“Jigu! Thunder Drums of China” will be at Brigham Young University for a one-night performance Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
Tickets for the event are available through the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-4322, or online at byuarts.com. The tickets range in price from $8-$25. The show is also part of the BYU Performing Arts Series and artsPASS season ticket packages.
The performers in Jigu, which means “to beat or touch the drum” in Chinese, come from villages throughout the Shanxi Province in China, and they range in age from 16 to 30 years old. The people of Shanxi Province share a rich history of drumming. Generations of families have passed on their drumming skills, some tracing back to A.D. 618.
The ensemble will perform 15 short stories using the cadence of the drums. The stories portray epic warriors returning home, harvest time, a shift of seasons and a boatman’s tale.
The Rochester City News said, “Jigu’s virtuosic command of style and technique tells wordless tales of man and nature, war and peace, love and delight — all through an imaginative fusion of music, movement, color and costume.”
The world-renowned company started in 1988 and has since toured across the globe to Canada, Denmark, Morocco, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The artists made their first tour to the United States in 2007 and have played at historic and notable halls in Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit and Philadelphia. This is their fourth American tour.
The group also performs in numerous festivals and competitions including the Hong Kong Drum Festival and Competition and the Arhus Cultural Festival in Denmark. They are the winners of the 1992 Chinese Folk Competitions for Percussion and Drums Performers and the gold medalists at the 1992, 2000, 2001 and 2004 National Star Awards, given for excellence in the fields of drumming and percussion.
They were also featured performers during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and at the 2004 NBA International Games.
For more information, contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu.
Writer: Brandon Garrett
