Sheng Reimagined: A Night with Wu Wei

For the fifth year of our cross-cultural Asian music collaboration with the Shepherd School of Music, Asia Society is pleased to present sheng virtuoso Wu Wei. Bringing an ancient traditional Chinese instrument into the modern musical context, this award-winning soloist has played in prestigious orchestras and festivals all over the world, and will bring his unique talent and experiences to an intimate and interactive evening performance.

“The sheng comes from China, but it does not just belong to China, it belongs to everyone on earth and that’s why I’m trying to work with so many people. I like traditional Chinese music, but it helps me a lot learning and experimenting with different musical styles from around the world. I understand better my own culture looking at it from the perspective of other cultures.” — Wu Wei, in an interview with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group

About the Artist

Wu Wei is an avant-garde sheng soloist who has helped to develop this ancient 4,000-year-old instrument into an innovative force in contemporary music. He has created new techniques, expanded new repertoires, and integrated different styles and genres in his music.

Mr. Wu has appeared as a soloist with many leading orchestras and ensembles, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony, the Radio France Philharmonic, the Seoul Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Munich Symphony, Ensemble Modern, the Nieuw Ensemble (Holland), and Atlas Ensemble (Holland). He has given many world premieres including works by Unsuk Chin, Toshio Hosokawa, Enjott Schneider, Joerg Widmann, Guus Janssen, Tan Dun, Chen Qigang and Guo Weijing.

Performing Arts and Culture programs are presented by Wells Fargo. The China series at Asia Society Texas Center is presented by East West Bank. Major support for Performing Arts programs comes from Nancy C. Allen, Ellen Gritz and Milton Rosenau, the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, and the Anchorage Foundation. Generous funding also provided by AARP, The Clayton Fund, Miller Theatre Advisory Board, New England Foundation for the Arts. Additional support provided by the Wortham Foundation, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and through contributions from the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming and exhibitions to Asia Society Texas Center. This program is presented in collaboration with the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.

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