Skip to Navigation Skip to Content Skip to Search Skip to Site Map Menu
Search

Author Archives: Henry Johnson

About Henry Johnson

My primary field of research is the study of people making music. My research outputs mainly have a social focus, with much work crossing other disciplinary fields (e.g., Asian Studies, Japanese Studies, Island Studies, Diaspora Studies, Performance Studies and Cultural Studies). The ethnographic component of my research methods includes original field research in diverse contexts, including Japan, small island cultures (e.g., Japanese small islands, and the Channel Islands), and New Zealand.

Erhu – Waikato Community School of Music

The Erhu – We are taking expressions of interest in learning the erhu, a traditional two-stringed bowed Chinese instrument. Contact Ann Shaffer at the office for details.
Zoe Li has been playing the erhu since she was 6 years old and has a wealth of musical experience. In 2008 Zoe was invited to play in the “Birds Nest” performance during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and received the gold award in the World Art Festival in 2016. Zoe has found a love for blues and jazz music also, and enrolled in the BA Commercial Music at Wintec in 2017.
The erhu is a very versatile instrument and is used in both traditional and contemporary music arrangements. It is also very beautiful!
” (https://www.facebook.com/waikatocommunityschoolofmusic/photos/the-erhu-we-are-taking-expressions-of-interest-in-learning-the-erhu-a-traditiona/1545691658818021/ 23 March 2018)

Ethnic Soccer Festival Hamilton (2009)

http://ketehamilton.peoplesnetworknz.info/en/ethnic_soccer_festival_hamilton/images/show/2084-music-2009-ethnic-soccer-festival?view_size=large

Performers at the Opening Ceremony of the Chinese Cultural Festival (2013)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/christchurchcitylibraries/11426016173/in/photostream/

Performers at the Opening Ceremony of the Chinese Cultural Festival.

File reference: CCL-2013-12-18-Chinese-Cultural-Festival-November-2013 IMG_5452.JPG

Photo taken by Song Yang.

From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.

Moon Festival (online performances)

Moon Festival performances

Chinese toms in the making of the drum kit

“Picturing Sound”

Johnson, Henry. (2021). Picturing Sound: Musical Instruments, Chee Kung Tong and Photography in New Zealand in the 1920s. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 23 (1): 21–36. [ISSN: 1174-8915]

 

“Chee Kung Tong and Diasporic Sound in New Zealand”

Johnson, Henry. (in press). Chee Kung Tong and Diasporic Sound in New Zealand: The Wellington Chinese Masonic Society’s Collection of Musical Instruments. The Galpin Society Journal 75 [ISSN: 0072-0127]

New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies

New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies

Chee Kung Tong orchestra (c.1925)

 

Guitar and erhu

Guitar and erhu (video link)

 

 

Dunedin Chinese Culture Show – Guangzhou

Otago Access Radio