Frederick Lau
Professor of Ethnomusicology
Frederick Lau is an active ethnomusicologist, flutist, and conductor.
Education
| 1991 | D.M.A., Ethnomusicology & flute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
| 1984 | M.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| 1982 | Diploma, London Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
| 1981 | B.A.(Hon), Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| 1980 | Licentiate, Royal Schools of Music (London) |
Selected publications
- Music in China (Oxford University Press, 2007).
- Locating East Asia in Western Art Music (Wesleyan University Press, 2004).
- Red Bamboo: Chinese Dizi in the Invention of National Music. (in progress).
- Articles and Reviews in journals such as Asian Music, British Journal of Ethnomusicology, Ethnomusicology, Visual Anthropology, Yearbook for Traditional Music, Journal of the Asian Music Research Institute, Journal of Musicological Research, Contemporary Music Review, Sojourn, Journal of the Association for Asian Studies, Association for Chinese Music Research Report, Pacific Review of Ethnomusicology, and Notes.
- Book Review Editor, Yearbook for Traditional Music; Associate Editor, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, East Asia volume.
Research Interests
- Chinese music, music and politics, musical change, nationalism, identity and diaspora, and avant-garde music.
Fieldwork Experience
- China, Thailand, Singapore, US
Awards and grants
- SFCA Heritage Preservation Grant
- NEH Research Grant
- NEH Summer Fellowship
- CSU Summer Faculty Development Grant
- Special Achievement Award, President's Office, Cal Poly
- CSCPRC, National Academy of Sciences, Dissertation Grant
- D.A.A.D. Fellowship
- Royal Jockey Club Music Scholarship
Membership in Professional Organizations
- President, Association for Chinese Music Research
- Vice-president, Society for Asian Music
- Editorial Staff, International Council for Traditional Music
- Member, Society for Ethnomusicology
As a flutist, Lau has performed in Europe, Asia, and the US, earning a reputation for his expressive style, silvery tone, and interpretation of the baroque and avant-garde repertory. He has appeared as a soloist with the Berkeley Symphony under Kent Nagano, the Annual Baroque Ensemble under Clifton Swanson, and as a dizi soloist with the Honolulu Symphony under Joan Landry. Lau has performed with the Illinois Contemporary Players, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, London Highgate Chamber Orchestra, Kennsington Philharmonic, Decatur Symphony, San Luis Obispo Symphony, Annual Baroque Ensemble, Kona Symphony, Hawai`i Chamber Orchestra, and the Hikari Ensemble. As a strong advocate of avant-garde music, he has collaborated with composers Salvatore Martirano, Brian Ferneyhough, Vicko Globokar, Harvey Sollberger, and David Liptak, Garry Eister, and has premiered many new compositions. He is currently a member of the UH faculty ensemble Trio Xia.
His flute teachers include Alexander Murray, the former principal flutist with the London Symphony Orchestra, Trevor Wye, Kate Lucas, and Stephen Preston. In addition, he studied extensively with William Bennett, Harvey Sollberger, Peter Lukas-Graf, and Julius Baker. As a conductor, he served as the music director of the Cal Poly Chamber Orchestra and the San Luis Obispo County Youth Symphony Orchestra from 1992-2000. He founded the Cal Poly Contemporary Music Ensemble and the Hikari Ensemble. Lau studied conducting with Paul Vermel, Ian Hobson, and Harry Newstone at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is in demand as a guest conductor and clinician for orchestras and instrumental ensembles. Since 2000, he conducted the University of Hawai`i Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Band, and was a guest conductor of the Oahu Band Directors' Association junior high honor band.
Prior to coming to the University of Hawai`i, he taught at University of Wisconsin at Eau-Claire, University of Illinois, Millikin University, and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Courses Taught
- Mus 107 Music in World Cultures
- Mus 311D Chinese Ensemble
- Mus 407 Music Cultures of the World
- Mus 470 Topics in Ethnomusicology: Music Production in Cross-Cultural Context
- Mus 478 Music Cultures: Music of China
- Mus 600C: Asian Music Seminar: Asian Music in the Age of Modernity
- Mus 601: Ethnomusicology Forum
- Mus 678D: Music, Nationalism, Identity
- Mus 678B: Transcription of Musical Performance