Spring 2026 Registration is Now Open!

Music Classes

Classes Start The Week Of April 13, 2026!

This Spring, China Institute of America offers music classes in the areas of traditional Guzheng 古筝, Guqin 古琴, and Pipa 琵琶.

All classes at China Institute of America are conducted and taught by accredited instructors internationally-renowned in their respective field of training. Browse below for detailed class descriptions and instructor bios.

Click to learn more about Guzheng 古筝, Guqin 古琴, and Pipa 琵琶.

Spring 2026 Course Listing

Classes Start the Week of April 13, 2026

Register by March 10, 2026
to receive $30 discount off tuition!

The price currently listed on the website reflects the discounted rate.

See Our Testimonials

Tom S.

Spring 2020

Learning Mandarin online with the China Institute has been a great experience. My small class with an experienced, knowledgeable and caring instructor has been superb.

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Spring 2020

I have tried several teachers in the area I live, none of them were as thoughtful and encouraging as the tutors I found thru the China Institute. Absolutely 100% a recommend, the flexibility of the online system and the professionalism of the teachers has been outstanding.

Allan P.

Spring 2020

I was told the best Chinese language classes in NYC are at the China Institute. So I registered to take both weekly classes AND private classes. The staff and teachers are truly professional and absolutely first class! I am forever grateful!

Guzheng 古筝 (In-Person)

The Guzheng, often called the Chinese zither, is one of the most beloved and iconic instruments in traditional Chinese music. With a history stretching back over 2,500 years, it is celebrated for its shimmering tone, expressive range, and refined playing techniques. Whether evoking the grandeur of landscapes or the subtlety of human emotion, the guzheng continues to captivate audiences with its unique voice.

Over centuries, distinct regional styles of Guzheng playing emerged across China, each shaped by local culture and aesthetics. Southern styles—such as the Chaozhou, Zhejiang, and Hakka schools—are known for their lyrical, flowing melodies, while Northern styles from regions like Shandong, Henan, and Shaanxi often favor bold gestures and rhythmic strength. These diverse traditions together form a rich and dynamic musical heritage.

In the modern era, the Guzheng has continued to evolve. New techniques and compositions have expanded its possibilities, leading to a growing body of concertos and ensemble works that bring the instrument into dialogue with orchestras and other artistic forms. Today, the Guzheng enjoys an ever-wider global audience and serves as a powerful ambassador of Chinese musical culture.

古筝，又称汉筝、秦筝，是中国最具代表性的传统弹拨乐器之一，也是当今最受欢迎的民族乐器之一。它拥有两千五百年以上的历史，音域宽广、技法多样，音色清澈明亮、层次分明，既能表现出山河壮阔，也能勾勒出细腻情思。

在漫长的发展过程中，古筝随着地域文化的差异逐渐形成了多种风格流派，体现出鲜明的南北之别。南方筝派以细腻婉约、旋律流畅著称，如潮州、浙江、客家筝派。而北方筝派则风格豪放、节奏鲜明，如山东、河南、陕西筝派。这些风格不仅丰富了古筝的表现力，也体现了中国传统音乐“因地制宜”的艺术智慧。

进入现代，古筝艺术不断拓展边界，演奏技法日益丰富与创新。大量古筝协奏曲与重奏作品相继问世，使古筝在与乐队及多种艺术形式的融合中焕发出崭新活力。古筝也在全球范围内被越来越多音乐人和听众所喜爱，成为中华文化的重要传播载体。

Click here to watch a clip of guzheng performance by Instructor Yixin Wang.

About the Instructor

Yixin Wang

Yixin Wang is an accomplished Guzheng 古筝 musician and educator who holds a double degree in Guzheng performance and mathematics from Bard College. She is the co-founder and director of Echos of China Ensemble, an award-winning ensemble and nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the rich heritage of Chinese music with global audiences. Since 2023, she has also been serving as the Guzheng player with the Bard East/West Ensemble, touring major cities across the United States and China. Yixin has studied under renowned guzheng artists Prof. Zhou Wang, Cui Shan, and Xia Jing. In addition to Guzheng, she is also a skilled Chinese percussionist, soprano, and yangqin player.

