Listen and learn at a free erhu recital and lecture! 

Dr. Sun Hui will play the erhu and discuss the historical context for the instrument’s role in Chinese classical music composition, poetry, and philosophy. The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument or spike fiddle that is sometimes known in the Western world as the Chinese violin. This program is appropriate for all ages, but young children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Excellence Prize Winner of the National Erhu Competition in Taiwan, Sun has performed throughout Europe and the Americas in many prestigious music venues and in Taiwan’s National Concert Hall and the Taiwan National Opera. She has performed as a solo artist in collaboration with many major orchestras, including the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and the National Chinese Opera Company. Formerly she taught composition, musicology, and music theory at the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.

Sun currently resides in the Hawaiian Islands and has developed a unique style combining the Chinese elements of the erhu with traditional Hawai‘ian music, winning her a Na Hoku Hanohano Award from the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts. She holds a B.A. in Erhu Performance from the Chinese Culture University, Taiwan, an M.A. in Music Composition and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Ethnomusicology from the Ohio State University. Sample of her music can be found on Dr. Sun Hui’s YouTube channel.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Hawaii. This a production of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Outreach College’s Statewide Cultural Extension Program with additional funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and the University of Hawaii.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity should contact library staff as soon as possible. Advance requests 48 hours or more before the event are encouraged, but not required. Program schedule is subject to change.