Daisy Wu

Clinical Assistant Professor of Music/Language
School of Art & Design
Performing Arts Division

Education

  • Bachelor of Music, Music Education, Hunan Normal University, 1997
  • Master of Music, Musicology, Graduate School of Chinese National Academy of Arts, 2005

Biography

Zhongbei (Daisy) Wu is an award-winning Guzheng (or Chinese Zither, a traditional Chinese instrument) artist. She is now a Visiting Associate Professor of Music in the Performing Arts Center of Alfred University, the Director of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University, Daisy is the soloist for the “A Musical Feast” Concert Series and for "MostArts Festival", and she is also the Judge of New York International Chinese Instruments Competition. She has performed in remarkable settings such as China Central Television, Carnegie Hall, the United Nations Headquarters at New York, National Press Club at Washington DC.

 She was previously an Associate Professor of Music and the Director of the Chinese Orchestra in Hunan University of Technology and Business, a member of Chinese Musicians Association, the Judge of National Guzheng Performance Level Examination of China, and the deputy director of the Tianhan traditional Chinese Orchestra of Hunan province, China. She received two ‘National Awards of Excellence in Teaching’ in China in 2004 and 2005 for her teaching achievements.

Daisy is one of the few pioneer professors who teach Chinese instruments as the credit courses at the college in the US. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Alfred University Guzheng Ensemble. Under her instruction, the Alfred University Guzheng Ensemble won Gold Medals in New York Chinese Instruments International Competition in 2016 and 2019.

Daisy is a master of Chinese traditional music and her music deeply rooted in Chinese culture. She continues to do lectures and concerts of Chinese traditional music in numerous universities, libraries, music institutes, and public schools throughout the US and Canada. She is also a master of contemporary music. Daisy has been exploring new directions for Guzheng and combinations with other instruments in a contemporary experimental way. From play jazz to concerto with orchestra; from concretive improvisation to electronic music; she is a dynamic performer and innovator.

Her achievements in music performance and education have received a lot of attention from media both in China and the US, such as the China Daily, World Journal, People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Music Circles, China Press, Buffalo News, and Finger Lakes Times. In February 2015, she accepted the exclusive interview from Sinovision’s “New York Lounge”, the largest U.S. based Chinese language television network.

Courses Taught

  • 26776 Music of the Guzheng
  • 25582 Chamber Music - Guzheng Ensemble

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