12 Girl Band - 女子十二乐 |
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| Formed in 2001, 12 Girls Band has won International acclaim for their modern interpretations of classical Tang Dynasty music. Now 1, 500 years later, their virtuoso performances have grown to include Western classicism plus modern dance music. Most astonishing, is how these ancient instruments adapt to playing Irish Folk music. If you like Bond, you will love this music! | |||||
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Twelve Girls Band (simplified Chinese: 女子十二乐坊; traditional Chinese: 女子十二樂坊; sometimes abbreviated to 女樂 or 女乐) are an all female Chinese musical group that initially consisted of twelve members before the addition of a thirteenth. Twelve Girls Band use traditional Chinese instruments to play both traditional Chinese and Western music. | ||||
| Formed on June 18, 2001, the girls were selected by audition from more than 4,000 contestants. Each is classically-trained, and the band members come from various conservatories in the People's Republic of China (PRC), including the China Academy of Music, the Chinese National Orchestra, and the Central Conservatory of Music. Among the instruments used by the girls are: erhu (Chinese fiddle), pipa (pear-shaped lute), guzheng (zither), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), dizi (transverse flute), and xiao (vertical flute). Occasionally, the duxianqin (single-stringed zither) and hulusi (three-piped gourd flute) are played.
This ensemble of twelve beautiful young women, all graduates from elite music academies and veterans of top orchestras in China. They take 1500 years of Chinese music tradition and make it contemporary. By playing modern arrangements on traditional Chinese instruments, they have created something entirely unique in world music. Having sold millions of records across Asia, Twelve Girls Band emerges as the most successful act on the international stage. The band's debut album in Japan remained at the top of the charts for 30 weeks. Their live concert there sold out 32 arenas in 10 minutes. Their U.S. debut "Eastern Energy" was released on August 17, 2004, coinciding with their first ever U.S. tour (August 10 to September 4, 2004). On this promotional tour, they performed seven concerts (Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta and Honolulu) and were greeted by American audiences with strong enthusiasm. "Eastern Energy" was ranked #62 on the Billboard Top 200 chart during the first week, marking the highest ranking debut of an Asian artist in the history of the Billboard Top 200. It was also #1 on the World Music chart and #7 on the Internet Sales chart. |
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| Official website: http://www.12girls.org/english/index.asp Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Girls_Band |
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