SHENSduo - SHENSduo (2024)

SHENSduo (申思琵琶) is a newly minted California Bay Area group consisting of two award-winning pipa composer/performers, Shenshen Zhang and Sophia Shen, who strive for authenticity and originality by creating genre-blending compositions and improvisations, collaborating with world musicians, and sharing their music and ideas with a global community. The pipa, a classical instrument with roots in central Asia and infused with 2,000 years of Chinese culture, is recognized for technical versatility and unique sound. New compositions and innovative techniques have always played a significant role in pipa culture and SHENSduo is dedicated to the continued exploration of new concepts and undiscovered potential, uninhibited by the established rules of traditional norms.

An award-winning pipa virtuoso, SHENSHEN ZHANG (張 申申) is celebrated on multiple continents for her exquisite tonal qualities and delicate lyric interpretations. For years she has held a vision to explore the potential for pipa duet, hence the inspiration for her compositions in this album. Throughout her career, Shenshen has collaborated with many exceptional artists, including the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, as well as recorded the pipa sound sample library of Apple’s GarageBand App. Shenshen was born in Wenzhou, China and currently lives in Silicon Valley.

Born in Zhangzhou, a small city in southeast China, SOPHIA SHEN (沈 思揚) is an award-winning composer, sound artist, pipa performer and improviser currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through subtle texture and intricate timbre, her music weaves music and sounds into immersive listening experiences. Her works have been performed internationally at music festivals and programs such as SXSW, San Francisco Tape Music Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, BBC Radio, SF Asian Art Museum, Headlands Center for the Arts, Montalvo Arts Center, and EcoSono Institute, among others.