Music in the Library: Chinese Guzheng Performance by Ann Yao

In Honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Ann Yao performs cutting-edge interpretations of traditional material on the Guzheng one of China’s most ancient instruments. A five-foot long horizontal plucked zither that typically has 21 strings.

Celebrate Chinese culture through music in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Ann Yao performs cutting-edge interpretations of traditional material on the Guzheng, also known as the, “zheng”, one of China’s most ancient instruments. A five-foot long, horizontal, plucked zither that typically has 21 strings. The zheng is first mentioned in Chinese literature in the third century B.C. Born into a musical family in Shanghai, Ann Yao grew up immersed in traditional Chinese music. Her grandfather’s home was an important gathering place for traditional musicians from many regions of China. Ann was learning the zheng from her aunt and uncle by the age of ten; she developed an interest in and later mastered varied regional styles. She was also influenced by the folk and theatrical styles she learned from the musicians who frequented her grandfather’s house. Ann went on to study zheng at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Upon graduation, she joined Beijing’s Central National Music Ensemble. After moving to the United States in the 1980s, she joined Music from China, an innovative New York City-based ensemble known for contemporary arrangements of traditional material. She now performs in a trio and as a solo artist.

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