Born in Shanghai, China, Yixin began studying Guzheng at the age of three and won her first competition at seven. After moving to the U.S., she started doing performances and educational events, advocating for the development of traditional Chinese music in the west. She joined the Houston Traditional Chinese Music Group in 2014, later serving as section leader and board member from 2017 to 2018. She organized and hosted the first traditional Chinese charity concert in Katy, Texas in November 2017.

Driven by a desire to deepen her artistic and academic pursuits, Yixin went on to study at Bard College in 2018. The following year, she won the Bard Conservatory Concerto Competition. In 2021, she premiered the Guzheng concerto Awakening Light by Dr. Xinyan Li, conducted by maestro Jindong Cai. This innovative work is the first Guzheng concerto to feature modulation bridges invented by suona virtuoso and instrument innovator Yazhi Guo. In 2024, Yixin was invited by the Canta International Association to perform at the Due Mondi Music Festival in Salzburg, Austria. Later that year, she appeared as a guzheng soloist at Carnegie Hall during the 2024 China Now Music Festival. In addition, Yixin has also performed at TEDx Sugarland, the Chinese Embassy in Houston, New York City, and Washington D.C., Lincoln Center, China Institute, Harvard Club of NYC, University of Maryland, Texas A&M University, Vassar College, and numerous festivals and galas across the U.S. She also remains active in outreach, bringing traditional Chinese music and culture to local schools, libraries, community centers, and cultural institutions throughout the United States.

Guqin 古琴 (In-Person)

The Guqin, regarded by Chinese as the most elegant of all their musical instruments, produces delicate music from seven strings. With a 3,000-year history, the Guqin has deep roots in Chinese culture, long being associated with Confucius, self-cultivation, scholarship, philosophy, and poetry. Favored by the elite as an elegant pastime, the Guqin was also played as a means to attain calm, nurture virtue, and promote longevity. The subtle tones of the Guqin are realized by sophisticated and elegant methods of fingering. While playing, the interaction of the two hands creates a harmonious choreography, a visual pleasure like a ballet of the fingers.

Recently the Guqin has attained renewed popularity because of its charismatic playing at the opening of the Beijing Olympics and recognition by the United Nations as part of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage. It is featured in the theme music of several popular TV series. In addition to the fingering technique and reading notation, the aesthetic and cultural aspects of the Guqin will be taught.

成人古琴班介绍：古琴有三千年历史，是中国音乐史上最古老优雅的乐器。古代文人必修的四艺 “琴棋书画” 就以古琴为首，与哲学、修身、诗歌交相辉映，因此备受重视。古人认为古琴是音乐，同时也是道。所以它除了作为音乐来看待之外，还紧扣着传统的哲学和美学思想。作为中国文人士大夫的精致文化，古琴有一套完整的美学体系和弹奏的审美习惯。历代琴书均对古琴音乐的风格、指触、操缦的环境、琴声的美等作出详尽的描述，形成了古琴独特的审美理想和情调。

自从 2008 年在北京奥运会亮相后，古琴热的旋风随即在各地刮起。几套在中国热播的电视剧《三生三世十里桃花》、《那年花开月正圆》、《大鱼海棠》、最近的《陈情令》及张艺谋的电影《影》均以古琴作主题音乐，使其越来越为大众认识和弹奏。这堂古琴体验课面向不需任何音乐经验的初学者，学习识谱、弹奏基本指法及小曲。完成课程后学生可以弹奏传统曲目《耕薪钓渭》、《秋风词》及流行曲《沧海一声笑》。体验课也会讲授古琴的礼仪（焚香、正容、冥想、调息）、历史、美学及其文化内涵。

Click here for student testimonial and here to watch instructor Mingmei Yip explain her philosophy in teaching guqin.

