Musician plays pipa, Chinese folk instrument, in Hoag concert
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Leah Ou played the pipa, a Chinese folk instrument, during a noon concert on Saturday at the Hoag Library.
She performed as part of a new concert series at Hoag this year, featuring many musicians who haven’t performed in Orleans County before.
The pipa has been played for about 2,000 years. Ou in her performances emphasize pride in Chinese musical culture and authenticity of expression.
Leah Ou was born in Chengdu, China, and started her classical training at age 6. She has been performing and teaching professionally for more than a decade. She now lives in Rochester and
has performed in the World Music Concert at Eastman School of Music, the Hidden Garden Concert at George Eastman Museum, an interactive demonstration of the pipa for SUNY Geneseo Musicology students.
The Hoag concerts eries is organized primarily by Jim Doyle, an adult reference librarian at the library. He also has been running Jim’s Guitar Studio for 23 years in Albion, and is a founding member of the Rochester Guitar Club.
Ou’s was the fourth concert in the series. The remaining schedule includes:
- Trio Ghidorah: Saturday, August 19, at noon
- Sunshine Quan: Saturday, September 23, at noon
- Maya Ana Loncar: Saturday, Oct. 14 at noon
- Rochester Mandolin Orchestra, Saturday, Nov. 4 at noon
- Dr. Lynn McGrath, Saturday, Dec. 9 at noon
The concerts are free to the public with support from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council and Friends of Hoag Library.
