Audience appreciate the language of music

Flutist Rhonda Larson and her band Ventus present a Charity show in Beijing before they started their tour of China. Photos by Li Jing / China Daily

As the flute melody floated in the air and filled the hall, the audience smiled appreciatively, clapping their hands and foot-tapping to the rhythm.

The audience, most of whom were visually impaired, were attending a charity show presented by flutist Rhonda Larson and her band Ventus at the China Braille Library in Beijing on Sept 10.

The four-piece band was made up of the Grammy award-winning flutist Rhonda Larson, percussionist Carolyn Koebel, Grammy award-winning bassist Eliot Wadopian and multi-instrumentalist Chris Rosser.

In June they completed a three-week tour of China, which had been so successful they were invited back.

Their Beijing show, the first in the capital, was held before they embarked on a six-week tour across 25 cities in China in September and October.

The repertoire featured a blend of music from around the world, from the piece dedicated to Larson's home state Montana in the United States, to a melody from 12th century France, to 20th Romanian folk dancing music.

Works composed by the musicians, based on their travels around the world were also included in the show.

In addition to western European flute, Larson played an array of ethnic flutes from different countries.

Among them was the Dizi, or Chinese bamboo flute.