing on areas where the students have difficulties, and sacrifices her personal time to tutor, such a dedicated teacher!
The effect of online courses is better than we thought. The main reason is that the teacher is very concerned about the students’ practice and learning progress, and also uses his own private time to teach students where he does not understand. Thank you very much for the teachers’ efforts!
— Nancy Nie’s mom
I am Audrina Au’s mother, and highly recommend Teacher Wu. Ms. Wu is very serious in teaching the Guzheng. She is strict yet patient with children, and is very anxious about the progress of students. She carefully improves their subtle skills so as to improve the whole. She is a very rare and attentive teacher. My child loves her very much and hopes to always learn with Teacher Wu.
— Audrina’s mom
Ms. Wu is a wonderful Yangqin teacher. She’s very experienced at teaching and also a passionate musician. My daughter enjoys going to her class every week.
— Madelyn Cheung mother
My daughter Lanna Zhang is a Guzheng student in your third grade. Teacher Wu has taught her for two years. We are very happy to have a good teacher like Teacher Wu. Not only does she have a high level of musical attainment, she can also play Guzheng, Yangqin, and piano, and teach ensemble lessons to guide children of various instruments in harmony.
Teacher Wu is very strict in teaching and requires meticulous attention to every note. Not only did she teach carefully in class, she also carefully checked the student’s homework and urges them to complete it carefully to meet the standard. What’s more gratifying is that Teacher Wu is very dedicated and often adjusts the music to suit the characteristics of Guzheng. She sometimes records the key techniques at home and sends them to students to observe and practice. On several occasions, she personally instructed two students on the Internet to identify the staff notation one by one, to make up for their shortcomings.
Teacher Wu is the second teacher we currently know, but it is one of the best teachers we have experienced in all subjects. I am very glad that your school has such a good and dedicated teacher. Thank you!
— Victor Zhang
Mr. Wu is very careful and responsible, and she is very careful during class. At the same time, she has higher requirements for playing, which helps me improve faster.
– FYCO Dulcimer Lynn Mei
Teacher Wu smiles every time she teaches. She is very kind and very kind to us. She always encourages us and teaches us how to improve. The teacher will give me very specific guidance and suggestions, so that I can improve quickly in practice. Every time she gives me guidance, it helps me a lot, so that I can learn a lot, and I can always improve. The teacher would encourage me from time to time, and after correcting me, I would definitely say that I did a great job and gave me a lot of confidence. As a student of the teacher, I feel very happy and fortunate. I also thank the teacher for the confidence and encouragement that I have always given me, which has given me a lot of motivation and made me want continuous improvement.
– FYCO Dulcimer Diana Chao