Dec 15, 2024 Official Meeting

NYQS 2024 Year-End Meeting & Officer Transition
紐約琴社甲辰年末會員大會

Back image: Qing Dynasty, Yu Xi, Pomegranate Flowers and Bird 清代 余樨 石榴花與鳥

Date: Sunday, December 15, 2024
Time: 
Section One 7:00 AM Pacific Time / 10:00 AM Eastern Time
Section Two 12:00 PM Pacific Time/ 03:00 PM Eastern Time
Location: Online Zoom Meeting

Agenda: (The meeting agenda will be adjusted based on the situation on-site.)

Section One 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Celebrate Newly Elected President and Vice President; Alan Yip Talk

  1. Announcement
    Thank you to all members who participated in the election. The results are in:
    Alan Yip has won with 57.14% of the votes. He will serve as the 5th president of NYQS, with Juni Yeung as the vice president. 葉沛霖 以 57.14% 的得票率當選，他將擔任紐約琴社第五任社長，楊雪亭將擔任副社長。
  2. Welcoming the New President and Vice President
    歡迎新任社長與副社長
  3. Peiyou’s Thank You Speech 培幼感謝辭 (see below)
  4. Discussion
    Discussed with Marilyn regarding the arrangement of the Corresponding Secretary. Discussed he matter of becoming of non-for-profit organization.
    與妙蓮討論通訊秘書職務的安排. 討論了成為非營利組織的事宜
  5. Insights from Alan Yip
    Alan Yip shared insights from his meetings with qin friends and experiences with antique qins during his trips to China and Taiwan.
    葉沛霖分享他在中國和台灣旅行期間與琴友及古琴的交流心得
  6. Qin Playing
    Kathleen Su Weiting performed Listening to the Spring Chant (1722) to congratulate the newly elected president and vice president. 蘇偉婷演奏古琴曲聽泉吟祝賀新任社長與副社長

Section Two 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST
Official Meeting and Juni Yeung Talk

  1. Treasure Report 年度財務報告 – The NYQS PayPal account has been closed, and we no longer accept membership dues through PayPal. Further instructions will be provided later. Current total, year to date: $3,313.00
  2. Discussion 討論:
    Treasurer role, Webmaster, and Sub-manager/Designer responsibilities.
    財務主管職務、網站管理員、子管理者/設計師職責，
    Responsibilities of the President and Vice President.
    社長和副社長的職責。
    Meet with new member candidates. (see below)
    與新會員候選人見面。
  3. Insights from Juni Yeung
    Yuni shared her recent research of the Yamagata Daini book “Kin’gaku Hakki” 
    楊雪亭將分享她最近對山县大二《琴樂八器》的研究

Summary:

  • Acting Treasurer: Ralph / Mark Johnson ( Mark will look into the nonprofit matters )
  • Webmaster: Ralph  (Responsible for billing and communication with the hosting company)  
  • Web Documentation: Alan, Juni, Alex, Ching Nam 
  • Program Organizers: Alan, Juni
  • The position of Corresponding Secretary has been discontinued.
  • No dues will be collected until nonprofit status is confirmed. The current total funds, year-to-date, amount to $3,313.00.  
  • The 2025 Yaji will take place on the first Sunday of every even month.

Note 1 : New Member candidates (require attendance at 3 yaji sessions)
1. Nina Starostina – Recommender: André Ribeiro 
Yaji attendance: 3 in 2024
https://newyorkqin.com/nov-17-2024/
https://newyorkqin.com/2nd-yaji-of-2024/
https://newyorkqin.com/the-3rd-yaji-of-2024/

Nina Starostina (Нина Старостина), composer, soloist of the Leonid Lundstrem Art Studio, guqin player, and musicologist. Nina was born in Moscow and graduated from the Vesna Children’s Choir School and the Theoretical Department of the Moscow Conservatory. From 1999 to 2005, she taught harmony of Russian church music at the Moscow Seminary for Chormaisters and Singers.

She completed an internship at the Tianjin Conservatory in Professor Li Fengyun’s guqin zither class. She studied the aesthetics of traditional Chinese music under the guidance of Professor Wang Jianxin (2000-2001, 2003-2004). From 2005 to 2016, she lived in Beijing, was a choir director at the Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and developed a system of orthodox Chinese Octoechos singing based on ancient guqin melodies and the Fujian nanyin. She participated in the Guqin Music Festival (Chengdu, 2016) in a symposium dedicated to the anniversary of the Mei’an Guqin School (Nanjing, 2017), in a concert and conference dedicated to the collection “Donggao Qinpu” (Hangzhou, 2018). Since 2020, she has been a soloist at the Leonid Lundstrem Art Studio. Since 2021 – a member of the Moscow State Philharmonic. Since 2022 – a member of the Russian Musical Union. Winner of all Russian and international composers competitions. Author of several articles on Chinese music in the Great Russian Encyclopedia (“Musical Life of Peking”, “Guqin”, “Gongche Pu Notation”, etc.).

