Creating a Chinese musical message for a global audience

Fan, who was born in Southwest China's Sichuan province, was heavily influenced by his history professor parents, who are both music lovers.

Brought up in an artistic atmosphere, he learned violin as a child and his talent for singing was discovered by Lan Youqing, a teacher at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, who later became his first vocal instructor.

"My parents read Chinese poetry and listened to music when I was young. But now, few people do that. We forget our valuable arts, which are unique," says Fan, who graduated from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in 1982 and later furthered his studies at the Central Conservatory of Music for a year, where he was trained by Shen Xiang, a renowned vocal professor at the conservatory.

Meanwhile, over the years, Fan conducted research on music pieces based on the works of Chinese scholars, writers and poets of the 1920s and 1930s, such as Hu Shi and Liu Bannong.

In 2008, he released an album titled Chinese Lieder, a collection of Chinese art songs and folk songs, which forms part of his yage project.

The album has works such as My Sentiments to the Yangtze River, which has lyrics by Li Zhiyi from the Song Dynasty (1127-1279); a Yunnan folk song, The Running Stream, and How Can I Not Miss Her, which has lyrics by Liu Bannong.

Fan also collaborated with Chinese composer Zou Ye and history scholar Liu Xuefeng from Peking University for his project.

Before Fan brought his yage concerts to China, he presented the music genre abroad - at Yale University, Carnegie Hall and Musikverein.

The feedback from Western audiences was good because the audiences were familiar with the instruments and the singing style.

"Usually, Western audiences say 'it's very interesting' after watching a Chinese music performance, but they don't accept it. What I want to do with yage is to get them involved with our music," says Fan.

Separately, Fan has also teamed up with Renmin University and the East China Normal University to do research and promote yage.

As for the future of his project, Fan says he is pleased that more people, especially young musicians, are now willing to join him.

"This project offers a platform to young Chinese musicians. It's not just about going back to our own culture but also delivering messages, which represent China, to the world," says Fan.

If you go

7pm, Jan 15. At Genesis Beijing, No.8 Xinyuan Nanlu (South Road), Chaoyang district, Beijing.