Wu Man (; b.

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

, January 2, 1963) is a Chinese

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ran ...

player and composer. Trained in Pudong-style pipa performance at the

Central Conservatory of Music The Central Conservatory of Music () is a prestigious leading public music school of China and a member of Double First Class University Plan and former Project 211. Its campus is in the Xicheng District of Beijing, China, near Fuxingmen Statio ...

in Beijing, she is known for playing in a broad range of musical styles and introducing the pipa and its Chinese heritage into Western genres. She has performed and recorded extensively with

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

and Silk Road Ensemble, and has premiered works by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...

, Lou Harrison,

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for ...

, Bright Sheng,

Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and ...

, Zhao Jiping, and Zhou Long, among many others. She has recorded and appeared on over 40 albums, five of which have been nominated for

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

. In 2013, she was named Instrumentalist of the Year by ''

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. History 1898–19 ...

'', becoming the first performer of a non-Western instrument to receive this award. She also received The United States Artist' Award in 2008.

Biography

Born in

, Wu Man began taking pipa lessons at age 9. When universities opened their doors to new students in 1977 after the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

had ended, Wu Man traveled to Beijing to audition for the

. At 13, she became the youngest student at the school, and her final audition was covered in national newspapers.Wu Man. "Chinese Idol." The Silk Road Project Newsletter. May 2011. Accessed July 25, 2014. http://archive.silkroadproject.org/News/Newsletter/July11/ChineseIdolPart2/tabid/1483/Default.aspx While at the Conservatory, she studied Pudong-style pipa performance under Lin Shicheng, Kuang Yuzhong, Chen Zemin, and Liu Dehai. She was first exposed to non-Chinese music in 1979 when

Seiji Ozawa Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

and the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 18 ...

performed in Beijing, and again in 1980 when she attended

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...

’s master classes at the Conservatory. She received her Master's Degree (the first such degree conferred on a pipa player) in 1987. Wu Man first performed in the United States as a member of the China Youth Arts Troupe in 1985. She moved to the U.S. five years later to pursue a career in pipa performance that would allow her repertoire to extend beyond traditional Chinese music. Upon arriving in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

with her husband (who had begun working on his Ph.D. in chemistry at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

), she began working with ensembles such as the

( see below), and gave premieres of works by Chinese and American composers. In 1997, she gave the premiere of Lou Harrison's Concerto for Pipa and String Orchestra with

Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sch ...

conducting the

Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra (Stuttgarter Kammerorchester) is a German chamber orchestra based in Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar ...

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

. Written specifically for Wu Man, the work has been recorded twice, the latter of which (with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...

and

Miguel Harth-Bedoya Miguel Alberto Harth-Bedoya (born 1968) is a Peruvian conductor. He was formerly music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2020 and chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra from 2013 to 2020. He is currently Direct ...

) was nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra. In 1998, Wu Man was awarded a fellowship to study at the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College.The Harvard University Gazette. "Thirty-Seven Women Appointed Fellows at Radcliffe's Bunting Institute." Accessed July 22, 2014. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/05.28/Thirty-SevenWom.html That same year, she became a founding member of

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

Silk Road Project Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and ...

( see below). In 2003, Wu Man began working with

, performing in the premiere of his opera '' The Sound of a Voice'' at the American Repertory Theater. She is featured in the recording of a suite from this work, which was released in 2007 on Glass's private label, Orange Mountain Music.Philip Glass. "Recordings: Theater Music, Vol. 1" Accessed July 28, 2014. http://www.philipglass.com/music/recordings/theater_music.php In 2004, Wu Man was approached by Glass once again to collaborate on a commission from the

Cultural Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...

on the occasion of the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens. Taking Orion as its title and inspiration (the constellation can be seen from both hemispheres throughout the year), the piece contains movements representing various countries around the world. The third movement, "China", was co-written by Glass and Wu Man, and features Wu Man on pipa. Additional collaborators include

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

, Mark Atkins, Foday Musa Suso,

Ashley MacIsaac Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian fiddler, singer and songwriter from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at the Juno A ...