2. Kathleen Su Weiting (蘇偉婷) – Recommender: Andrea Lioy
Yaji attendance: 2 in 2021, 1 in 2024
https://newyorkqin.com/2021chinesenewyear/
https://newyorkqin.com/4-17-2021/
And this yaji.
Click to read Kathleen’s bio

3. Hippocrates Ching Nam Cheng (鄭靖楠) – Recommender: Peiyou Chang
Yaji attendance: 3 in 2024
https://newyorkqin.com/2024-mid-autumn-festival/
https://newyorkqin.com/nov-17-2024/
And this yaji.

Hippocrates Cheng 鄭靖楠 is a composer, theorist, ethnomusicologist and multi-instrumentalist from Hong Kong. In 2024, he completed his Doctor of Music Composition with a minor in ethnomusicology at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He is now working on his PhD in music theory with a minor in Jazz studies at the same school. He teaches music theory as an associate instructor at IU and as an adjunct faculty member at IU Northwest. He is appointed as an assistant professor of music theory at SUNY Binghamton University, effective August 2024. His chamber opera on Anti-Asian Hate: All of Us premiered in June 2024 as the winning work commissioned by the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana. He studied the qin in Hong Kong under Dr. Tse Chun Yan (謝俊仁).

4. Mark Johnson – Recommender: Yuan Jung Ping 
Yaji attendance: 3 in 2024
https://newyorkqin.com/nov-17-2024/
https://newyorkqin.com/2024-mid-autumn-festival/
And this yaji.

Mark Johnson (張叔夜) is a technologist in the Media & Entertainment industry, specializing in media formats and audio technology.  He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1997 with a B.S. degree in Science, Technology & Culture, and an M.S. degree in Information Design & Technology.  He went on to create software for the World Wide Web, DVD, Blu-ray, and eventually over-the-top (OTT) streaming (e.g., Netflix), co-authoring several books along the way (“DVD Demystified, 3rd Ed.” and “High-Definition DVD Handbook”).  

In 2016, while working for audio technology company DTS, Mark had his first encounter with guqin at a store in Southern California.  Despite a lack of musical background, he was immediately captivated.  Over the next 48 hours he found and eagerly began consuming James Binkley and Juni Yeung’s books “Abiding with Antiquity” and “Standards of the Guqin,” respectively.  Within two weeks, he had purchased his first guqin and found a teacher: Master Lui Pui-yuen (呂培原).  Four years of diligent practice later, Master Lui encouraged him to begin teaching others. It has taken some time to follow through with that guidance, but after an auspicious encounter with Master Yuan Jung Ping (袁中平) at his Taipei Qin Hall (臺北琴道館) in the summer of 2024, he has redoubled his efforts to perform, teach, and share his knowledge of the qin.

Web site:  https://changshuyeguqin.com/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@ChangShuyeGuqin

5. Jin Yong Derek Oh – Recommender: André Ribeiro 
Yaji attendance: 3 in 2024
https://newyorkqin.com/nov-17-2024/
https://newyorkqin.com/first-yaji-of-2024/
And this yaji.

Jin Yong Derek Oh, a composer and qin player originally from Singapore and currently residing in Finland, is pursuing a Master’s degree in Composition at the Sibelius Academy. He is a co-founder of the Pangósmos Collective, an initiative dedicated to fostering cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaborations. Jin Yog’s mentors in the fields of composition and electroacoustic composition include distinguished figures such as Veli-Matti Puumala, Tapio Tuomela, and Sami Klemola from Finland, as well as Alejandro Montes de Oca (Finland/Mexico), Josue Moreno (Spain/Finland), and Zechariah Goh Toh Chai (Singapore). Furthermore, he is under the tutelage of Hoh Chung Shih from Singapore for his studies in guqin.

6. Alexander Merck – Recommender: Peiyou Chang
Yaji attendance: 4 in 2024
https://newyorkqin.com/nov-17-2024/
https://newyorkqin.com/2024-mid-autumn-festival/
https://newyorkqin.com/2nd-yaji-of-2024/
Alex participated in John’s Silk String Sound Foundation event and had the opportunity to experience playing on silk strings. https://youtu.be/XwaRGx2OLxI?feature=shared&t=458

Alexander Merck is a student of the guqin under the guidance of Peiyou Chang. His musical journey began at the age of seven with piano, later expanding to trumpet and guitar at age 11. Alex pursued his passion for music by majoring in piano and music composition at the University of Georgia. After stepping away from music to pursue a career in cyber security, the birth of his child led him back to music through the meditative practice of shakuhachi. During this period, his exploration of Chinese literature introduced him to the guqin. Captivated by the instrument’s history and expressive depth, Alex decided to dedicate himself to its study. He looks forward to many years of playing qin and collaborating with the wider guqin community.

