News/Select Performances


  • Ying and her "Ping Pong Jazz Band" just finshed their China tour. The band played on Sept 16 at the National Library, and again on Sept 17 at a Jazz Club in Beijing as part of the 2011 Beijing Ninegates International Jazz Festival. The band then toured to Zhengzhou, Henan Province (population: 8 million!), and performed on Sept 19 at the Henan University. Here is a photo slideshow of some of the tour - more news and photos to follow.

  • Recent Radio Interviews:

    Ying's life and music were recently featured in an interview with BBC/PRI's "The World" radio show. Click here to listen to the broadcast.

    Click here to listen to an interview conducted for China Radio International's "The Drive" radio program.


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  • Join Yang Ying for a six healing sounds qigong workshop at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, MA, April 29-May 1, 2011. Six Healing Sounds qigong is a combination of rhythmic meditative breathing, vocal toning, and silent respite. It is one of the most popular and enduring Chinese yogic exercises, with documented references to its practice dating back 1,500 years.

    Ying has composed a program of meditative music that is designed to facilitate learning and deepen Six Healing Sounds practice. Students will learn how to properly "sing" the ancient chanting sounds, and will also receive instruction in traditional static and dynamic qigong, qi massage, and the best acupressure points for enhancing women’s health, raising vitality and balancing the emotions. Register on-line or call Kripalu at 1-866-200-5203.

    Here is a preview of a video of that program. (Click anywhere in the image to start the video. If you have trouble streaming the video, you can also view the video on youtube):


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    Yang Ying is a recent award recipient of the USArtists International grant fund, supported by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in patnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Ying will use this grant award to appear at the Beijing International Nine Gates Jazz festival in Oct 2011.


  • Ying was busy much of last year writing orchestral arrangements of some of her original Blurring Boundaries, Erhu Excursions pieces. Here is a Quicktime movie of one of those pieces:

    (Click in the movie to start/stop. If you have a slower internet connection and the video stream stalls, you can also view this video on Youtube. More orchestral arrangements available soon . . .)

  • March 2010 - Ying is is the subject of an article in the February 2010 issue of Modern Art Asia, a new journal dedicated to the arts of Asia from the eighteenth century to today, presenting postgraduate research from historical perspectives and international news on Asian art.

  • Dec 2009 - John Zielger, music critic for the Duluth News Tribune (see Nov '09 review below) lists Ying twice in his Dec. 31 "Best Music of 2009" year end summary: Best Instrumentalist in Concert ("Bridging continents and cultures, Ying’s touch on her chosen instrument, the erhu (the Chinese violin) was otherworldly") and Best Ensemble ("Yang Ying Ensemble from the Mitchell Auditorium. From all over the country they backed and melded with the erhu beautifully"). Not bad, considering that Ying devoted 2009 largely to orchestral composition and that the Nov. performance in Duluth was her band's only public appearance that year!

  • Nov 2009 - Review: Ying erases Musical, Cultural Differences. The Duluth News Tribune wrote a review after a recent performance of Ying and her band at Mitchell Auditorium:

    "Yang Ying is a gentle giant, and you should know her name. . . She is a revolutionary who is methodically and melodically erasing barriers between countries, between cultures and between ways of thinking. Last night at the Mitchell Auditorium, Ying, with disarming precision and dexterity, took an audience of music enthusiasts on a mind-bending ride that magically melded East and West, ancient and contemporary, and classical and rock ’n’ roll. . .Yang Ying showed Northlanders last night, with compelling mastery of her chosen instrument, just how universal the language of music really is. Read the entire review.


  • Jan 2009 - Ying is again busy in the studio working on several composition projects, including her composition/arrangements of Chinese/Western fusion for Western orchestra.

  • Aug. 30, 2008 - Yang Ying Rocks Planet Arlington. Ying just finished performing at the 3rd annual Planet Arlington World Music Festival in Arlington, Va. Burnette Thompson writes a thoughtful review in his pianojazz.com blog. Below are some photos and video from the show.

    Planet Arlington '08







  • Ying is the subject of the first of the BigMouthGirl podcast interview series showcasing women in music. Check out an interesting audio interview with Ying at http://www.bigmouthgirl.net/.


  • Aug 2009 - Ying played the Mich Womyns Music Festival. Producer Lisa Vogel writes:

    "Yang Ying gave a solo performance at the Opening Celebration that moved tears across the audience. It was a mesmerizing moment, stunning in virtuosity and beautifully vivid in emotional connection."



  • Nov 29, 2007 - Ying just finished a two night appearance with the Charles Neville Quartet at the Blue Note in Manhattan - here are some photos from the Blue Note Blog.

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  • Check out this video of Yang Ying's Oct 17th, 2007 appearance on the PBS Channel WTTW11's Chicago Tonight TV program:

    Here is the Youtube link for that video - you're welcome to leave a comment there!


