Twelve Girls Band
(; pinyin: Nuzi shí'èr Yùefang, sometimes abbreviated to ?? or ??) are an all female Chinese musical group that initially consisted of twelve members before the addition of a thirteenth. Twelve Girls Band use traditional Chinese instruments to play both traditional Chinese and Western song. Formed on June 18, 2001, the women were selected by audition from more than 4,000 contestants. Each woman is classically-trained, and the band members come from various conservatories in the People's Republic of China (PRC), including the China Academy of Music, the Chinese National Orchestra, and the Central Conservatory of Music.
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TWELVE GIRLS BAND TICKETS
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History
Chinese
numerology gave Wang Xiao-Jing the idea for the
Twelve Girls Band
. When Xiao-Jing decided he wanted to create a female ensemble, he knew it needed 12 members. Per Chinese mythology it is the twelve jinchai (12 hairpins) representing womanhood. For the new project, the women were inspired by the art of the Yue Fang, the ensembles who played in the
Tang Dynasty courts during the years A.D. 618 to 907.
The group debuted their modern compositions on ancient instruments in China and Japan during the Northern summer of
2003. In Japan their debut album topped the charts for 30 weeks. Their self-titled debut was released in North America in August 2004 with cover versions of
Coldplay's "Clocks" and
Enya's "Only Time" included, and a massive television advertising campaign announcing the group's arrival.
Among the instruments used by the women:
erhu (Chinese
fiddle),
pipa (pear-shaped lute),
guzheng (
zither),
yangqin (
hammered dulcimer),
dizi (transverse
flute), and
xiao (
vertical flute). Occasionally, the
duxianqin (single-stringed zither) and
hulusi (three-piped gourd flute) are employed.
Performances
In July 2003,
Beautiful Energy,
their first album in Japan, reached the top of the J-pop chart. They won
Japan Gold Disc Award in 2004.
The Twelve Girls Band toured in the United States in
2004 Miracles
tour and again in
2005.
In
July 7,
2007 the Twelve Girls Band performed at the
Chinese leg of
Live Earth in Shanghai.
The Italian
Soprano Giorgia Fumanti performed with the group in October and November 2007, on their North American tour. The tour traveled to the Midwest, and the East and West Coast areas of the USA and Canada.
In 2008, the yang qin player, Ma Jing Jing did concerts playing the yangqin and guzheng.
Members
- Er-hu
- *???(Qin Zijing)
- *????(Shangguan Zhennan)
- *???(Yu Qiushi)
- *??(Jin Jing)
- *???(Luo Pianpian)
- Pi-Pa
- *?? (Shi Juan)
- *?? (Zhong Bao)
- Zhong-Ruan
- *???(Zang Xiaopeng)
- Zhu-Di
- *??? (Chen Xuejiao)
- *??? (Liao Binqu)
- Yang-Qing
- *??(Zhang Jing)
- *??? (Ma Yajing)
- Gu-Zheng
- *???(Yu Qiuxuan)
- Du-xian-Qing
- *???(Tang Xiaoyuan)
Discography
Studio albums (original works)
- Meili Yinyuehui ?????
(CD, 2001 - limited Press) - Original Debut CD
- Joshi Juni Gakubou - Beautiful Energy
(CD and DVD, 2003) - first Japanese album
- Kiko - Shining Energy -
(CD and DVD, 2004) - second Japanese album
- Eastern Energy
(CD and DVD, 2004) - first USA album
- Tonkou - Romantic Energy -
(CD and DVD, 2005)
- Romantic Energy
(CD and DVD, 2005) - published in the US
- Shanghai
(2007)
Studio albums (tributes and covers)
- Red Hot Classics
(CD, DVD and VCD, 2004)
- Tribute to Wang Luobin
(CD and DVD, 2004)
- Merry Christmas To You
(2005) - Christmas album published in Japan
- White Christmas
(CD and DVD, 2005)
- Twelve Girls of Christmas
(2005) - Christmas album published in the US
Studio albums (compilations)
- Freedom (Greatest Hits)
(2 CDs, 2004)
- The Best of 12 Girls Band
(2006) - Korean version available
Live albums
- Kiseki/Miracle Live
(CD, DVD and VCD, 2003)
- ''Twelve Girls Band Live at Budokan Japan 2004 (DVD, 2004)
- Journey to Silk Road
(VCD, 2005)
Most of these CDs were released in different versions for the USA, the PRC, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Korea. Please see the official individual album page for information on how the tracklist differs.
Video