About the Instructor

Mingmei Yip

Mingmei Yip, PhD in musicology from the University of Paris (Sorbonne) on a full scholarship from the French Government. A master performer on the Qin, she has given lectures and performances at venues such as Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, New York Philharmonic, Columbia University, Oxford University, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Beijing University, the University of Paris, Amsterdam University, Oberlin Conservatory, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the China Institute in New York. Mingmei has served as consultant for Beijing’s Chinese Qin Association 北京中国古琴会, director for Chinese Kun Opera and Guqin Research Association 中国古琴昆剧研究会理事, artistic consultant for New York Cultural Art Association, as well as on the academic board of the Chengdu International Qin Conference.

Also a writer, Mingmei has published fourteen books, with two on the qin. Her latest being her 7th novel The Witch’s Market (Kensington Books) which received a glowing review from the New York Times. She wrote columns for seven major newspapers and has appeared on over 50 TV and radio programs in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and the United States.

Mingmei is also accomplished as a painter and calligrapher. A one-person show of her paintings of Guan Yin (the Chinese Goddess of Compassion) and calligraphy was held at the New York Open Center Gallery in SoHo in 2002. Mingmei was lecturer and senior lecturer (associate professor) of music at Chinese University of Hong Kong and Baptist University respectively, and in 2005, an International Institute of Asian Studies fellow in Holland researching on the qin. She has taught qin playing and calligraphy at two major Hong Kong Universities.

Click here to listen to Guqin audio.
The Raven’s Night Cry (乌夜啼), a celebrated Guqin piece from Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) by Mingmei Yip

Pipa 琵琶

The pipa, often called the Chinese lute or Chinese guitar, is an ancient instrument with a rich and expressive sound, described as “both refined and martial, both ancient and modern.” Its story begins over two thousand years ago, when a stringed instrument from Central Asia traveled to China along the Silk Road and gradually evolved into the pipa we know today. During the Tang dynasty, it reached its first artistic peak, and Bai Juyi’s famous lines from Pipa Xing—“still holding the pipa, half hiding the face” and “big pearls, small pearls fall on jade plate”—have made it an enduring symbol of Chinese culture.

The pipa has four strings, a pear-shaped body, and a fretted neck. Held upright on the lap, it is played with fingernails using plucking, strumming, rolling, and sweeping techniques. Its sound can be delicate and introspective, or bold and dramatic. It is ideal for solo performance, Chinese ensembles, orchestras, and even world music groups.

This course gives adult learners the opportunity to explore expressive repertoire, develop ensemble skills, and experience the fusion of East and West. No prior musical experience is needed. Instruments are provided in class and are available to rent at a small, affordable fee for home practice.

“琵琶”二字中, 含有四个 “王”, 暗喻其 “乐器之王”的地位。琵琶音色丰富, 表现力极强, 在业界常被形容为 “亦文亦武, 亦古亦今”的弹拨乐器。其起源可追溯至两千多年前, 由中亚的弦乐器沿着丝绸之路传入中国, 并被逐渐汉化, 演变为我们今天所熟悉的琵琶。唐代是琵琶艺术发展的第一个高峰时期, 白居易在《琵琶行》中留下的 “犹抱琵琶半遮面” “大珠小珠落玉盘”等千古佳句, 更使琵琶成为了中国文化的重要象征。

琵琶有四根弦, 梨形琴身和带品的琴体。演奏时竖抱于腿上, 用指甲进行弹、挑、轮、扫等技法。其演奏方式对有吉他背景的学习者而言尤为亲切自然。它的音色既可细腻内敛, 富于冥想感, 也能节奏鲜明, 气势饱满。琵琶不仅适合独奏, 还可参与中国器乐合奏和各类乐队演出, 近年来更广泛融入世界音乐团队。

对于成人学习者而言, 课程将带领你探索富有表现力的乐曲, 培养深度聆听与合奏的能力, 并在音乐中感受东西方, 古典与当代的融合。无需音乐基础, 课堂提供乐器使用, 并可低价租赁用于课后练习。

Click here to watch Instructor Zhou Yi’s recent stage performance, Ambushing (埋伏), presented at the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts at Binghamton University in September 2025.

