Born and raised in Beijing, Wu Fei (吴非) is a virtuoso composer and performer who began learning gu zheng and piano at the age of 6, started giving solo concerts at age 9, and at age 15 entered the China Conservatory of Music to study composition. After coming to the US in 2000, she went on to receive her M.A. in Composition from Mills College and a grant from "Meet the Composer". She began to diversify her sound and experiment widely, working with musicians as dynamic as John Zorn, Fred Frith, Bela Fleck, Pauline Oliveros, Carla Kihlstedt, and Cecil Taylor and also as a commissioned composer for Percussions Claviers de Lyon (piece premiered at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing). Wu Fei's compositions for choir, string quartet, chamber ensemble, Balinese gamelan, orchestra, film, and modern dance exhibit her remarkable skill and profound musical understanding. She has also appeared as a guest on Frith's "Eye to Ear II" (Tzadik, USA) and "Happy End Problem" (Recommended, UK) and Carla Kihlstedt's "Traineater" (Anti, USA). Wu Fei has performed in cities around the world, including New York, Rome, Beijing, Berlin, Dublin, Venice, Milano, and San Francisco and released her debut album in 2007, entitled "A Distant Youth" (Forrest Hill, Italy) and featuring Frith and Kihlstedt. Fall 2008 saw Wu Fei collaborating with such New York City luminaries as cellist Erik Friedlander, percussionist Billy Martin, and bassist Trevor Dunn and also serving as curator for the month of October at John Zorn's modern music venue, The Stone, in the East Village. November 2008 brought the release of her second album "Yuan" (Tzadik), a collection of chamber works and a new piece for solo piano performed by Stephen Drury. February 2009 will bring a music DVD entitled "Shan Qi" (Ozella Music, Germany), filmed in the Italian Alps and featuring the young artist and several outstanding European musicians. In 2009, Wu Fei will return to Europe and China for further concerts, collaborations, and recording projects. Wu Fei's performances on gu zheng and voice can be as delicate as lace or furious as thunder.

(more @ http://www.wufeimusic.com/)

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