An audience of around 150 students, faculty and guests packed the Harnwell College House rooftop lounge to enjoy traditional Chinese music and free food Friday night.
The concert called the "Five Seasons" sponsored by the Chinese Music Society, represented different emotional states.
The five seasons -- happiness, serenity, love, sadness, and inspiration -- help to provide context for each piece in the performance.
The Chinese Music Society was created to provide the Penn community with the opportunity to experience the culture and tradition of Chinese music. It also provides instructional courses and seminars on traditional Chinese instruments and culture.
"We want to bring awareness of traditional Chinese music on campus. Sometimes you need that to understand today's music," CMS Co-President Lily Pan said.
Pan, a junior in the Huntsman Program, led the audience through the first season with her violin performance.
In addition, traditional Chinese instruments were showcased in the concert. Among those featured were the dizi, gu zheng and er hu instruments, which are similar to the flute, the harp and the two-string Chinese violin, respectively.
Concert performers also included Penn Chinese Lecturer Yanfeng Li, who played the er hu.
The flute had a "very serene sound" and it helped her "travel with the music," College senior Riana Pahmer said
Others, like Asian and Middle Eastern Studies graduate student Neil Kuster, favored the gu zheng, strummed by co-president Yichen Wang.
"There's a lush feeling of the music. I get an image of walking by the river by closing my eyes," Kuster said.
Additionally, the show featured guest performers from the Philadelphia area such as Fang Yu Ping, who sung a famous song from the Peking Opera called "The Temple of the Mountain God."
"I love the Peking Opera. It is a masterpiece of Chinese culture. I [wanted] to introduce it to foreigners," Ping said, with the help of a translator.
"It was very fun," Kuster said of Ping's performance, adding that he especially enjoyed "the gestures and the characters [she] put into it."
After the approximately hour-long performance, audience members devoured the noodles made by CMS members.
"Exotic food is always good," Pahmer said. "It definitely added to the experience."
