Wu Fei's Music Daily

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, How have you all been? Hope you are all having a restful and fun summer or winter! I’m back home in Nashville now after my time in China. It was an amazing trip traveling through several provinces. The absolute highlight was visiting the Jinyun 金韵乐器 Guzheng company in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. Jinyun is one of the most prominent and respected guzheng man...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, Hope you are all having a wonderful summer (or winter)! This composition is my last one until the end of June. I will be traveling with family to China for the summer holidays. It’ll be my children’s first time returning to their birth city, Beijing, since they were a toddler and an infant when we moved to the U.S. in 2015. We are all very excited about seeing...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, I just recorded this Guzheng improvisation in my Nashville studio. It’s nearly 10pm here. Sometimes night time is perfect to clear my brain and unleash the stress from the daytime. Tonight was the night. I’m a big fan of music from India, the Middle East and Central Asia, especially their string instruments and the structure of their compositions. This improvi...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, This new composition was composed and recorded today. I was inspired by the Great Spangled Fritillary resting on the Haas Halo blossom by the creek in the forest in Nashville (photo above). I paused and enjoyed the beauty of these two creatures’ intimate moment. It reminded me of this poem by Su Shi (1037–1101 AD): 苏轼《蝶恋花·记得画屏初会遇》 记得画屏初会遇...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, I composed and recorded this three-track guzheng piece today while it was raining outside in Nashville. It was inspired by the white Haas Halo blooms wild in the west Nashville forest (photo above by me). It fascinates me that the lace-capped blooms and the white flowers are one plant. Each white “petal” is actually a sepal. They look elegant yet can stand thr...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, Hope you all had a restful weekend. Late spring and early summer is among my favorite times in Nashville. The bugs are not fully out yet. Wild fruits are starting to show up in the forest. I ate one wild blackberry on the hill today (photo above). It was still sour, though I loved the strong flavor that only wild fruit can give to your taste buds. It instantly...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, This instrument is the valiha — a tube zither from Madagascar 🇲🇬 I’ve never quite figured out how to hold it comfortably. As a guzheng (古筝) musician and pianist, I’m used to having my fingers free while playing. Today, I finally found a way to play the valiha without having to hold it with my hands. With the birds chirping and my neighbor cutting the lawn in...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, I just did a guzheng improvisation. I was inspired by a small hatched egg I found on my driveway a few days ago (photo above.) While I was improvising, I was wondering what happened to the chick - did the parent bird take it away to hide it? Did the chick leave on its own? Or did a predator break the egg and eat the chick? Hope this piece brings a moment of jo...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, This two-track prepared guzheng night song was recorded today. Last month, I played two concerts at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee in the U.S. It was my third time playing at this amazing festival. Photographer Cora Wagoner took my photos when I debuted at this festival in 2017. Her photos have remained some of my favorite moments in my solo car...

Improvising on a mini valiha, a tube zither from Madagascar. A full size valiha is twice as long. This little one is a gift from my mother-in-law :) Playing the valiha makes me miss Africa. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wufeimusic.substack.com/subscribe

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, Today, I recorded a guzheng solo improvisation inspired by the wild pink azalea in the forest near my home in Nashville. They look innocently beautiful and smell incredible — but here’s the twist: the wild pink azalea is highly toxic to humans and animals, including the honey made from its flowers. This “mad honey” can cause poisoning if consumed. So, as lovel...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, Today, I recorded another piece for valiha and voice—an improvisation. In the past, I’ve talked a bit about the valiha’s history: it’s a tube zither from Madagascar, made from a species of local bamboo, and is considered the country’s national instrument. Recently, I came across a theory that the valiha may have been “inherited from King David,” as part of a l...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, I composed this three-voice guzheng canon. I was inspired by the memory when my ferry passed by the Waitematā Harbor in Auckland, New Zealand ten days ago. These giant metal crane arms looked like three singers to me. The ocean is their concert hall. The reflection is their song. The word canon in a contrapuntal compositional technique where a melody (the "lea...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, How have you been? I’ve just returned home to the U.S. after visiting my family in New Zealand. Thank you for your patience and understanding during my absence — I needed that time to focus on being with my loved ones. The vast ocean has never made our reunions easy, so this trip meant the world to me. On the day I left Auckland, it was my parent-in-laws’ 60th...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, How are you doing, my dear subscribers? Thank you all for your patience and support! I hope you all had a restful and fun weekend! I’ve returned from playing at the Big Ears Music Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had a wonderful time presenting two different concerts during the festival. The photo above is from my first concert — Wu Fei and Shanir Blumenkra...

