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More Chinese musicians appear at the Grammy Awards

Editor: 张锐 丨CRI

02-14-2017 07:13 BJT

The 59th annual Grammy Awards took place on Monday morning Beijing time in Los Angeles, California. Chinese musician Wu Tong, along with his band Silk Road Ensemble, snagged the Best World Music award with their album "Sing Me Home."

Chinese musician Wu Tong, holding a Grammy award. [Photo: Sohu.com]

Chinese musician Wu Tong, holding a Grammy award. [Photo: Sohu.com]

Silk Road Ensemble is headed by world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. "Sing Me Home" is their sixth album.

According to Wu, the band is an exploration of the musical connections of the ancient Silk Road across Eurasia.

Wu Tong plays the sheng, a mouth-blown reed instrument. He is also a vocalist, and was once the lead vocalist of Chinese rock band Again.

But later he turned to folk music and joined Yo-Yo Ma's nonprofit Silk Road Project, which was founded in 1998.

According to the band's introduction, the Silk Road Ensemble has welcomed more than 70 performers and composers from nearly 25 nations since 2000.

After winning the award, Wu wrote on his Weibo that "Since the band founded 18 years ago, we have been searching for ways to eliminate the gap between peoples and cultures through music. We hope for mutual respect and understanding among different races and beliefs. This is the real meaning of Best World Music. Thanks for recognition, Grammys! "

The album includes original and traditional arrangements by global artists. Composers of each song explored the concept of the "music of home" using their unique experiences from China, the Balkans, Galicia, India, Iran, Ireland, Japan, the United States and more.

The Grammys night also witnessed Chinese pianist Lang Lang, Singer Jane Zhang, and actor-singers Kris Wu and Bai Jugang walking the red carpet. However, none of these talented musicians actually performed for the awards show this year.

China and the Grammys

Several Chinese musicians have won Grammys previously. Tan Dun won his first Grammy in 2002 for his "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" score. In 2005, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, one of the best known Chinese classical musicians, won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition.

Pianist Lang Lang, who serves as the Grammy cultural ambassador to China, performed with Metallica in 2014.

With its high number of engaged viewers on all kinds of social media, more and more Chinese people are talking about the biggest night in American music.

Chinese music bloggers are being invited to see and keep their followers up to date about the event. 

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