Shasha Chen (b. 1987) writes instrumental and electro-acoustic concert music. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University under the guidance of Prof. Michael Hersch.
She holds a master's degree in classical composition from Manhattan School of Music where she attended undergraduate studies and accelerated to the graduate program after her sophomore year, studying composition with Dr. Reiko Füting and electronic music with Dr. David Adamcyk. She holds a previous bachelor’s degree from Renmin University of China.
Shasha is also an instrumentalist and an artist. She plays piano, guqin and shakuhachi among others. Shasha is currently cultivating a hybrid form of conceptual composition called “conceptual music theater”. This new form employs broad sound materials, installations, multimedia elements and performance/ performing/ performative approaches to explore possibilities in the boundaries of music composition, performance art and conceptual art, toward a theatrical expression.
Shasha’s music has been performed in the United States, Canada, Netherlands and other countries.
Upcoming Premiers
piano solo piece commissioned by Yi Wang
Recording Workshop with Talea Ensemble
project collaborating with Cairns Studio
Past Events
Exhibition Opening, Jingguan Space, Songjiang, Shanghai, Feb 2022
Online Artist Talk, The Latitude Gallery, New York, Mar 2021
Yi Hu Bai Ying ✖️ No Theater, Shanghai Himalayas Museum, China, Mar 2021
Performer of Performance work ''March 6'' by Artist Xu, Zhen , UCCA Edge, Shanghai, China, May 2021
Touch (Shasha Chen’s recital), Manhattan School of Music, New York, April 26, 2019
Participant Composer in Darmstadt Music Festival, with Martin Schüttler, Isabel Murray, Juliana Hopkins, Pierluigi Billone, Rebecca Saunders, and Johannes Kreidler, Germany, Jul 2018
Guqin Improvisation in Album Aurelius Cloud and Performances with Improvisor Mark Ballyk, Spectrum, Brooklyn, May 2018
Corrosion (for Solo Bass Clarinet), Spectrum, New York, May 2017
Participant Composer and Pianist, Montréal Contemporary Music Lab & Premier of How to Make a Universe at Home, Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Canada, Aug 2017
Shakuhachi Performance with Gagaku Ensemble and Hogaku Ensemble, Columbia University, New York, Apr & Dec 2016
Summer Residency and Exhibition, New York School of Visual Arts, NY, Jun 2016
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