John Doan Performs in China: First Pictures

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John Doan is on tour in China after being so graciously welcomed at the airport. These are the first peeks of his first concert in Xian.

The debut concert was held at the Qujiang Theatre in the heart of Xi’an.  It is a beautiful and intimate facility that soon filled with local people and those who attended at the invitation of my wonderful host Hongquan Wang and the Shaanxi Musicians Association.

I had written out my program and text that I would normally say in English so that it could be read in Chinese (as my Mandarin is currently limited to about 3 words).  Yilin Wang excellently interpreted my text before each song (at least it sounded very authoritative).  I am so use to speaking myself to audiences so as to provide them a bridge to my music so by not being able to speak I initially felt mute and somewhat awkward.

Everything changed once I hit the first note.  I instantly realized that I actually was speaking to the audience directly by playing my music on the harp guitar.  Even the notes sounded a bit Chinese as there was no more distance between us.  They burst to applause after each piece.  Some recording engineers in a sound room were talking to each other and didn’t know that they had a microphone on so my music drifted over some speech in the hall.  Some people in the audience began to shout out to have them be quiet.  I said “Shay Shay (Thank you”).  Once they stopped talking I gave the audience a thumbs up and said “how” (good).  “Hung how” (very good) and the audience erupted in applauds.

The host wanted to have a question and answer session just before starting the second half and many people called out.  One man shouted, “Where do we get your recordings?”  Another asked in Mandarin, “How is the harp guitar different than the guitar?” and so on.

After the concert the audience rushed the stage and wanted to have photos with me.  Everyone waited for me to greet an important man in the arts community.  Then it was another half hour of little children, teens, middle aged to elderly people coming up and posing with me the “Rock Star!”

I made many fans that evening but beyond all that I felt an implied “East meets West” turned into an evening among friends.

John Doan in Xian - Concert Hall exterior
John Doan concert Xian poster on door in concert hall
John Doan in concert at Xian China on stage

John Doan Xian China with audience watching during concert
John Doan in concert at Xian China on stage close up
John Doan Xian China playing harp guitar on stage

John Doan Xian China audience watching concert
John Doan Xian China performing in concert hall in front of the audience
John Doan Xian China during concert playing harp guitar

John Doan with sponsor Yilin Wang after concert in China

China 2014 Tour: Welcoming Arrival in China

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The following is a report from the road as John Doan begins his 2014 concert tour of China.

12/28/13

When leaving the Seattle airport to China the concert tour began to seem so real and no longer an idea. The line for the plane was filled with Chinese people speaking to each other in Mandarin. The silence surrounding my host family Hougquan, Li, Yilin and Guo Guo was lifting as we were beginning to enter their world.

The plane was literally shoulder-to-shoulder with people except for first class that was sparsely occupied. People had money enough for air travel but these are a practical people use to long lines and enduring inconvenience. During the flight Chinese faces were aglow from individual screens watching a marathon of movies both in Chinese and Hollywood ones with English subtitles.

After each movie I checked the flight map to see our route up north into the arctic arcing over Alaska and Siberia and down across frigid expanses of barren snow covered mountains and remote ice covered lakes and waterways. This impassible region still defined the old barriers of place and people prohibiting any to pass through on ground or boat especially this time of year yet we leisurely passed above it all at 40,000 ft. and at -70 below freezing!

John Doan Arrives Beijing walking off the airplane at the airport.We landed in Beijing at a modern airport amongst the glow of lite streets, freeways and buildings as far as the eye could see through the man made fog that clung to the ground. Deplaning onto the tarmac we were confronted by the reality of the December cold causing all to bundle up as we walked fifty yards to an incredibly long and wide bus that transported us to another terminal in the airport.
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