, and Uakti. The work was premiered prior to the Games, and recorded and released on Orange Mountain Music in 2005. In 2009, Wu Man curated a pair of concerts at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

as part of the ''Ancient Paths, Modern Voices'' Festival. The concerts focused on music from remote areas of China, including traditions of the Dong and Tujia peoples, as well as

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

ritual. The process of finding these musicians was documented in the 2012 film ''Discovering a Musical Heartland: Wu Man's Return to China''. Wu Man's achievements in bringing the pipa to new audiences were recognized at the end of 2012 when ''

'' selected her as the 2013 Instrumentalist of the Year. She is the first performer of a non-Western instrument to receive this award. Later that season, Wu Man premiered her composition ''Blue and Green'' with New York–based chamber orchestra The Knights. Arranged for pipa and string orchestra by Lev Zhurbin and The Knights' Colin Jacobsen, the work is influenced by folk melodies that Wu Man heard travelling through China. That same season, Wu Man premiered Zhao Jiping’s Pipa Concerto No. 2 at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

with the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and f ...

, who commissioned the work along with a consortium of North American orchestras. In 2014, Wu Man was named the first Musician-in-Residence at the Huntington Library. The residency included educational outreach programs, as well as a commission for a new composition. The piece, ''Three Sharing'', was written by Wu Man for pipa,

janggo The ''janggu'' (, also transliterated as ''janggo'' or ''changgo'') or sometimes called ''seyogo'' (slim waist drum) is the most representative drum in traditional Korean music. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped ...

, and

shakuhachi A is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

, and was premiered on June 17, 2014 at the Huntington's

Chinese Garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...

Collaborations

Kronos Quartet

Wu Man first performed with the

in the premiere of Zhou Long's ''Soul'' for pipa and string quartet at the Pittsburgh New Music Festival in 1992. The Quartet's founding violinist, David Harrington, says he "heard all sorts of possibilities in Wu Man's vivid pipa sound,"Kronos Quartet. "A Chinese Home." Accessed July 23, 2014. http://kronosquartet.org/projects/detail/a_chinese_home/ and the Quartet subsequently commissioned

to write a piece for the same instrumentation. The resulting ''Ghost Opera'', a semi-staged work with minimal sets and lighting, received its premiere at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

in 1995. The work was later recorded and released on

Nonesuch __NOTOC__ Nonesuch may refer to: Plants * '' Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower * ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower Places and structures *Nonesuch, Kentucky *Nonesuch Island, Bermuda *Nonesuch Mine, Michigan *Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...

in 1997. On the occasion of

's 70th birthday in 2005, the Quartet commissioned a new work from him that would include pipa. After working with Wu Man for over a year to learn the intricacies of the instrument, Riley composed ''The Cusp of Magic'', a work in six movements that included Wu Man on pipa and vocals. All five musicians also play a variety of percussion instruments and toys. The premiere was presented by Cal Performances at Hertz Hall on the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

campus, and was recorded and released on Nonesuch in 2008. Wu Man's most recent project with the Quartet is a multimedia work entitled ''A Chinese Home'', co-conceived by Wu Man, Harrington, and Chinese theater director Chen Shi-Zheng. The work, which received its premiere at Carnegie's

Zankel Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by ...

in 2009, depicts a broad stretch of Chinese history, from the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

through the

Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (RO ...

to present day. Wu Man continues to perform regularly with Kronos, and was a featured guest artist in the Quartet's 40th Anniversary concerts in the 2013-14 season at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Cal Performances, Center for the Art of Performance at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, and Carnegie Hall. She appears on five albums with the Quartet, including ''

Early Music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classi ...

'', in which she plays

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...

's ''Lachrymæ Antiquæ'' on the

ruan Ruan may refer to: Buildings * Ruan Center, office building in Des Moines, Iowa * John Ruan House, historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, t ...

; ''

You've Stolen My Heart ''You've Stolen My Heart'' is a 2005 studio album from the Kronos Quartet, featuring arrangements of the music of Indian composer Rahul Dev Burman, with vocals by Asha Bhosle, she sang the original versions of the album's songs and was married to ...

'', a collection of

Bollywood songs Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with dance ...

Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work ...

; and ''A Thousand Thoughts'', the Quartet's 40th anniversary compilation album.

Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project

Wu Man is a founding member of

, a non-profit organization established in 1998 to foster cross-cultural communication through musical performance and education. Two years after its inception, the Project hosted a workshop at the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

that evolved into the Silk Road Ensemble, an eclectic group of musicians representing countries along the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

. Wu Man has performed regularly with the Ensemble since its inception in 2000, recording five albums and touring internationally. In the 2006-07 season, the Silk Road Project partnered with the

for a yearlong celebration called Silk Road Chicago, culminating in the 2008 album release ''Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago''. Wu Man appears on this album as a soloist, performing Lou Harrison's Pipa Concerto with the CSO and conductor

. Wu Man has also performed multiple times with Yo-Yo Ma outside of the Silk Road Ensemble. In 1999, Wu Man and Ma performed at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, premiering Bright Sheng's Three Songs for Pipa and Violoncello. That same year, Ma was awarded the Glenn Gould Prize and selected Wu Man as the Glenn Gould Protégé.Glenn Gould Foundation. http://glenngould.ca/protege-prize/ They performed together again in 2003, premiering Sheng’s ''The Song and Dance of Tears'' alongside pianist

Emanuel Ax Emanuel "Manny" Ax (born 8 June 1949) is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is a teacher in the Juilliard School. Early life Ax was born to a Polish-Jewish family in Lviv, Ukraine, (in what was then the Soviet Union) to Joachim and ...

, with David Zinman conducting the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Miscellaneous cross-cultural collaborations

In 2005, Wu Man and composer

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

co-wrote a multimedia work titled ''Ancient Dances'', commissioned by the

Walton Arts Center The Walton Arts Center is a performing arts center. This facility located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is currently Arkansas’ largest and busiest arts presenter, famous for bringing great performing artists and entertainers from around the worl ...

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington unt ...

. Taking its inspiration from the poetry of

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

, the multimedia work features video art by Kathleen Owen that incorporates

Chinese calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high este ...

and paintings by Wu Man's father. In performances of the work, Wu Man and percussionist Robert Schulz played in front of two vertical screens that displayed Owen's art. The project forms the first installment in what Wu Man refers to as her larger "Return to the East" project, which includes many of the projects discussed below, as well as her documentary ''Discovering a Musical Heartland''. Later in 2005, she recorded the album ''Wu Man and Friends'' with Lee Knight (

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

Appalachian dulcimer The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of ...

mouth bow The musical bow (bowstring or string bow, a subset of bar zithers) is a simple string instrument used by a number of South African peoples, which is also found in the Americas via slave trade. It consists of a flexible, usually wooden, stick 1. ...

, vocals), Julian Kytasty ( bandura, sopilka, vocals), and

James Makubuya James K. Makubuya (born in Gayaza, Wakiso District, Uganda) is a Ugandan-born ethnomusicologist, instrumentalist, singer, dancer, and choreographer. He plays several traditional instruments from various parts of Uganda, including the '' endongo'' ...

(

endongo The ''endongo'' is a musical instrument, considered the List of national instruments (music), national instrument of the Baganda people of Uganda. It is a member of a family of lyres which can be found, with variations, in many areas throughout Ea ...

, adungu, vocals), which was released on the Traditional Crossroads label in 2006. The album contains the music of Chinese, Appalachian,

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

, and

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The souther ...

folk traditions, arranged to combine these plucked instruments from around the world.Traditional Crossroads. "Wu Man and Friends." Accessed July 18, 2014. http://www.traditionalcrossroads.com/shop/article_CD%25204329/Wu-Man-and-Friends.html Since the album release, Wu Man, Knight, Kytasty, and Makubuya have performed their arrangements in concerts around the U.S., including Carnegie's

in 2006 and the

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival is a six-week-long summer Festival of chamber music held annually in July and August and located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was founded in 1972 and presented its first series of concerts in 1973. Well-known mu ...

in 2010. In 2010, Wu Man traveled to Taiwan to study the music of

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese peo ...

, leading to a series of concerts in 2012 titled "Wu Man and Aboriginal Friends from Taiwan (吳蠻與原住民朋友)". In these concerts, Wu Man was joined onstage by musicians of the Paiwan, Atayal, and Bunun tribes, performing arrangements of traditional and ritual songs with pipa accompaniment. Performances took place at the Taiwan International Festival of Arts at the National Theater and Concert Hall, Taipei, and at the New Vision Arts Festival in Hong Kong. With funds from the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia, Wu Man collaborated with Central Asian musicians to produce the CD/DVD ''Borderlands: Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk Route'', released on

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...

in 2012. The album/documentary forms the tenth and final installment in the record label's Music of Central Asia series. The music focuses heavily on the Uyghur muqam tradition, a system of 12 modes that draws loosely from

Arabic maqam Arabic maqam ( ar, مقام, maqām, literally "rank"; ') is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word ''maqam'' in Arabic means place, location or position. The Arabic ''maqam'' is a mel ...

