Zihan Wu
Zihan Wu (b.2001) is a Chinese composer and pianist. Her music is often praised for its sophisticated and imaginative crafting of personal soundscapes. Her works have been featured at festivals such as the ECLAT Festival (Stuttgart), Rondò Season (Milan), and CEME Festival (Tel Aviv). She has also been selected as a composition fellow in the Ink Still Wet Composer-Conductor Workshop at the Grafenegg Festival, DeGaetano Composition Institute, Aspen Music Festival, and others.
She has collaborated with renowned orchestras and ensembles such as Orchestra of St. Luke's, Tonkünstler Orchestra, Meitar Ensemble, Divertimento Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Fabrik Quartet, Ensemble Court-Circuit, Impronta Ensemble, Yale Philharmonia, Eastman Musica Nova Ensemble, Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, Ossia New Music Ensemble, and among others with performances across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Her works have received several awards, including First Prize in the Matan Givol International Composers Competition, Winner of the Biennale “Annamaria Strano” Call for Scores, First Prize in the MaestrosVision International Composition Competition, First Prize in the Beijing International Composition Workshop. She is also award recipients of the Impronta Ensemble Composition Competition, Yale Ezra Laderman Prize, Eastman Student Composition Award, Eastman Bernard Rogers Memorial Prize, Louis Lane Prize, among others.
Zihan recently completed her Master of Music in composition at Yale School of Music and holds a Bachelor’s degree in both composition and piano performance from Eastman School of Music. In Fall 2025, she will begin the Konzertexamen study in composition at Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.
Interplays for 3 percussionists by Zihan Wu (2025)
Interplays is a multi-movement theatrical work for percussion trio. The work explores how three performers can operate as a single organism, both visually and sonically. Each movement explores various coordinations between body movements and sound gestures. The rhythm, sound, and gesture grow from the established rules for each movement.
Rooted in the idea that body movement generates and shapes sound, the piece examines how physical articulation gives rise to musical meaning. The performers’ visual actions are not ornamental; they are structurally embedded in the sonic material.
Gesture and sound are interwoven—inseparable in both perception and intention—where articulation emerges from movement, and movement carries musical significance.
Thus, the piece blurs the line between individual and ensemble. This synchronized unity gives rise to an uncanny sense of order, where sound becomes visible, and movement becomes audible.
The piece unfolds in three miniature movements with 2 inserted interlude:
● In the first movement (Puppet), controlled arm gestures—rising and falling—from Performer 1 directly trigger bowing and striking on the vibraphone by Performers 2 and 3, executed simultaneously.
● In the second movement (Echoes in Skin), the gesture/sound relationships established in the first movement are maintained. A new layer of percussive imitation is introduced: bongos and toms echo each other, adding rhythmic and timbral complexity. These elements become new threads of unity.
● In the third movement (High-five), the mallets of Performers 2 and 3 collide mid-air in choreographed “high-five” gestures—sharp, playful extensions of their arms. Performer 1’s shaker claps above the head, echoing this unity, culminating in avivid physical and sonic exclamation of ensemble cohesion.