Sheng, Bright, 1955-

Bright Sheng, composer, conductor, pianist, ethnomusicologist and Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, was born in China in 1955.

After studying and performing folk music and dance, and enrolling in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Sheng moved to New York in 1982 and obtained graduate degrees at Queens College and Columbia University. Sheng's compositions have been premiered by artists and ensembles such as Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, and the New York Philharmonic. Since 1998 Sheng has been advisor to the Silk Road Project and has conducted research and interpreted musical traditions along that trade route. In 2001, Sheng was granted a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

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