Sound Strokes is a music piece that highlights the collaboration and similarities between Scottish and Chinese music. It is a production promoting peace, intercultural connection, and dialogue. For this season’s Fringe, the school classmates Wan Xing on guzheng, Gregor Black on percussion, and Eleanor Dunsdon on harp reunite to bring a thoughtful piece of traditional music with a contemporary interpretation.

The artists tie the four elements of earth, wind, fire, and water together to effectively immerse you in a borderline spiritual state of mind. The musicians revel in the sounds they create and visibly enjoy both the music and each other’s company.

Each composition gives a different feeling. Earth makes you feel grounded (pun intended) and pensive. Wind opens up the door to self-reflection. Fire takes on an uncompromising, fierce pace, while water remains a strong, reliable constant. 

Adding to the atmosphere is the meaningful backdrop behind the stage, a ten-metre artwork by Qiu Yangzi that visually represents the cultural connection. Using gold leaf and earth from London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Hong Kong, the scroll literally blends the ground on which the cultures represented in the performance were built.

On a bigger scale of things, Sound Strokes illustrates how even the most distant parts of the world can feel so close in their artistic expressions. We are different, but our core is the same – we are people who need connection and understanding.

The performance works like a chill pill against the elevated levels of aggression that we witness every day. No prescription needed.

Sound Strokes is a composition I wish were mandatory listening for politicians before they make another bloody, consequence-loaded decision.

From the methodical interplay of Chinese and Scottish women’s working songs to the expressive combination of sounds that wash over you, Sound Strokes is a midday shot of calm energy that pushes you to slow down and reflect.

Sound Strokes: A Harmonious Blend of Chinese and Scottish Music is at Amphitheatre at theSpace @ Symposium Hall until Sat 15 Aug 2026