Liu Xi / Willow Stream

Strings of Memory: Harp and Guzheng Across Cultures

Irish harp melodies meet Chinese classics, Sephardic song, and original music in an intimate conversation between harp and guzheng. Liu Xi / Willow Stream weaves historical playing techniques with spontaneous improvisation, exploring how music carries stories of belonging, resilience, and renewal. Along the way, Winnie Wong and Diana Rowan share the stories behind their instruments and demonstrate how melodies transform as they pass between musical traditions. Expect shimmering textures, spirited exchanges, and discoveries made together in the moment.

Our music grows from traditions carried through generations of performers, teachers, and communities. We draw on the music of Irish harper-bard Turlough O’Carolan (1670–1738), Chinese melodies such as Jasmine Flower, and traditional guzheng repertoire including the centuries-old Emerging Lotus. Sephardic songs such as La Rosa Enflorece bring another thread of cultural memory into our work.

Our instruments themselves have long lineages, the harp going back to 3000 BCE Egyptian harp depictions, and the guzheng documented for over 2500 years. Our instruments traveled far and wide, embraced by many cultures and eras, giving us a huge palette to draw from. So we also feature historical art forms such as the Balinese pelog scale, Hindustani raga alap, and Middle Eastern heterophony in our music.

Winnie’s guzheng lineage began with her teacher, virtuoso Weishan Liu. Diana brings her Irish heritage and doctoral research into harp techniques from around the world. These inheritances influence how we ornament melodies, bend pitches, explore resonance, and develop musical ideas as a whole.

Our arrangements and original compositions combine written passages with improvisation, another format that has long historical precedent. For example, we may introduce melodies separately, exchange them between instruments, and discover how each changes through another musical perspective. We love sharing the stories behind these choices, inviting listeners to hear tradition as a living practice.