Master’s Fund acquires new instrument to support student welfare

St Catharine’s has expanded its permanent collection of instruments with the acquisition of a guzheng (a plucked zither) to support one of our postgraduate students, thanks to the Master’s Fund created as a result of a generous donation of £100,000 from Jon (1983, Natural Sciences) and Ann Ardron.

Yuxia Zou is in the fourth year of her PhD in Management Studies at the Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS). She grew up in Hubei province in China and started to play the guzheng when she was just 5 years old:

“I was a fan of a character on popular television series who played the guzheng, and I fell in love with the instrument before I’d even seen one in real life ­– unfortunately for my parents who had hoped I could be convinced to start with the piano. The first problem that we faced was finding an instrument and a teacher because very few people in my hometown actually played the guzheng back then. At such an early age, I was also smaller than the instrument and my hands weren’t yet large enough to play properly, although I’m sure that’s true of most young piano players too!”

Fast forward to the start of the pandemic, and Yuxia found herself in Cambridge with travel restrictions that prevented her travelling back home to China.

“The last time I went home was in 2019 and homesickness started to kick in after the first months of the pandemic. I tried burying myself in my PhD research, but I soon realised that music would provide a better release.

“Since I first arrived in the UK in 2017, I had no opportunities to play a guzheng. Unfortunately, there was no way that my PhD stipend would stretch to such a valuable instrument. When I first saw information about the Master’s Fund, I submitted an application and was stunned when it was approved.”

In February 2021, the College announced the establishment of the Master’s Fund to enable the continued development of the St Catharine’s community. This new fund was created to provide grants of up to £5,000 at the Master’s discretion, to individuals or specific projects in areas that are otherwise unlikely to be supported through existing funds. Applications have been encouraged from all sections of the St Catharine’s community: students, Fellows and staff alike during the pandemic.

A guzheng could not be sourced in the UK so an order was placed with a Chinese supplier. Due to travel restrictions and no direct flights, the instrument was transported by rail across China and Russia to Europe.

“It was worth waiting almost half a year for the guzheng to arrive and it was in perfect condition despite the remarkable journey. After practising for over a month, I enjoyed my first audience at an after-dinner performance at CJBS doctoral conference in December. The sound of the guzheng has always been a reminder of home but now it also reminds me why I chose to study at St Catharine’s.”