Bei Bei (Bei Bei He)

The Guzheng is over 2000 years old and belongs to the Asian long zither family. It was used in both folk and court music in ancient China. Falling in love with the 5-foot-tall x 1-foot-wide 21-stringed Chinese instrument at first sight, Bei Bei began playing at the age of seven and received her professional musical training at the Central University of Nationalities in Beijing, China, and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Hong Kong. She also studied Jazz music and improvisation at Fullerton College in California. Bei Bei roots her art in classical music and expands into other styles, combining new with old into creative new expressions, especially in her collaborations with musicians from different genres such as funk, jazz, alternative, electronica, hip-hop, and dance. She is a multi-award winner of many national and international awards. In 2011, she and her music were included in the American college textbook "World Music" by Michael Bakan. In 2015, she was featured as one of The Most Fascinating People of Los Angeles by LA Weekly Magazine. As a studio musician, she recorded for the Sci-fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" and the award-winning video game original score "Revelation" (天谕). As a composer, she composed music and performed for the China Central TV documentary series "Dun Huang," the Chinese movie "Copycat," and the Canon web promo video "Tiger's Heart." She released her debut album "Quiet Your Mind And Listen" in 2006 and her collaborative album "Heart of China" (Universal Music), with Richard Horowitz, in 2008. Her last collaborative album "Into The Wind" with Shawn Lee was released through Ubiquity Records in 2010. As an educator and author, she has published two books "Gu Zheng Sessions Vol.1" and "Bei Bei's Easiest Guzheng Course Book 1" with accompaniment CD and videos. She is the director of Lotus Bud Guzheng Academy in Orange County, California, and business owner of The Guzheng Shop.