Friends who are coming to Big Ears this year, I’m playing two concerts at Big Ears Festival 2026 Knoxville, TN • March 27 Friday 5:30PM St. John Cathedral WU FEI + SHANIR EZRA BLUMENKRANZ (oud/gimbri /double bass) • March 28 Saturday 5:45PM First Presbyterian Sanctuary WU FEI’S MOON HUNTER (SOLO) Some day passes are still available though weekend passes are sold out. Passes: bigearsfestival.org Wu...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, Three days ago, after the tornado passed through Nashville, the temperature dropped below zero again. Our crabapple tree had just started blossoming before it hit. I was worried whether the blossoms would be blown off completely by the extreme winds. Then, when the temperature dropped, I worried again that the blossoms would not come out as they did last year...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, I composed and recorded this multi-track guzheng piece today. Last night, I stayed on the Nashville Severe Weather YouTube channel for two hours, watching their live stream of a tornado watch. It’s stormy weather once more in Nashville. A few years ago, my family and I hid in our tornado shelter closet in the middle of the night with helmets on. It was scary....

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, I am super excited to share with you that I am returning to the Big Ears Festival 2026, Knoxville, Tennessee! All the early-bird four-day passes have been sold out. However, there are still other types of passes are available. More pass info is here. * Concert 1: March 27, 5:30pm at St. John Cathedral Wu Fei and Shanir Blumenkranz Wu Fei and Shanir Ezra Blumen...

Friends, If you’re feeling stressed out or tired, I hope this guzheng night song improvisation brings you a moment of calm, even if only temporary. I recorded it yesterday, thinking of the setar (photo below), a traditional Iranian string instrument. The two setars belong to Reza Filsoofi , an Iranian American musician. He recently joined me on stage during my Lunar New Year concert in Nashville,...

Happy new year of the horse! 马年吉祥！ It’s taken a village to make my new year concert happen on February 15th. It was a full house! I want to thank: Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music: * Professors : Isi Miranda, Robbie Fry, Nathan Cheung, Ryan Middagh Guest artists: * Reza Filsoofi, Larissa Maestro, Heather Moulder, Erik Shapnack, Nate Spratford, Miles Buchmann, Lucas Giordano Communi...

Good morning, afternoon, evening, I am floored by the letterpress design by Filipino American artist Heather Moulder. She made the concert poster for my upcoming concert this Sunday. Today’s four-track guzheng piece was inspired by her work (photo below). Her website is: https://www.lordymercy.com/ On Sunday, Heather will be onsite in the lobby of Ingram Hall to give out posters, and she’ll have a...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, I had a rehearsal with talented friends Reza Filsoofi (Persian setar) & Larissa Maestro (cello) both Nashville based. Little Tree is composed by me. It’s my first time to do this trio version. I’m so excited! So many trees fell and broke down during the recent ice storm in Nashville. It feels like so many of our beloved friends are forever gone…Join us in the...

Good morning, afternoon, and evening, Today, I finally resumed my daily practice and recording after the two-week disruption from Nashville’s ice storm. This solo guzheng piece is inspired by two pictures of the same pair of pine trees in my front yard—one taken during the storm, the trees broken and shrouded in ice and snow, and another from today, sunny and restored to normal. The air is full of...

Friends in Nashville, My concert Moon Hunter will be held at Ingram Hall at Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music on Sunday, February 15th, at 3 p.m. Admission is free, thanks to support from the Tennessee Arts Commission. The Ingram Hall lobby will open at 2:00 p.m. for a Lunar New Year celebration featuring cultural exhibits and activity booths—including Chinese Drumming by the Chinese Art...