Event overview
Writing for Prepared Piano and Dan Tranh: new connections between Eastern and Western instruments
Kate Ryder (Prepared Piano), Than Thuy (Dan Tranh)
Formed in Sweden in 2012, and a joint project between Sweden, Vietnam and the UK, this ensemble uses prepared piano and prepared Dan Tranh (pron. Dan Chang), a type of Vietnamese fretless zither, to develop an entirely new repertoire for this unique sound world.
All welcome to observe
Nguyen Than Thuy is one of the world’s best performers of the Vietnamese zither, the dan tranh. She has performed across Asia, Europe and the US, and has released numerous CDs of traditional and new music. Since 2000 she has held a teaching position at the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music.
Kate Ryder’s wide ranging experience as a pianist encompasses solo work and collaborations with leading performers and ensembles in dance, electronics and theatre where she has established herself as a versatile and original performer. She has had many works created especially for her by composers in the UK and abroad.
She has a particular interest in working with extended techniques and unusual keyboard instruments – toy pianos, antique keyboards and prepared piano – incorporating them into her work through commissioning, performing, recording and giving workshops on these unique instruments. Her performances have been described in the press as “virtuosic” and “magical”
She has held several prestigious residencies including Visiting Artist at UC Berkeley (with harpsichordist Jane Chapman), Brunel University, University of Bogotà, and Goldsmiths, University of London. She recently took her projects - and instruments - to festivals in Australia, Scandinavia and Russia and has curated events at London’s South Bank Centre for their Massed Piano weekend, and for the Cornelius Cardew Festival. She is currently working as an associate artist with several university departments developing projects based on the Prepared Piano.
Image: Than Thuy
Dates & times
Date | Time | Add to calendar |
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14 May 2013 | 1:30pm - 4:00pm |
Accessibility
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