Recently, CAA client young erhu performer and singer-songwriter Chen Yimiao accepted an exclusive interview with the special issue of "Please Answer 2022" of "Music Finance" to share his music growth process and future development plan. As the youngest winner of the Gold Slam Grand Slam in China's three major Erhu competitions and a full scholarship winner from the Berklee College of Music in the United States, Chen Yimiao has always adhered to the "erhu family"'s love for traditional culture and folk music, with the unique characteristics of Generation Z. His artistic creation style promotes traditional Chinese culture to the international stage and blooms cultural self-confidence.

(Image source: Music Finance Public Account)
The following is the content of the "Music Finance" public account
Key Points:
1. Her family members are all engaged in music performance, which allows Chen Yimiao to grow up in a strong music atmosphere.
2. The label of "Erhu Family" gave her more responsibility and sense of mission for the inheritance and development of Erhu, but it did not bring too much burden and limitation.
3. As a young generation content creator, the combination of her solid music foundation and "feeling of the Internet" has made her popular among more users on social media platforms.
A few days ago, Chen Yimiao updated the latest video at station B, recording that she took a six-hour flight from Boston to Los Angeles to participate in the "50th Anniversary of Nixon's Ice Breaking Trip to China" and played on the same stage with her father, Chen Jun. He composed the erhu song "Wild Flying Horses" composed by his father, and held a concert at the Baoer Museum, giving everyone an erhu talk show in English.
As a post-00s up master, Chen Yimiao is used to recording her performances, creations, life, and daily studies with videos. Her videos are also full of elements that young people like, such as animation, two-dimensional, national style, cute pets, etc. Wait. These creative videos have attracted more than 200,000 fans for his Bilibili account. Among them, the video with Erhu and the soundtrack of the movie "Dune" was also forwarded and liked by film soundtrack master Hans Zimmer himself.

(Image credit: Hans Zimmer's Facebook)
Although she is only 18 years old this year, as Hans Zimmer said, Chen Yimiao is already a very professional erhu player, which is related to her experience of performing on stage since she was a child, and it is also related to the family atmosphere.
Born into an erhu family, Chen Yimiao's father, Chen Jun, and grandfather, Chen Yaoxing, are both famous erhu performers. Growing up in such an environment, for Chen Yimiao, learning erhu is a very natural thing, and she also "lived up to expectations" at a very young age, showing her musical talent and a strong sense of national music culture Interest.
Chen Yimiao began to learn piano at the age of 4, and was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music High School at the age of 12. As the youngest winner, she achieved the Gold Slam of the Three Great Erhu Competitions in China. Last year, at the age of 17, she was accepted by the Berklee College of Music in the United States. Enrolled on a full scholarship.
Over the years, Chen Yimiao has been active on many stages, performing "New Silk Road" with pianist Maxim in the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, performing "Dao Ma Dan" as a surprise guest of Coco Li's tour, and performing with symphony orchestras around the world. Collaborative performances and more.

In addition to performing, Chen Yimiao is also experimenting with music creation.
At the age of 15, Chen Yimiao released her first erhu work "Golden Character Classic Huqin", and her first original single "On the Way" created at the age of 16 won the 2020 QQ Music "Graduation Season Freeze Frame Time" original song. Championship. In addition, her "First Expedition" and her adaptation of the classic "Världen är vacker" (Life Is Like Four Seasons) also incorporate her understanding of popular music and traditional culture.
Such a beautiful resume may make many parents sigh that they are really "other people's children", but in fact, every wonderful performance in front of the stage requires accumulated practice behind the scenes.
Being born in a family of erhu gave her more responsibility and sense of mission for the inheritance and development of erhu, but it did not bring her too much burden and limitation. Whether performing or composing, Chen Yimiao emphasizes her own understanding and innovation. The following content is from Chen Yimiao's self-report

Growing up in a strong musical atmosphere

In fact, starting from my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, and myself, our whole family has been engaged in erhu performance. I have been in this environment since I can't remember much, so my musical initiation is also completely influenced by the family atmosphere. When I was very young, they basically played with me. For example, they used the erhu to imitate the sounds of some small animals to coax me. After I became interested in the erhu, I slowly began to practice every day.
In my mind, almost every day is spent practicing the piano. In normal life, my parents are very gentle people and never get angry with me, but when it comes to practicing the piano, they are very, very strict. When I first started learning erhu, I was only three or four years old. Looking back now, if it wasn't for their strictness, I might not have been able to persevere until now.

(Chen Yimiao, grandfather Chen Yaoxing, father Chen Jun)
Practicing the piano has now become a part of my life, just like sleeping and eating, I have to do it every day. My parents are not so strict about practicing the piano. On the contrary, I am more strict with myself. If I don't play the piano well, I will be more ruthless and I will practice more.
Before I was admitted to Berkeley in September last year, I usually practiced 6-8 hours a day, but because I chose to major in music writing and production after admission, my time and energy shifted a little, so this is what I have always been. I'm thinking about how to ensure more time for piano practice.
Because I have learned erhu since I was a child, I have a very deep relationship with this musical instrument, so I never thought about changing careers or learning other musical instruments. This kind of feeling is like playing the game and not clearing the level. This game has always been attractive to you, and the erhu is also in this state for me.
In fact, both grandfather and father, they have reached a very high level in erhu performance and creation, but in fact, I still want to do something different from them. Grandpa's works, including many creative techniques, are from his era, and Dad's creations also run through a lot of his understanding of the erhu in that era.
When I come to me, I also hope that on the basis of inheriting the erhu tradition, I can incorporate some of my own unique voices that can represent our generation. So I've been thinking about how to break everyone's existing cognition of erhu and create something new that belongs to erhu. This is a way for me to "clear the border".

