Bright Sheng

Bright ShengBright Sheng (surname Sheng, born Shèng Zōngliàng, 盛宗亮, in Shanghai, China, December 6, 1955) is a Chinese-American composer, conductor, and pianist. He has lived in the United States since 1982 and is on faculty at the University of Michigan. In 1999, the White House commissioned Sheng to compose a piece to honor the Chinese Premiere Zhu Rongji at a state dinner hosted by Bill Clinton. In November 2001, Sheng received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

Sheng's compositions have been performed by most major American orchestras as well as many European, and Asian orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the China National Symphony. Some of the most notable performers of Sheng's music have included Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Serkin ,Kurt Masur, Emanuel Ax, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, David Zinman, and Neeme Järvi. Sheng's most notable teachers include Leonard Bernstein and Chou Wen-Chung.

Notable compositions
Nanking! Nanking!
Red Silk Dance
Madame Mao, commissioned by and given its world premiere by the Santa Fe Opera in 2003
China Dreams
The Silver River (1997)
Four Movements for Piano Trio
Seven Tunes Heard in China, for Solo Cello