Min Xiao-Fen



Pipa player Min Xiao-Fen was a soloist for the famed Nanjing National Music Orchestra. Internationally known for her virtuosity and fluid style, has received high acclaim for her classical, new music and jazz performances. She was featured soloist with the New York City Opera, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the vocal ensemble Chanticleer, the San Diego Symphony and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Min has done solo concerts at the Vienna Music Festival, the Brussels Lute Festival, the Berlin Chinese Music Festival, and the New York Guitar Festival for WNYC-FM’s New Sounds, hosted by John Schaefer. She recorded Khepera (Verve) with pianist Randy Weston and performed at Lincoln Center. Min also recorded Shaolin Ulysses and The Port of Last Resort movie soundtracks composed by John Zorn (Tzadik). She premiered composer Tan Dun’s Peony Pavilion (Sony), an opera with director Peter Sellars. Min’s solo recording, The Moon Rising (Cala), was hailed by BBC Music Magazine as “one of the best CDs of 1998.” Her recording Viper (Avant), improvisations with Derek Bailey, was one of The Wire magazine’s “1999 Albums of the Year.” In 2003, Min performed a pair of Philip Glass’ chamber operas, The Sound of a Voice and Hotel of Dreams, at the Court Theater in Chicago. In December 2003, she was invited by Jazz at Lincoln Center to play a solo set music of Thelonious Monk. In 2004, her piece “The Loneliest Monk” was commissioned and played with Kitchen House Blend at the Kitchen. She was recently invited by The Preservation Hall Jazz Band to play as a special guest. Min is also a founder of Blue Pipa, Inc.

October 29th, 8:00 PM

The Renaissance Society presents:

Min Xiao-Fen (pipa) with Ko Ishikawa (sho)
and Ensemble Noamnesia, directed by Rei Hotoda
performing Works by Wu, Ishikawa, Yuji Takahashi, and others.

Bond Chapel at the University of Chicago
(free concert)