Min Xiao-Fen, classically trained in her native China, has forged a new path for her instrument Pipa. The Village Voice: “Min has taken her ancient Chinese string instrument into the future,” New York Times : “Min has traversed a sweeping musical odyssey.”

Ms. Min’s expressive approach to the four-stringed lute has led to collaborations with such inventive luminaries as Randy Weston, Christian Marclay, DJ Spooky and Björk. She has involved in a project titled “From Harlem to Shanghai and Back”, produced albums, such as “Dim Sum” and “ Mao, Monk and Me.”

In 2017, Min served as artist-in-residence with the Sound of Dragon Society at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and was a guiding artists for the Creative Music Studio in New York.

About the Chinese Pipa

Developed during the Qin Dynasty (222-207 BC), the pipa is a plucked Chinese string instrument. Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the pipa has a pear-shaped wooden body. It has been played for nearly two thousand years in China, and belongs to the plucked category of instruments The name pipa is made up of two Chinese syllables, “pí” and “pa.” These are the two most common ways of playing the instrument. “Pí” is to push the fingers of the right hand from right to left, thus more than one finger can be used at a time striking multiple notes, and “pá” is to pull the thumb of the right hand from left to right, in the opposite direction. By the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), the pipa was one of the most popular instruments and has maintained its appeal in solo as well as chamber genres ever since. The pipa employs a 12-tone chromatic scale and is played upright. It has six inverted frets and up to twenty four bamboo frets. A very difficult instrument to master, there are more than 70 techniques used to play the pipa.