TisF Spends Five Fabulous Minutes with Chihsuan Yang.
Chihsuan Yang began playing the violin at the age of four in her native country, Taiwan. As a versatile musician she performs a broad range of music including contemporary classical, experimental, world, free-improvisation, electro-acoustic, ambient, hip-hop and rock.
Collaborative creation is an integral part of her work, which has led to various projects with composers, dance, theater and visual artists. She has toured throughout the U.S., Taiwan, Australia, Canada, and Mexico.
As an active freelance musician in Chicago, Chihsuan also plays piano, electric violin, erhu (a Chinese fiddle) and Okinawa Sanshin (a Japanese stringed instrument). She is a founding member of the Accende Ensemble, a classical quintet; she is a member of New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago and plays with blues harmonica/piano virtuoso Corky Siegel in his band Chamber Blues.
She has participated in music festivals such as the SLSQ Chamber Music Seminar at Stanford University, Colorado College Chamber Music Festival, Festival de Musica de Camara, Feria de las Artes Sinaloa of Mexico.
Chihsuan's theatrical collaborations include performances with the Lookingglass, Steppenwolf and Natya Dance Theatre Companies. In 2006, Chihsuan participated in the epic Indian musical, Sita Ram, with Lookingglass, Natya Dance Theatre Companies and Grammy-nominated recording artist Jai Uttal. In 2007, she presented the WFMT live broadcast performance of Citizens of the World with Steppenwolf and the Chicago Children's Choir at Millennium Park. In June 2007, Chihsuan performed on the erhu with The Dalai Lama at his public lecture in Millennium Park in Chicago. Other collaborations include: DJ Spooky, Howard Levy of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Harvey Mandel of The Rolling Stones, Barry Goldberg of Bob Dylan, Plaid, and Michael Kang from String Cheese Incident. She has also shared stages with Paul Simon, The Eagles, Shirley King (Daughter of B.B.King), to name a few. In the winter of 2008, Chihsuan performed with Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco at the Congress Theater in Chicago, and toured with Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. Most recently, Chihsuan had a solo performance on the violin, erhu and electric violin with the Youth Symphony of DuPage.Chihsuan's principle teachers were Cyrus Forough, Stefan Hersh, and Ilya Kaler. She holds a Bachelor's degree in violin performance from DePaul University. "
TisF sat down with Chihsuan to ask her about her Fabulous life...
What is your idea of Fabulous?
CY: To love. Let the beauty we love be what we do.
Who is the most Fabulous person you know?
CY: Everyone I meet everyday. but if I really have to pick one, Dalai Lama.
Which Fabulous word do you use most?
CY: I know it's not just one word. but I say "Oh Mang" a lot. that's right. with a "g"
What is your greatest (most Fabulous) extravagance?
CY: My violin
Where would you like or prefer to live your Fabulous life?
CY: Wherever the music is.
What do you consider your greatest (most Fabulous) achievement?
CY: Being a bridge. connecting people, culture, lives...
What is your (Fabulous) motto?
CY: When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be----Lao Tzu
For more information about Chihsuan Yang please visit: http://www.accende.org/index.html & http://www.nmorchestra.org/
Photography by Constance K.