. She is joined on the album by Abduvali Abdurashidov on sato; Sirojiddin Juraev on

dutar The ''dutar'' (also ''dotar''; fa, دوتار, dutâr; russian: Дутар; tg, дутор; ug, دۇتار, ucy=Дутар, Dutar; uz, dutor; ; dng, Дутар) is a traditional Iranian long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Centr ...

; Hua'er vocalist Ma Ersa; Abdulla Majnun on diltar (his own invention, combining the plucked

tanbur The term ''Tanbur'' ( fa, تنبور, ) can refer to various long-necked string instruments originating in Mesopotamia, Southern or Central Asia. According to the '' New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', "terminology presents a compli ...

and bowed satar into a single double-necked instrument), dutar, tanbur, and vocals; Hesenjan Tursun on satar and vocals; Sanubar Tursun on dutar and vocals; and Yasin Yaqup on

dap DAP or Dap may refer to: Science * DAP (gene), human gene that encodes death-associated proteins, which mediate programmed cell death * Diamidophosphate, phosphorylating compound * Diaminopimelic acid, amino acid derivative of lysine * Diaminop ...

. In 2013, Wu Man received an Individual Artist Fellowship from San Diego Foundation's Creative Catalyst Fund to pursue a project titled "When China Meets Latin America", collaborating with

son jarocho Son jarocho ("Veracruz Sound") is a regional folk musical style of Mexican Son from Veracruz, a Mexican state along the Gulf of Mexico. It evolved over the last two and a half centuries along the coastal portions of southern Tamaulipas state an ...

quartet Son de San Diego. In their initial rehearsals, Wu Man and Son de San Diego explored the commonalities in Chinese and Latin American folk traditions, both of which, Son de San Diego's Eduardo Garcia Acosta notes, have "love songs, silvery dawns, birdsongs, broken hearts, tales of sailing, and the sheer joy of dancing." Following these rehearsals, the ''ad hoc'' quintet has performed arrangements of Chinese and Latin American folk music in workshops and concerts presented by th
Carlsbad Music Festival

Personal life

Wu Man lives with her husband, Peng Wang, in Carlsbad,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where they moved in 2004 after her husband accepted a job there. She and her husband became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2000, two years after the birth of their son Vincent.

Awards

* 1989 — Chinese National Traditional Music Performance Prize * 1998 — Bunting Fellowship * 1999 — The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize * 2008 —

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

Fellowship * 2006 — ''Nominated'',

: Best Contemporary World Music Album (for ''You've Stolen My Heart'' with

) * 2009 — ''Nominated'', Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra (for Lou Harrison's Pipa Concerto with the

) * 2009 — ''Nominated'', Grammy Awards: Best Small Ensemble Performance (for

's Pipa Concerto with Yuri Bashmet and the Moscow Soloists) * 2011 — ''Nominated'', Grammy Awards: Best Classical Crossover Album (for ''Off the Map'' with the Silk Road Ensemble) * 2013 — Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year * 2013 — ''Nominated'', Independent Music Awards: Best World Traditional Song (for "Shadiana" on ''Borderlands'') * 2013 — ''Nominated'', Independent Music Awards: Best Long Form Video (for ''Borderlands'') * 2014 — ''Nominated'', Independent Music Awards: Best World Traditional Album (for ''Elegant Pipa Classics'') * 2014 — ''Nominated'',

Golden Melody Awards The Golden Melody Awards (), commonly abbreviated as GMA, is an honor awarded by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Formosan-languages popular and traditional music ...

: Best Traditional Album (for ''Elegant Pipa Classics'') * 2014 — ''Nominated'', Grammy Awards: Best World Music Album (for ''Our World in Song'' with Daniel Ho and Luis Conte)

Discography

Solo or as leader * 1991 — ''The Over Lord Removed Off His Armour'' (

China Record Corporation China Record Corporation (CRC; ) is the Chinese government's oldest and largest record company. CRC's catalog of traditional Chinese ethnic, classical and folk music features over 60,000 releases spanning over 1,000 years of Chinese musical histo ...

