Plucked instruments
Biography
Hui (Daisy) You studied zheng at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s affiliated secondary school from 1978 to 1983 and then at the conservatory. Her teachers included He Baoquan and Sun Wenyan, and she also received guidance from Cao Zheng, Guo Ying, Ding Boling, Zhou Yanjia, and Zhao Yuzhai, representing northern and southern zheng traditions. She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in 1987 and joined Shanghai Opera as a zheng soloist.
Her awards included first place at the 1986 Shanghai Spring Music Festival, an Excellence Award at a 1989 national Chinese-instrument competition in Beijing, and an Excellence Award in a CCTV zheng competition. Her solo recordings included Temple Bells at Mount Fragrance, High Mountains and Flowing Water, and Fight Against the Typhoon.
After moving to the United States in 1991, she appeared in the annual Bridge and Gate program in San Francisco and joined a Hunan arts delegation’s goodwill performance at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas. Her subsequent collaborations included the Ohlone Symphonic Pops, New Music Works, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and San Francisco World Music Festival, alongside chamber, new-music, and fusion projects.
Beginning in 2004, she taught at Stanford University, where she founded and directed the Stanford Zheng Ensemble and Chinese Music Ensemble. Her professional service also included the Stanford Baipu organization. Beginning in 2022, she taught zheng at the University of California, Berkeley.
Her teaching included university courses, workshops, seminars, ensemble coaching, and individual mentorship. Students under her guidance performed with the North American Elite Youth Orchestra and received awards in domestic and international competitions.
Professional areas
- Zheng performance
- University teaching
- Ensemble direction