“Shenglu” for flute by Victoria Bond
Shenblu was written for Carol Kniebusch, principal flutist of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. As Carol was going to China to lecture and perform, I decided to write a work for her reflecting an element common to both Chinese music and American jazz – namely the pentatonic, or five-note scale. Also, I wanted to emphasize qualities not normally associated with the flute – its earthy, animal nature. Carol raises Pekingese show dogs, and the name of her kennel is “Shenblu”. Assuming that this was a Chinese word, because the dogs originally came from Peking, I decided to call the piece “Shenblu”. When I asked Carol to translate the name from the Chinese, she said, “Oh, that’s not a Chinese word at all! It’s a name I made up from the combination of Shenendoah and Blue Ridge Mountains where my kennel is located!” This being a “bluesy” sort of Chinese piece, the title seemed that much more appropriate!
Here is a link to an audio on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aos23uBUeYc