Note 2: Ralph made a list of discussion items for this meeting:

  • Yaji’s – How many? How are they organized?
  • Website – Who takes over editing? Need to know Chinese? What are the responsibilities? Ralph is willing to continue to be the owner and handle the bills. Should we pay for backup? Ralph will review.
  • Responsibilities of President and VP.
  • Secretary issue.
  • Treasurer – Non-profit? Who? Payment mechanism.
  • Meeting moderator – Ralph is willing to continue to handle the Zoom sessions, with either Andre or Alan as backup. Does Alan want to do this? Usually, it helps to have both a presenter and a moderator, and the president often serves as a presenter.

On Sunday, Ralph is available from around 2 PM to around 6 PM or before 11 AM. Saturdays usually work as well.

Note 3: Peiyou’s Thank You Words 培幼感謝辭
Congratulations to Alan and Juni on being elected as the 5th President and 2nd Vice President of NYQS. My term will officially end at the end of this month. I will ensure that the final vote on new members is completed before then. I hope to finish the transition process by mid-January, including handing over email addresses, passwords for iPower, WordPress, and other accounts.

I am deeply grateful to André for his assistance over the past two years, as well as to Ralph for his tremendous help with website billing, ensuring that the stolen domain name issue won’t happen again, and selflessly providing Zoom hosting (a role also shared by André). I also want to thank Marilyn and Matthew for their contributions to the New York Qin Society and for their support and encouragement over the 22 years since I joined the NYQS. I extend the same appreciation to our founding president, Mr. Yuan Jung Ping, who has greatly inspired me with the sublime art of the qin. Additionally, I want to thank everyone who participated in all the yaji gatherings over the past four years. I am proud to say that, with your help, I have documented all of these gatherings on the NYQS website. This will serve as a valuable asset for the society, and I hope that future yaji events will also be carefully recorded.

Our membership has tripled over the past four years, and we now have a total of 38 members. Each member is distinguished in the qin community. I am confident that under Alan and Juni’s leadership, the New York Qin Society will continue to thrive in preserving and promoting the creativity and rich heritage of guqin culture.

恭喜 Alan 和 Juni 當選為紐約琴社第五任社長和第二任副社長。我的任期將於本月底正式結束。我會確保在本月底前完成對新會員的最終投票。我希望在一月中完成交接工作，包括移交 iPower、WordPress 等帳號的電子郵件地址和密碼。

我深深感謝 André 在過去兩年的幫助，也感謝 Ralph 在網站帳單、確保不再發生域名被盜問題，以及無私提供 Zoom 主持方面的巨大幫助 (André 同樣)。我還要感謝 Marilyn 和 Matthew 在紐約琴社的貢獻，以及在我加入紐約琴社的這二十二年中給予我的支持與鼓勵。同樣，我也要感謝我們的創社社長，袁中平先生，他在琴藝上的崇高理念對我啟發極大。此外，我也感謝所有參與過過去四年雅集的朋友們。我很自豪地說，因為有你們的幫助, 我已經將這些雅集活動全部記錄在紐約琴社的網站上，這將成為社團寶貴的資產，我希望未來的雅集活動也能被仔細地記錄下來。

在過去的四年中，我們的會員數量增長了三倍，現在總共有38位會員。每一位會員都很傑出。我相信。在 Alan 和 Juni 的領導下，紐約琴社將繼續蓬勃發展，致力於保存和弘揚古琴文化的創造力與豐富傳承。

Sincerely,
Peiyou Chang 張培幼
12/13/2024

Note 4: Regarding nonprofit from Stephen Dydo – becoming a not-for-profit has its own array of complexities, including: Why? That’s something that has to be really clear. And finding a lawyer depends on exactly what you want that lawyer to do for you. Being a little unclear about that can cost thousands up front! On the other hand, there are organizations such as Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts which have been extremely helpful, and they donate their services. 

Attendance

Afternoon Meeting

Ralph Knag

Kathleen Su

James Binkley

John Thompson

Matthew

Alan Yip

Juni Yeung

Alexander Merck

Lisa Raphaels

LP Kaster

Luca Pisano

Andrea Lioy

Mark Johnson

Nina Strasotina

Peiyou

Morning Meeting

Ralph

Alan Yip

John Thompson

Peiyou

Dan Reid

Hippocrates Cheng

Jin Oh

Luca Pisano

Juni Yeung

Andrea Lioy

Marilyn Gleysteen

Mark Johnson

Kathleen Su

Alexander Merck