  • Click on the MySpace logo below to visit Ying's new MySpace page. Feel free to sign up as a friend there and leave a message for Ying. You can also download tracks from the Blurring Boundaries CD, and the MySpace site is the only place where you can download a track (track 5) from Ying's meditation CD Elixir: Music for Moving and Still Meditation.

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  • Check the bio page for a streamed video of Ying playing bass and singing at a Cobra concert in China circa 1990. The beginnings of rock-n-roll in China . . .


  • Aug 4, 2007 - Ying was one of the headliners at the 2007 Riverfolk Music and Arts Festival near Ann Arbor, Michigan. The local newpaper published an interesting article about Ying's background. (The article is on pages 2 and 3 of the linked pdf document.)


  • June 21, 2007 - Ying performed on Chicago Public Television WTTW-11's production of Centerstage. The show's producer commented that Ying's "vituosity goes beyond impressive technical achievement" and that the "expressive power of your playing truly trancends any challenges that might exist for an audience to experience an unfamiliar instrument . . . the audience was deeply moved by your performance." Here's a video of that show, courtesy WTTW:

    Here is the Youtube link for that video - please rate or leave a comment there.


  • Ying is pictured below performing at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA, for the 25th annual "A Tast of China" event.
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    Ying and JanATOC'07
    Performing at Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA. Jan Gyomber is playing percussion with Ying at right.


  • In April Ying and her band gave a Blurring Boundaries concert at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers (pictured below) sat in and offered a phenominal sax solo for 'Round Midnight. The band also improvised to one of Charles' tunes, African Eyes.

    Ying and Charles Neville
    Yang Ying performing at University of MO-Columbia. Charles Neville of the Neville Bros. is sitting in on sax.


  • Yang Ying has been added to the Illinois Artstour Roster, a funding resource for not-for-profit Illinois organizations such as libraries, park districts, arts and community organizations and schools interested in presenting high quality live performances or exhibitions in their communities. Organizations may request between 30-50% of the artist's negotiated fee. Check out the Artstour website, or contact Scott Grubisich via contact information on the booking page for further information.


  • Host Laura Kennedy will interview Ying for a radio spot on NPR affiliate WGLT, to air Saturday, Dec. 30 at 8:34 AM and Sunday, Dec. 31 at 7:34 AM. The one-hour show will feature tracks from Ying's newest CD Blurring Boundaries - Erhu Excursions.


  • Dec. 2, 2006 Ying joined Charles and Aaron Neville on stage at the Bloomington Center for Performing Arts in Bloomington, IL. Read fan reaction to the show at Aaron Neville's web site. One concert attendee rated Ying's performance with Aaron Neville on Ain't No Sunshine as a musical highlight of 2006 in Bloomington-Normal.


  • July, 2006, Ying performed a series of shows at the art gallery and auditorium in Thunder Bay, Canada, as part of a celebration of sport and culture. Oliver Reimer, event chairman, writes that:
    Yang Ying made a powerful impression on everyone. . . She played a program that varied from traditional Chinese folk music to jazz. Her Sanmen Gorge Concerto blew the roof off the Auditorium and brought the audience to its feet. . . I can't say enough about her talent as a musician, brilliance as a performer and her charm and generosity as human being . . . she widened our appreciation of Chinese culture and gave us a gift of music that transcends language barriers and cultural differences . . . her erhu goes straight to the heart.
    Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
    Yang Ying performing in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Derek Oger accompanies on piano. Photo courtesy Peter Puna.


    Music and Healing Seminar at Taste of China Event, Winchester, VA
  • June 28 - July 2, 2006, Ying was one of eleven select faculty members at the 24th annual Taste of China event in Winchester, Virginia. Using music from her CD Elixir-Music for Moving and Still Meditation, she presented a three-hour seminar titled: Music and Healing: Six Healing Sounds Qigong. Pat Rice, Director of the event, noted that her seminar was one of the most popular and well-attended topics and that participants evaluated her presentation as one of the best seminars for the year. Ying also performed at the masters demonstration, where in the words of Ms. Rice ”the audience immediately recognized the world-class quality of her performance, with enthusiastic and prolonged applause”. Ying is shown at left teaching the music and healing seminar.
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  • March 4, 2006, Ying performed pieces from her new CD Blurring Boundaries - Erhu Excursions at the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, IL. Director William Butler commented that, ". . . joined by the equally amazing Chin Fei Chan on flute and piano and Matt Stewart on guitar . . . Ying's performance mesmerized the standing-room only crowd."


  • On September 24, 2005, Ying joined Michael Franti and Friends and Goren Ivanovic for Lonely Planet's Passport to the World music event at Park West in Chicago. Joined by Matt Stewart on guitar and Chin Fei Chan on flute and piano, Ying opened the evening with her arrangements of such traditional pieces as Autumn Moon over the Han Palace, Horse Race, and Sanmen Gorge Capriccio. Ying is shown at right improvising with Michael Franti during his set.
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    Ying and Michael