Feel the difference between Chinese and American music education

The decision to study at Berkeley was abrupt. I thought I would study at the Central Conservatory of Music from the high school attached to the university, but during the period of staying at home during the epidemic, I had an idea in my head every day.
At that time, Berkeley had an online interview in December, and in August I thought I would give it a try. In fact, I didn't prepare for a long time, and I didn't apply for other schools. I was admitted with the mentality of giving it a try, and I also won a full scholarship. I was surprised and felt very lucky myself. I heard that the full award is very rare, especially for international students, so I felt that I must come to study.
Since I entered school for more than half a year, I feel that music education at home and abroad has its own characteristics, and the differences are also obvious.
For example, Berkeley pays more attention to learning and application, that is, how to use it after you have learned it. All courses are chosen by yourself, and everyone needs to know what they want to learn and what they can learn. Most of the domestic colleges and universities are more inclined to the training direction of students, and everyone is very good in their own professional fields. But it is difficult to become a performer, and very few people can actually become a performer in the end.
There are also many seniors and sisters around me. Most of them will choose to be teachers and then teach other students after graduation. Some people join the orchestra and become the principal, and some people may become very good performers many years after graduation. Some graduates majoring in erhu performance develop in these three directions.
In the first class of a course I chose at Berkeley, the teacher asked us to make a PPT to think about what to do after graduation? What is the direction? Does learning this work for you? How much income do you want? It's a very detailed plan.
After I finished the PPT that day, I suddenly felt that I knew a lot about the future development. Although not every student here can learn a very good level in their professional field, but they learn a wide range of knowledge, and when they study, they know what they want to do in the future. When studying in China, we may not consider the employment direction until we are about to graduate, but let us think about this issue on the first day of school here, the difference is quite big.
I am currently studying at Berkeley with cello teacher Mike Block, the artistic director of the Yo-Yo Ma Silk Road Orchestra, and I feel I have really learned a lot from him. Not only Western music, but also music from all over the world can be used to perform traditional Chinese musical instruments from different perspectives. I think this is quite a cool thing. So I hope that I can learn more diverse music culture here, summarize and absorb it, and then integrate it into Erhu to try to express something new.

From erhu performance to music creation

With the development of the times, there will definitely be many new works appearing. I tried to compose myself when I was 15 years old. The first piece of work was "The Classic of Golden Characters Huqin", which was written by Zhang Kejiu, a famous Sanquist in the Yuan Dynasty. At the time, I didn't feel that I was creating, but I just thought the word was very good, and then I felt it.
Maybe it was also influenced by my grandfather and father. Their philosophy was that "creation and performance are one." Most of the works they played on stage were composed by themselves, so I naturally wrote such a work at that time.
Although their creative initiative is influenced by them, they have never interfered too much with my creative content. Because my father didn't want me to become the second Chen Jun, he wanted me to be my unique self, so he respected my ideas during the creative process and would not guide me on what I should and shouldn't do.
In fact, I participated in the Bole Project Creation Camp of Tencent Musicians last year, which also brought me some wonderful new experiences. Everyone in the creation camp has their own musical attitude, and they are all pursuing different and individual music creation. As a newcomer, I feel very benefited.
Each of the songs I'm writing now has a different style. For example, I prefer one of my own works called "First Expedition", which is combined with rock music. There is also a song "On the Way" written when I was 16 years old. That song is a little fresher and less rhythmic. There are also some songs combined with jazz, which have not been released yet.
I haven't found a creative style that is most suitable for me, so I hope to try all the styles that I can achieve, and then find the most suitable direction to create.

It may also be that I like too many types of music, so each piece I create has a different style, but one of my favorite music types is tango, which is why I especially want to write the Erhu "Four Seasons", Because I love Piazzolla's Four Seasons so much.
I am now trying to use the Erhura work, but it is very difficult. I hope that by mastering how to play "Four Seasons", I can create a "Four Seasons" belonging to the erhu, so that the audience can be truly moved when they hear my work.

Please answer 2022

What was the busiest month for you last year? What were you doing then?
It should be when I just moved to the United States in September. There are many things in life, such as renting a house, installing a sofa by yourself, cooking and so on. In terms of academics, there are a lot of things to get used to when you just arrived at school, such as language, course selection and so on. At that time, I spent that month in a very busy state, but in the hustle and bustle there was still a longing for the new semester, so it was okay, very tired and busy but also very happy.
Do you have any plans or expectations for this year?
First of all, I hope that I can learn more things here, through a more international perspective to deeply understand different types of music, and then integrate them into Erhu. I also hope that there will be more opportunities for performances and exchanges to introduce Erhu to more foreign friends, so that everyone can understand Chinese traditional music.
After graduating from Berkeley, which direction do you want to develop in the future?
At present, I have two directions in mind, one is erhu performance and the other is music production. But I don't want to limit myself to these two fields. Maybe the big direction will not change, but there will be some adjustments in the small direction. So these two things are what I will definitely do in the future. Besides, I should know and try anything related to music.