Jen Shyu

Background

About Jen Shyu

Jen Shyu is a vocalist, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, Guggenheim Fellow, Rome Prize Fellow, United States Artists Fellow, Doris Duke Artist, and Fulbright Scholar. Born in Peoria, Illinois, to Taiwanese and East Timorese immigrant parents, her instruments include piano, violin, Taiwanese moon lute, Chinese er hu, Japanese biwa, and Korean gayageum. She’s performed with/sung the music of such musical pioneers as Sumi Tonooka, Nicole Mitchell, Val Jeanty, Ikue Mori, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis, Abigail Washburn, Martha Redbone, Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, Francis Wong, Jon Jang, Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey, Kenny Barron, Reggie Workman, and Bill Frisell. Shyu has performed her own music at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, BAM, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ojai Festival, Ringling International Arts Festival, National Theater of Korea, and more. A Stanford University graduate speaking 11 languages, she’s studied traditional music and dance in Cuba, Taiwan, Brazil, China, Korea, East Timor and Indonesia, conducting extensive research culminating in her stage production Solo Rites: Seven Breaths, directed by renowned Indonesian filmmaker Garin Nugroho. She’s produced eight albums and a single as a leader available on her label, Autumn Geese Records, landing on many best-of lists, including The New York Times, Nation, and NPR. She premiered her last solo work Nine Doors in 2017, kicking off a 50-state U.S. tour. She’s currently touring her third solo production Zero Grasses also commissioned by John Zorn. Brooklyn-based, Shyu with Sara Serpa co-founded Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³), a radical model of mentorship for underrepresented composer-performers worldwide.