Chinese Guqin playing and Notation

Pei-You Chang

Photographer: Marilyn Wong Gleysteen

Peiyou Chang was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Her musical journey began at age 3 when her father introduced her to the piano. At age 8, she started learning the guzheng but paused her musical pursuits during her college years due to academic pressures. After moving to New York at age 30, she rediscovered her passion for music through the guqin. Since 2000, Peiyou has been playing and studying the guqin, initially learning under Mr. Yuan Jung-Ping. Her style is deeply influenced by Master Wu Zhao-Ji (1908 - 1997) of Suzhou, China.

Peiyou has performed and lectured extensively in New York, London, Japan, Taiwan, and China. Her engagements include presentations at Yale, the Eastman School of Music, Kean University, the China Institute in NYC, Binghamton University, SOAS University of London, and local communities in New York State. Dedicated to guqin music reconstruction, composition, promotion, and performance, she is active in both solo and ensemble formats. She served as the president of the New York Qin Society from 2021 to 2024 and is currently working on her first publication, which focuses on a Ming dynasty qin handbook.

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