) * 1993 — ''Chinese Music for the Pipa'' ( Nimbus) * 1996 — ''Chinese Traditional and Contemporary Music'' (Nimbus) * 2000 — ''Chinese Traditional & Contemporary Music for Pipa & Ensemble'' (Nimbus) * 2000 —

Liu Sola Liu Sola (Chinese: 刘索拉; pinyin: Liú Suǒlā; b. Beijing, China, 1955) is a Chinese composer, vocalist, music producer, and author. Biography After graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music with a degree in composition, she publi ...

: ''Spring Snowfall'' (Also Productions) * 2003 — ''Pipa: From a Distance'' ( Naxos World) * 2005 — ''Wu Man and Friends'' (Traditional Crossroads) * 2010 — ''Immeasurable Light'' (Traditional Crossroads) * 2012 — ''Music of Central Asia, Vol. 10: Borderlands: Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk Route'' (

) * 2013 — ''Elegant Pipa Classics'' ( Wind Music) * 2014 — Wu Man, Luis Conte, and Daniel Ho: ''Our World in Song: An Odyssey of Musical Treasures'' (Wind Music) Orchestral * 2004 — Lou Harrison: Concerto for Pipa with String Orchestra, on ''Lou Harrison: For Strings''
with Rebecca Miller and The New Professionals Orchestra (

Mode Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...

) * 2004 —

Ye Xiaogang Ye Xiaogang (; born September 23, 1955) is one of China's most active and most famous composers of contemporary classical music. Biography Ye was born in Shanghai in 1955. He studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing from 1978 to ...

: Pipa Concerto, on ''Xiaogang Ye: The Last Paradise / Winter / Pipa Concerto / Horizon''
with Günther Herbig and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken (

WERGO WERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by German art historian and music publisher (1903–1975) and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmeyer. Their first release, filed under "WER 60001", was ...

) * 2008 —

: Pipa Concerto, on ''Tan Dun: Pipa Concerto / Hayashi: Viola Concerto / Takemitsu: Nostalghia''
with Yuri Bashmet and Moscow Soloists (ONYX) * 2008 — Lou Harrison: Pipa Concerto, on ''Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago''
with

and

(

CSO Resound In April 2007, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association launched CSO Resound, its in-house record label. All recordings have been made live in concert in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, and a complete list of releases, chronological by recordi ...

) with

* 1997 — '' Tan Dun: Ghost Opera'' (

) * 1997 — ''

'' (Nonesuch) * 2005 — ''

'' (Nonesuch) * 2008 — '' Terry Riley: The Cusp of Magic'' (Nonesuch) * 2014 — Kronos Quartet: ''A Thousand Thoughts'' (Nonesuch) with Silk Road Ensemble * 2002 — The Silk Road Ensemble with

: ''Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet'' (

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

) * 2005 — The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma: ''Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon'' (Sony Classical) * 2007 — The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma: ''New Impossibilities'' (Sony Classical) * 2009 — Silk Road Ensemble: ''Off the Map'' ( World Village) * 2013 — The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma: ''A Playlist without Borders'' (CD) / ''Live from

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

'' (DVD) (Sony Classical) with

* 2005 —

Philip Glass Ensemble The Philip Glass Ensemble is an American musical group founded by composer Philip Glass in 1968 to serve as a performance outlet for his experimental minimalist music. The ensemble continues to perform and record to this day, under the musical d ...

: ''Orion'' (Orange Mountain Music) * 2007 — Suite from '' The Sound of a Voice'', on ''Theater Music, Vol. 1'' (Orange Mountain Music) with

Bang on a Can Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted contemporary classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon. Called "the co ...

* 1998 —

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...

: ''Music for Airports'' ( POINT Music) * 2001 —

: ''

In C ''In C'' is a musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for an indefinite number of performers. He suggests "a group of about 35 is desired if possible but smaller or larger groups will work". A series of short melodic fragments, ''In C'' is ...

'' (

Cantaloupe The cantaloupe, rockmelon (Australia and New Zealand, although cantaloupe is used in some states of Australia), sweet melon, or spanspek (Southern Africa) is a melon that is a variety of the muskmelon species (''Cucumis melo'') from the fami ...

) with

* 1994 — Sola: ''Blues in the East'' (

Axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...

