links from Google Web DirectorySheng, Bright, 1955-Sheng Zong-Liang
MacArthur Fellow, 2001
composer;
professor at U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor
University of Michigan announcement
University of Michigan press release
ASCAP
in Chinese:http://www.hkpo.com/chi/about/history.jsp
http://www.hkpo.com/chi/about/upbeat/200112.jsp
http://www.hkpo.com/chi/about/press/20021127b.jsp
in English:
http://www.jecklinassociates.com/sheng.htm
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cyoungk/shengbio.htm
http://www.nyjpw.org/ev071602.htm
http://www.xs4all.nl/~gaud/oud/biobak/s/shengb.htm
http://www.exploredance.com/insideperspectives101202.html
http://composers21.com/compdocs/shengb.htm
Michigan Today
http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/MT/98/Fal98/mt13f98.htmlSchirmer bio
http://www.schirmer.com/composers/sheng_bio.html
An analysis of five vocal works of Bright Sheng. Su Sun Wong, D.M.A., University of Texas at Austin. 1995
Bright Sheng
Composer
Professor of Music
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Age: 45Bright Sheng is an innovative composer who merges diverse musical customs in works that transcend conventional aesthetic boundaries. In his skillful orchestrations, he bridges East and West, lyrical and dissonant styles, and historical and contemporary themes to create elegant compositions with a distinctive signature. An acclaimed conductor and an outstanding pianist, Sheng also serves as an advisor to the Silk Road Project, an international program that identifies, archives, and interprets musical traditions of the Far Eastern trade routes.
A frequent motif in Sheng’s compositions is to develop Asian themes and drama within Western musical forms. Through this synthesis, he presents fresh characterizations of musical and cultural traditions that resonate with audiences around the world. Further, his orchestral compositions explore powerful emotional experiences. The Song of Majnun, an opera in one act, revisits an Asian tale of star-crossed lovers. Flute Moon reworks a classic art song from the thirteenth century that depicts characters from Chinese legend. Nanking! Nanking! is a lament for pipa and orchestra on the atrocities suffered by the Chinese in World War II.
Sheng is a fresh voice in cross-cultural music. He will continue to be an important leader in exploring and bridging musical traditions.
Biography:
Bright Sheng received a B.A. (1982) from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, an M.A. (1984) from Queens College, CUNY, and a Ph.D. (1993) from Columbia University. He has been affiliated with the University of Michigan since 1995 and with the Silk Road Project since 1998. His orchestral compositions include The Song of Majnun (1992), China Dreams (1995), The Silver River (1997), Postcards (1997), Flute Moon (1999), and Nanking! Nanking! (2000). A new composition, Madame Mao, Sheng's first full-length opera, will be presented at the Santa Fe Opera in 2003. He has received numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1990), a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (1995), an AT&T Foundation Award (1997), and a University of Michigan Arts Award (2001).
ASCAP Congratulates Bright Sheng on receiving a 2001 MacArthur Fellowship
http://www.ascap.com/concert/brightsheng.htmlBright Sheng Wins "Genius Award"
Schirmer News Issue: November 2001
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"The announcement of the MacArthur Fellows offers an opportunity to focus on the importance of the creative individual in society." So says Jonathan Fanton, president of the MacArthur Foundation, as G. Schirmer composer Bright Sheng was named a recipient of the 2001 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships.Often called the "Genius Awards," the MacArthur Fellowships are granted to individuals as a "no strings attached" means of support in varying fields of expertise. Fanton notes, "These are people who provide the imagination and fresh ideas that can improve people's lives and bring about movement on important issues."
The Foundation Committee called Sheng "an innovative composer who merges diverse musical customs in works that transcend conventional aesthetic boundaries. In his skillful orchestrations, he bridges East and West, lyrical and dissonant styles, and historical and contemporary themes to create elegant compositions with a distinctive signature...Sheng is a fresh voice in cross-cultural music. He will continue to be an important leader in exploring and bridging musical traditions."
Among the 600 MacArthur Fellows, Sheng joins previous G. Schirmer/AMP Fellowship winners: John Eaton, John Harbison and Gunther Schuller. Each award totals $500,000 over a five-year period. There is no application or interview process, and notification comes in the form of a phone call from the Foundation.
Sheng comments, "While I am surprised, honored and thrilled to be the recipient of this prestigious award, I ask myself what I can contribute, as a musician and an artist at such a time, since personal and career achievements seem so trivial, frivolous and marginal to national and international crisis. I remember my teacher, Leonard Bernstein, once said that our response to violence is to make music more intensely, more beautiful and more devotedly. These words have been on my mind since September 11th. We must keep doing what we know the best and we must have faith in what we do. Being an artist is a faith itself, for it takes tremendous creed and stubbornness for each of us to continue doing what we do. And with that, I gratefully accept the honor."
Sheng has just returned from serving a composer residency at the Washington Performing Arts Society, where he has planned the WPAS's concert programming, coordinated the Kreeger String Series at the Kennedy Center, and helped in the development of the Society's year-long 2001 Silk Road Festival. "Bright Sheng is the first composer-in-residence in our 36-year history," remarks Kim Chan, Director of Programming. "We first met Mr. Sheng at the 2000 Tanglewood Music Festival, where he was moderating a musical discussion on cultural elements of the Silk Road. We were impressed with his quality of thinking and his ability to clearly articulate ideas to an audience." Sheng returns to the WPAS on 22 January 2002 for a concert by the Shanghai String Quartet who will perform his STRING QUARTETS NOS. 3 and 4, as well as join the quartet members as pianist in a performance of his FOUR MOVEMENTS FOR PIANO TRIO.
A new concert-opener, which will be premiered in April 2002 by Robert Spano and the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and an opera based on the life of Madame Mao are next on Sheng's composing agenda.
