Gao Hong

Gao Hong (born 1964 in Luoyang, Henan) is a composer and performer of the Chinese pipa (pear-shaped lute).

Gao has lived in the United States since 1994. She performs traditional and modern Chinese music, with her groups Spirit of Nature and Beijing Trio (a different group from the Beijing Trio which includes Max Roach, Jon Jang, and Jiebing Chen). She has also participated in cross-cultural musical collaborations, performing with jazz musicians and musicians from other cultures, including James Newton and Shubhendra Rao.

She is a graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she studied with the pipa master Lin Shicheng, of the Pudong School of pipa playing.She later became a pipa soloist for the Beijing Song and Dance Troupe.

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Gao Hong's father was sent to a rural area of China, due to his criticism of the Mao Zedong and the Chinese government. Her mother, being highly concerned about her future, took her to a fortune teller at age 6 to find out what her future would be like. The fortune teller told her that she would be a "flying dragon" (a Chinese nickname given to people who travel all over and never settle down, which is also the name of one of her compositions). When she was 12 years old she became a professional pipa player and was already traveling throughout China to perform in concerts and different shows.

In 1994 Gao gave a 10-city tour of the United States and eventually settled in Minnesota. She is currently on the music faculty of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she teaches Chinese instruments and is the director of Carleton Chinese Music Ensemble. She lives with her husband and daughter in Northfield, Minnesota.

• Hunting Eagles Catching Swans - Music for Chinese pipa featuring pipa master Lin Shicheng & Gao Hong
• Hui/Gathering - Belladonna Baroque Quartet and Gao Hong
• Flying Dragon - Gao Hong and Friends around world
• Buddhist Temple Music from Beijing - The Beijing Trio.
• First Word" - Speaking In Tongues
• The Spirit of Nature
• A Peacock Southeast Flew - Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra
• Quiet Forest, Flowing Stream”- New Chinese Pipa Music by Gao Hong

"Pipa Potluck - Lutes Around the World" - Gao Hong is joined by an all-star cast of musicians that includes two Grammy winners and master performers on the oud, slack key guitar, banjo, classical guitar and others.

Chinese Pipa Method - published 2016 by Hal Leonard

1984

• First Prize in Hebei Professional Young Music Performers Competition

1989

• Awarded International Art Cup (Beijing)

1996

• Received funding through Walker Art Center Community Partnership Fund for performances with Western orchestras and educational workshops administered by International Friendship Through the Performing Arts
• Received funding from the American Composers Forum's Performance Incentive Fund
• Included in The Dictionary of Contemporary Music Notables
• Featured in the book Famous People From Henan Province

1997

• McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians
• Artist Assistance Fellowship from Minnesota State Arts Board
• Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant
• Asian-Pacific Award from Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans
• Composers Commissioning Program Award from American Composers Forum

1998

• Received funding from the American Composers Forum's Performance Incentive Fund
• Included in Peoples' Publishing's Dictionary of Chinese Musicians

2000

• LIN (Leadership Initiatives in Neighborhoods) Grant from The St. Paul Companies
• Commission from Twin Cities Public Television to compose and perform on the soundtrack of six-episode series Made In China.
• Commission from Theater Mu to compose music for play Song of the Pipa, based on Gao Hong's own life story and the life of Bai Juyi.

2001

• McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians
• Commission from Ragamala Music and Dance Theater for Transposed Heads.

2002

• Commission from Walker Art Center for new works for "Gao Hong and Friends Around the World" concert.
• Emerging Composer Commission from the Jerome Foundation.

2003

• Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant

2004

• Bush Artist Fellowship for Traditional and Folk Arts
• Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board

2005

• Creative Connections (formerly The Meet The Composer Fund) from Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
• Emerging Composer Commission from the Jerome Foundation.
• Subito award from the American Composers Forum

2006

• Creative Connections award from the Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
• Encore award from the American Composers Forum

2007

• The St Paul Listens from the American Composers Forum
• Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant
• Chinese Heritage Foundation Grant
• Cultural Community Partnership Grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board
• Winner of 2007 Essentially Choral reading program by American Composers Forum and VocalEssence
• MetLife Creative Connections Grant from the Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.

2008

• McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians
• MetLife Creative Connections Grant from the Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
• Emerging Composer Commission from the Jerome Foundation.
• Subito award from the American Composers Forum
• Awarded an honorary Guest Professor position at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

2009

• Global Connections grant from the Meet The Composer Inc. in New York.
• USArtists International grant form the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation

2010

• Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
• Student-Faculty Fellows Program from ASIANetwork Freeman Foundation
• Subito award from the American Composers Forum

2011

• USArtists International Grant from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
• Arts Learning Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board

2012

• Winner of the 2012-2013 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians
• Winner of the 2012 Global Music Award's - Award of Excellence
• Arts Tour Minnesota Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
• Folk and Traditional Arts Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board

2013

• Folk and Traditional Arts Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
• Sorel Medallion from the Elizabeth and Michel Sorel Charitable Organization
• Student-Faculty Fellows Program from ASIANetwork Freeman Foundation

2014

• 416 Club Commissions by Cedar Cultural Center
• Artist Initiative Grant from Minnesota State Arts Board

2015

• Arts Learning Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
• Arts Tour Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board

2016

• USArtists International grant form the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
• Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
• "Pipa Potluck - Lutes Around the World" - Winner of the 2016 Global Music Award - Outstanding Album Award

2017

• Arts Tour Minnesota grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board
• Established Artist grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC)
• "Life As Is" -Winner of the 2017 Global Music Award - Outstanding Achievement Award in World Music and Instrumental categories.

2018

• Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board