KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Chunyuan Iris Di, a recent graduate in music composition, practices playing her dulcimer last night at her house. Di will be performing on her dulcimer from 12:30 p.m. – 1 p.m. today at the University of Arizona Museum of Art.

China has shared many of its riches with the United States over the years: fireworks, an ancient and fascinating history, intricate artwork and Bruce Lee.

At noon today, a UA alum will make yet another cultural contribution when she showcases her musical talent.

The University of Arizona Museum of Art will host Chunyuan Iris Di from 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m. as part of its monthly Music in the Museum series.

Di will be performing on the dulcimer, a Chinese stringed instrument played with a hammer.

From September to April, Music in the Museum will be presented the first Thursday of every month, excluding January.

The event is free and designed to encourage visitors to tour the museum while listening to music. Musicians only play for half an hour.

Di, who was born in Tianjin, China, moved to the U.S. five years ago and graduated from the UA in May with a bachelor's degree in music composition.

"I started it when I was five," said Di of the dulcimer.

Originally taught by a patient father and polished with private lessons, Di has played gigs both on and off campus. She also plays the piano and two other Chinese instruments, the erhu and the yue qin, the latter of which is similar to a guitar.

While Di's favorite classical music composers include Ligeti and Bartók, her picks for favorite pop American music included an all-too-familiar Seattle band.

"I like Nirvana," said Di. "I like their chord progressions more than the other bands'."

Carol Petrozzello, associate curator of education, said performers in the Music in the Museum series are selected not only for their musical accomplishments, but also for their musical ties to the exhibitions.

It isn't often that museum visitors get to hear music while they examine ceramics or walk past paintings.

"It has wonderful acoustics and it sounds great," Petrozzello said of the Museum of Art. "It just adds to the atmosphere here. It's just a nice experience."

Di said she doesn't plan to quit making music anytime soon.

"It's hard to give up," she said. "It's part of who I am. It's part of who I grew up with."

She has tentative plans to teach and compose music, combining her background in Chinese music with Western classical.

Di is interested in pursuing ethnomusicology and music from different parts of the world; however, she has to be reminded of Prince and the name of his newest album.