On the evening of July 10th, an extraordinary concert of handpan and guzheng was held in the gymnasium of the South Campus of Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT). During the concert, Mr. Liron Man, famous Israeli musician and composer and Ms. Lucy Luan, renowned guzheng performer and songwriter from China, combined modernity and tradition, western and eastern culture together in their performance, sending their best wishes to GTIIT graduates.

Mr. Liron Man is a professional handpan performer and has been performing handpan for many years, widely considered as one of the most influential figures in the world of handpan. His love for handpan is closely related to his love for percussion instruments, as he said that he likes to knock on various things, such as door frames and tables, and that his love at first sight with the hand dish has become a sense of ease over time.

The handpan originated in Switzerland in 2000, while the guzheng is one of China's traditional musical instruments, that has been played since the Warring States Period. Ms. Luan Siyuan, who began to play guzheng at the age of four, has continued to broaden the boundaries of guzheng performance within a mixture of the eastern and western, ancient and modern cultures. During the performance, she used two guzhengs simultaneously, something rarely seen in guzheng performance, and brought provided creative techniques such as pulling the strings, making her performance unique.

The two artists dedicated nine pieces of music of different styles and forms. The Guzheng performance of "Man Zhu Sha Hua" and "Xun" shows the charm of modern Chinese music, and "Rakitam" in a handpan version was a new interpretation of this popular Israeli song.

This fusion of east and west, ancient and modern, won the great feedback of the audience, with some saying that the concert was special and that he had not heard a performance that fused handpan and guzheng anywhere else. Others thought this innovative way of playing was novel.

The Class of 2023 will embark on a new journey of pursuing innovation. The fusion of the handpan and the guzheng also illustrated the gene of innovation in music.

Text：Huang Yuezhi, GTIIT News & Public Affairs

Photos: Li Leqi, Chen Zhiyuan