Gao Hong
Encyclopedia
Gao Hong is a composer and performer of the Chinese pipa
(pear-shaped lute).
Gao has lived in the United States
since 1994. She performs traditional and modern Chinese music, with her groups Spirit of Nature and Beijing Trio (a different group from the Beijing Trio which includes Max Roach
, Jon Jang
, and Jiebing Chen
). She has also participated in cross-cultural musical collaborations, performing with jazz
musicians and musicians from other cultures, including James Newton
and Shubhendra Rao
.
She is a graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music
in Beijing
, where she studied with the pipa master Lin Shicheng, of the Pudong School of pipa playing. She later became a pipa soloist for the Beijing Song and Dance Troupe.
, due to his criticism of the Mao Zedong
and the Chinese government
. Her mother, being highly concerned about her future, took her to a fortune teller at age 6 to find out what her future would be like. The fortune teller told her that she would be a "flying dragon" (a Chinese nickname given to people who travel all over and never settle down, which is also the name of one of her compositions). When she was 12 years old she became a professional pipa player and was already traveling throughout China to perform in concerts and different shows.
in Northfield
, Minnesota
, where she teaches Chinese instruments and is the director of Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble. She lives with her husband and daughter in Northfield, Minnesota
.
Pipa
The pipa is a four-stringed 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 ranging from 12–26...
(pear-shaped lute).
Gao has lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since 1994. She performs traditional and modern Chinese music, with her groups Spirit of Nature and Beijing Trio (a different group from the Beijing Trio which includes Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
, Jon Jang
Jon Jang
Jon Jang is an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Of Chinese ancestry, he is active in the Asian American jazz movement and specializes in music which combines elements of jazz and Asian musics....
, and Jiebing Chen
Jiebing Chen
Jiebing Chen is a Chinese musician based in the United States specializing in the erhu .Born in Shanghai, China, Chen went to the United States in 1989 to study at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she received an M.A...
). She has also participated in cross-cultural musical collaborations, performing with jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians and musicians from other cultures, including James Newton
James Newton
James W. Newton is an American jazz flautist, composer, and conductor.-Biography:From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African American music, including urban blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel. In his early teens he played electric bass guitar, alto saxophone,...
and Shubhendra Rao
Shubhendra Rao
-Early life:Rao was born in Bangalore, India to N. R. Rama Rao, a sitarist. Like his father, N. R. Rama Rao, Shubhendra Rao is a disciple of the sitarist Ravi Shankar.-Career:...
.
She is a graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music
Central Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, where she studied with the pipa master Lin Shicheng, of the Pudong School of pipa playing. She later became a pipa soloist for the Beijing Song and Dance Troupe.
Early life
During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Gao Hong's father was sent to a rural area of ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, due to his criticism of the Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and the Chinese government
Government of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
. Her mother, being highly concerned about her future, took her to a fortune teller at age 6 to find out what her future would be like. The fortune teller told her that she would be a "flying dragon" (a Chinese nickname given to people who travel all over and never settle down, which is also the name of one of her compositions). When she was 12 years old she became a professional pipa player and was already traveling throughout China to perform in concerts and different shows.
Move to the United States
In 1994 Gao gave a 10-city tour of the United States and eventually settled in Minnesota. She is currently on the music faculty of Carleton CollegeCarleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
in Northfield
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, where she teaches Chinese instruments and is the director of Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble. She lives with her husband and daughter in Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
.
Discography
- Hunting Eagles Catching Swans - Music for Chinese pipa featuring pipa master Lin Shicheng & Gao Hong
- Hui/Gathering - Belladonna Baroque Quartet and Gao Hong
- Flying Dragon - Gao Hong and Friends around world
- Buddhist Temple Music from Beijing - The Beijing Trio.
- First Word" - Speaking In Tongues
- The Spirit of Nature
- A Peacock Southeast Flew - Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra
- Quiet Forest, Flowing Stream”- New Chinese Pipa Music by Gao Hong
1996
- Received funding through Walker Art Center Community Partnership Fund for performances with Western orchestras and educational workshops administered by International Friendship Through the Performing Arts
- Received funding from the American Composers Forum's Performance Incentive Fund
- Included in The Dictionary of Contemporary Music Notables
- Featured in the book Famous People From Henan Province
1997
- McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians
- Artist Assistance Fellowship from Minnesota State Arts Board
- Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant
- Asian-Pacific Award from Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans
- Composers Commissioning Program Award from American Composers Forum
1998
- Received funding from the American Composers Forum's Performance Incentive Fund
- Included in Peoples' Publishing's Dictionary of Chinese Musicians
2000
- LIN (Leadership Initiatives in Neighborhoods) Grant from The St. Paul Companies
- Commission from Twin Cities Public Television to compose and perform on the soundtrack of six-episode series Made In China.
- Commission from Theater MuMu Performing ArtsMu Performing Arts is a Minneapolis based theater group formed in 1992 by Rick Shiomi, Dong-il Lee, Diane Espaldon, and Martha Johnson. It is composed of Theater Mu, which features stage performances and Mu Daiko, a taiko drumming ensemble...
to compose music for play Song of the Pipa, based on Gao Hong's own life story and the life of Bai Juyi.
2001
- McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians
- Commission from Ragamala Music and Dance Theater for Transposed Heads.
2002
- Commission from Walker Art Center for new works for "Gao Hong and Friends Around the World" concert.
- Emerging Composer Commission from the Jerome Foundation.
2004
- Bush Artist Fellowship for Traditional and Folk Arts
- Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
2005
- Creative Connections (formerly The Meet The Composer Fund) from Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
- Emerging Composer Commission from the Jerome Foundation.
- Subito award from the American Composers Forum
2006
- Creative Connections award from the Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
- Encore award from the American Composers Forum
2007
- The St Paul Listens from the American Composers Forum
- Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant
- Chinese Heritage Foundation Grant
- Cultural Community Partnership Grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board
- Winner of 2007 Essentially Choral reading program by American Composers Forum and VocalEssence
- MetLife Creative Connections Grant from the Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
2008
- McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians
- MetLife Creative Connections Grant from the Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
- Emerging Composer Commission from the Jerome Foundation.
- Subito award from the American Composers Forum
- Awarded an honorary Guest Professor position at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
2009
- Global Connections grant from the Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
- USArtists International grant form the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
2010
- Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
- Student-Faculty Fellows Program from ASIANetwork Freeman Foundation
- Subito award from the American Composers Forum
See also
- PipaPipaThe pipa is a four-stringed 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 ranging from 12–26...