Twelve Girls Band

Twelve Girls Band is a music women artists group who started with twelve members but later become thirteen, that use traditional s to play both traditional Chinese and songs. Formed on June 18, 2001, the women were selected by audition from more than 4,000 contestants. Each woman is classically-trained, and the band members come from various conservatories in the People's Republic of China , including the China Academy of Music, the Chinese National Orchestra, and the Central Conservatory of Music.

History

Chinese numerology gave Wang Xiao-Jing the idea for the ''Twelve Girls Band''. When the "father of Chinese rock music" decided he wanted to create a woman ensemble, he knew it needed 12 members. Per Chinese mythology it is the twelve jinchai representing womanhood. The twelve women that Xiao-Jing assembled were experienced musicians from the People's Republic of China's orchestras, played ancient Chinese instruments, and all were in their twenties. For the new project, the women were inspired by the art of the Yue Fang, the ensembles who played in the Tang Dynasty courts during the years A.D. 618 to 907.

The group debuted their modern compositions on ancient instruments in China and Japan during the Northern summer of 2003. Word of mouth spread, show after show were sold-out, and in Japan their debut album topped the charts for 30 weeks. Their self-titled debut was released in North America in August 2004 with cover versions of Coldplay's "Clocks" and Enya's "Only Time" included, and a massive television advertising campaign announcing the group's arrival.

Among the instruments used by the women: erhu , pipa , guzheng , yangqin , dizi , and . Occasionally, the duxianqin and hulusi are employed.

Performances

In July 2003, ''Beautiful Energy,'' the Twelve Girls Band's first album in Japan, reached the top of the J-pop chart. They won Japan Gold Disc Award in 2004.

Twelve Girls Band toured in the United States in 2004 ''Miracles'' tour and again in 2005.

July 7, 2007 Twelve Girls Band performed at the of Live Earth in Shanghai.

Soprano, Giorgia Fumanti, will be performing with the group in October and November 2007, on their North American tour. The tour will travel to the Midwest USA , and the East and West Coast areas of the USA and Canada.

Members

*Playing the guzheng, .
*Playing the yangqin, Ma Jingjing and Yang Songmei .
*Playing the pipa, Zhang Kun , Zhong Bao , and Shi Juan .
*Playing the erhu, Lei Ying , , Yin Yan , Sun Ting , and Zhan Lijun .
*Playing , Liao Bingqu and Sun Yuan .
*Zhan Lijun joined the group in 2003, bringing the total number of women to thirteen, but the original name was retained.

Former members: Huo Xiaojun , Yue Guangqin , Du Wenting , Zhang Shuang .

Discography

* ''Meili Yinyuehui 魅力音乐会'' - Original Debut CD
* ''Joshi Juni Gakubou - Beautiful Energy'' - first Japanese album
* ''Kiseki/Miracle Live''
* ''Kikou - Shining Energy -'' - second Japanese album
* ''Eastern Energy'' - first USA album
* ''Twelve Girls Band Live at Budokan Japan 2004
* ''Red Hot Classics''
* ''Tribute to Wang Luobin''
* '' ''
* ''Journey to Silk Road''
* ''''
* '''' - Christmas album published in Japan
* ''''
* ''Romantic Energy'' - published in the US
* ''Twelve Girls of Christmas'' - Christmas album published in the US
* ''The Best of 12 Girls Band'' - Korean version available
* ''''

Most of these CDs were released in different versions for the USA, the PRC, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. Please see the individual album page for information on how the tracklist differs.

Video

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