, 1994) * 1995 — Sola & Wu Man: ''China Collage'' ( Avant, 1995) * 1999 — ''Sola & Friends'' (Also Productions, 1999) with Henry Threadgill *'' Carry the Day'' (Columbia, 1995) Film soundtracks * 1993 — ''

The Wedding Banquet ''The Wedding Banquet'' is a 1993 romantic comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Ang Lee. The story concerns a gay Taiwanese immigrant man (played by Winston Chao, in his film debut) who marries a mainland Chinese woman ( May Chin) t ...

'' ( Rock) * 1994 — ''

Eat Drink Man Woman ''Eat Drink Man Woman'' () is a 1994 Taiwanese comedy-drama film directed by Ang Lee, from a script co-written with James Schamus and Hui-Ling Wang.Howe, Desson.‘Eat Drink Man Woman’" ''The Washington Post''. 19 October 1994. Retrieved on 2 ...

'' (Rock) Misc. duo * 1997 — with

Martin Simpson Martin Stewart Simpson (born 5 May 1953) is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. He builds a purposeful, often upbeat voi ...

, guitar: '' Music for the Motherless Child'' ( Water Lily Acoustics) * 2001 — with Yoshio Kurahashi,

: ''Aki No Yugure (Autumn Dusk)'' (Sparkling Beatnik) * 2003 — with

Tatsu Aoki (born September 19, 1957) is a multi-instrumentalist trained in traditional Japanese music (ie: taiko and shamisen), educator and experimental filmmaker. In his career as Chicago's Jazz and creative improvisor, he is mostly known as a long-standi ...

, bass: ''Posture of Reality'' (Asian Improv) Misc. ensemble * 1994 — Henry Threadgill: '' Carry the Day'' (

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

) * 1998 —

Lam Bun-Ching Lam Bun-Ching (; b. Macau, 1954) is a Chinese American composer, pianist, and conductor. Early life and training Lam holds a B.A. degree in piano performance from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1976). She obtained a scholarship from the U ...

: ''The Child God'' (

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. Th ...

) * 2003 — Bright Sheng: ''Silent Temple'' with

Shanghai Quartet The Shanghai Quartet is a string quartet that formed in 1983. The quartet is made up of: first violinist Weigang Li, second violinist Angelo Xiang Yu, violist Honggang Li, and cellist Nicholas Tzavaras. On November 20, 2020 the ensemble announce ...

and Bright Sheng, piano ( BIS) * 2004 — Zhou Long: ''Nature and Spirit'' (Composers Recordings, Inc.) * 2006 —

Shih-Hui Chen Shih-Hui Chen () is a Taiwanese composer who lives and works in the United States. Biography Chen Shih-hui (陳士惠) was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and came to the United States in 1982 to study for a master's degree from Northern Illinois Univers ...

: ''66 Times: The Voices of Pines and Cedars'' ( Albany) * 2012 —

Lei Liang Lei Liang (born November 28, 1972, in Tianjin, China) is a Chinese-born American composer who was a winner of the Grawemeyer Award and a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. He is Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Music at the Univer ...

: ''Verge / Tremors of a Memory Chord'' (Naxos) Appearances on anthologies & compilations * 1992 — ''An Anthology of Chinese Traditional and Folk Music, Vol. 4: A Collection of Music Played on the Pipa'' (China Record Corporation) * 1994 — ''World Music Sampler, Volume 2'' (Nimbus) * 1995 — ''A Taste of Asia'' (Nimbus) * 1997 — ''Treasurable Collection of Traditional Chinese Music: Pipa'' * 1998 — ''China: Time to Listen'' (Ellipsis Arts) * 2001 — ''Masterpieces: Pipa'' (China Record Corporation) * 2002 — ''The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan'' (

) * 2002 — ''Chinese Music Classics of the 20th Century: Pipa I'' (China Record Corporation) * 2004 — ''The Classics of CRC Instrumental Music, Vol. 2'' (China Record Corporation)China Music Group. "Track Detail: Laying an Ambush on All Sides." Accessed July 21, 2014. http://www.chinamusicgroup.com/track_details.php?track_id=13182

External links

Official website

Kronos Quartet

The Silk Road Project

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Man 1963 births Living people People's Republic of China composers Chinese women classical composers City of Toronto's Glenn Gould Protégé Prize winners Contemporary classical music performers Musicians from Hangzhou Pipa players People from Carlsbad, California