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.

From the description of Bright Sheng sound recording series, 1989-2004 and undated. [sound recording]. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 702904683

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.

From the description of Bright Sheng visual materials series. 1985-2004. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 85778763

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.

From the description of Bright Sheng papers, 1962-2004. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 85778676

Bright Sheng (1955- ) is the Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professor of Music in the Composition Department of the University of Michigan's School of Music. Now a widely-renowned composer, conductor, pianist, and researcher, Sheng embarked in music as a career as a teenager in China in the remote province of Qinghai, where he was sent during the Cultural Revolution. After several years performing and studying folk music and dances, Sheng was one of the first students to be admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music when China's universities reopened in 1978. In 1982, Sheng moved to New York, obtaining graduate degrees at Queens College (M.A.) and Columbia University (D.M.A.). While a student, Sheng not only won praise from teachers Leonard Bernstein, George Perle, and others, but also gained citations and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kennedy Center, and several foundations.

Since 1998, Sheng has been the Artistic Advisor to the highly regarded Silk Road Project, an international program that identifies, archives, and interprets musical traditions of the peoples in the regions of the trade routes that once were the primary linkage between Europe and the Far East. In this capacity he has conducted field research in outlying provinces in China and has both published articles and composed musical works based on his experiences and findings. Other highlights of Sheng's career include several world premieres by artists and ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax; collaborations with librettists Andrew Porter, Colin Graham, David Henry Hwang, and others; and numerous guest lectureships, artistic directorships, and residencies at universities and conservatories nationwide. Additionally, in 1999 Sheng was commissioned by the White House to create a new work for a state dinner honoring Chinese Premiere Zhou Rongji. In 2001, Sheng was granted the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

Orchestras and ensembles have recorded Sheng's music on a variety of labels. Sheng's music is published exclusively by G. Schirmer Inc., and he is represented as a conductor and pianist by Columbia Artists Management.

For a fuller biography, see Pamela Chen's essay in Appendix 1. Pamela Chen is a doctoral student in Composition at Michigan State University.

From the guide to the Bright Sheng papers, 1962-2004, 1982-2004, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)