This ensemble is comprised of nanyin greats from the Stone Lion City region of Quan Zhou, China. United by their love for this ancient artform, they formed the Nanyin Association of Stone Lion City in 1980, which is designed to keep this ancient musical genre alive through succeeding generations of artistes.

Eschewing the idea of treating it as a profession, the members of this group live and breathe nanyin music and perform it as a cultural activity for their own edification as much as the audience’s.

The vast nanyin repertoire includes an estimated 6,000 individual songs, 48 song suites, and 13 instrumental suites, covering a diverse range of topics from religion, politics and history, to social life, folk practices and Buddhist and Taoist beliefs.

Many of the Ensemble’s performers are veterans with “lineage holder” status, while others are leaders of other nanyin associations. Among those performing at this concert are octogenarian Wu Yan Zao, a practitioner for more than 70 years, and the oldest and most experienced of only eight national level nanyin lineage holders in China.

Led by veteran Cai Wei Biao, who is also performing, the association has a membership of 46 practitioners across all age ranges, and has won many awards and earned critical acclaim in China and internationally.