Watch a performance by China Institute's Pipa Students Ensemble, showcasing students from both Beginner and Advanced levels, at the Institute’s “Flowers on the River” exhibition at Queens Botanical Garden in New York, NY (2023).

About the Instructor

Zhou Yi

Pipa and Qin Performing Artist | Educator

Praised by The Washington Post for her “breathtaking” technique and expressive artistry, Zhou Yi is a New York–based soloist of the pipa (Chinese lute) and qin (Chinese zither). A native of Shanghai, she began studying the pipa at age five and graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

As a concert soloist, Zhou Yi has captivated audiences worldwide with her virtuosity and wide-ranging repertoire. Highlights include Tan Dun’s Concerto for Pipa and String Orchestra at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig; a Young People’s Concert with the New York Philharmonic; Bun-Ching Lam’s Sudden Thunder with the Sinfonieorchester Münster; Song of the Pipa with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra; and Sisters of the Grassland with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. Her guqin performing credits include appearances with the San Francisco Opera in Bright Sheng’s Dream of the Red Chamber, the Santa Fe Opera in Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and the Lincoln Center Festival in Paradise Interrupted. An advocate for new music, she has premiered works by Xinyan Li, Jianbing Hu, Qian Zhou, and Du Yun at venues including Carnegie Hall, NEC’s Jordan Hall, and the Mata Festival.

Blending traditional Chinese music with contemporary sounds, Zhou Yi is an accomplished curator and artistic director of the Ba Ban Chinese Music Society. Her innovative thematic productions—Changes: The Union of Man and Nature, Red: Lunar New Year, Golden Age of 1930s & ’40s Shanghai Jazz, and Silk and Bamboo Music from the Yangtze River—have earned widespread acclaim.

Dedicated to education and outreach, she has taught and lectured at Carnegie Hall’s Music Explorers program, Columbia University, and New York University. She served as a juror for the 2023 Astral National Competition and received New York City’s Outstanding Cultural Contribution Award for her impact on cultural exchange.

周懿

琵琶、古琴演奏家｜教育家

周懿, 生于中国上海, 五岁起随多位中国音乐名家习琴, 并以优异成绩毕业于上海音乐学院。她是纽约八板中国音乐协会的共同创办人, 现任艺术总监, 同时担任美国华美协进社与皇后文化艺术委员会的教学艺术家。周懿演奏风格细腻深邃, 技巧纯熟,《华盛顿邮报》曾盛赞其演奏 “令人屏息凝神”, 艺术表现 “极具感染力”。

作为音乐会特邀独奏家, 周懿以精湛技艺征服全球观众, 重要演出包括: 德国莱比锡布商音乐厅演奏谭盾的《琵琶与弦乐队协奏曲》; 与纽约爱乐乐团合作青少年音乐会; 与德国明斯特交响乐团合作林品晶的《惊雷》; 与俄亥俄扬斯顿交响乐团合作《草原小姐妹》; 以及担任巴德美中音乐学院林肯中心2022新年音乐会《丝路飞天》琵琶协奏曲的独奏。在古琴领域, 她参演多部具有国际影响力的重要歌剧, 包括盛宗亮的《红楼梦》(旧金山歌剧院首演)、黄若的《孙中山》(圣达菲歌剧院首演)及《惊园》(林肯中心艺术节首演)。周懿亦活跃于当代表演艺术与跨界室内乐创作, 首演作品涵盖音乐剧, 室内乐与电子音乐, 代表性作品包括黄哲伦与杜韵的音乐剧《功夫——李小龙传》(外百老汇), 李昕艳的《敦煌恋人》(卡内基音乐厅), 以及周倩古琴与电子音乐作品《曲水鸣韵》(MATA音乐节)。

在教育与推广方面, 她曾在卡内基音乐厅 “音乐探索者”项目, 哥伦比亚大学和纽约大学举办讲座与工作坊。她曾担任2023年阿斯特拉尔全国音乐比赛评委, 并因其在文化交流领域中的杰出贡献, 荣获纽约市 “杰出文化贡献奖”。