Published: April 16, 2012

Ethnomusicology graduate students Ryan Koons, Scott Linford, and Vivek Virani performed in the 2012 International Collegiate Culture and Arts Festival at Jiao Tong University in Shanghai on April 8, 2012. Celebrating the 116^th anniversary of prestigious Jiao Tong University, the Shanghai trip was initiated at the invitation of Susan Pertel Jain, Executive Director of the UCLA Confucius Institute, and Helen Rees, Chair of the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology.

The trio of grad students, known to select insiders as “Skin and Strings,” consists of Virani on tabla, Linford on banjo, and Koons on nyckelharpa (Swedish keyed fiddle). This diverse collaboration blends surprisingly smoothly on old time Appalachian songs, Swedish dance tunes, and Indian classical and folk compositions. The Culture and Arts Festival itself was as eclectic as the UCLA trio, including sand painting, ballet, classical orchestra, and a particularly vivacious Michael Jackson impersonator.

While in Shanghai, Koons, Linford, and Virani toured the city, performed for a group of visiting primary school principals from California, visited a traditional instrument factory, and ate their way through plate after plate of delicious food. Graduate students from Jiao Tong University were gracious hosts and enthusiastic tour guides, making for a memorable personal and cultural interchange.

Koons, Virani, and Linford perform at a banquet hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University for the UCLA Confucius Institute's delegation of California school principals. Photo courtesy Susan Pertel Jain.

(Left to right): Susan Pertel Jain, Vivek Virani, Ryan Koons, Scott Linford, and Professor Zhuang Lailai after the performance at Jiao Tong University in Shanghai. Photo courtesy Susan Pertel Jain.