Bright Sheng

Bright Sheng (Chinese: 盛宗亮 pinyin: Shèng Zōngliàng) is a Chinese-American composer, pianist, music teacher and conductor born on December 6, 1955 in Shanghai, China. Before moving to the United States in 1982, he studied the piano at the age of four from his mother. He graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory and went on to continue his education at Queens College and Columbia University. In 1995, he became a part of the faculty at the University of Michigan. Sheng has since then earned many honors for his music and compositions.Most of Sheng's musical career has followed the path of mixing Western cultures and Asian cultures into his pieces, leading his music to be performed in both Asia and the United States, as well as around the world.