May Zeng.

Violin.

 

  • I loved singing to cartoon tunes all the time as a young child. A singing teacher tried to take me under her wings when I was maybe 6. I reluctantly sang for her a bit in exchange for candy. But when she tried to get me to sing a bit more for more candy, I refused, cried and left - lol. But I continued to sing on my own, largely ungoverned. 

  • Labyrinth was the most incredible thing I've seen in a long time. The hauntingly beautiful composition & production, the interactiveness of it, the movement shared between performers and audience through the maze-like structures inching towards a misunderstood beast, the metaphors invoked, the message. Everything about it captivated me!

  • I like dinosaurs. I could name every type of dinosaur before I could read. I can't anymore though so don't quiz me. 

  • Bach Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin. I realise this seems like a very generic answer, but I always return to them for their solitude and the million different ways you can play them (because he barely put any markings!).

  • I don't dance but I wiggle very happily to Nicola Benedetti's performance of Hootenanny from Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto. Such fun & refreshing music from the violin concerto repertoire!

May Zeng is a Naarm-based violinist, curator and survivor with a focus on new experimental music and interdisciplinary practices. Being continuously enthralled by music yet disillusioned by the vast and immense harm done in its name, May's work and commissions are socially-conscious and narrative-based with the aim of challenging institutional violence in classical music and beyond. 

Her collaborations with composers, sound and visual artists have led to numerous premieres in Australia and abroad, through Buxton Contemporary, 3MBS, Grrl Haus Cinema Berlin, IgniteLAB, Cross St Music Hall, Brunswick Mechanics Institute and New Music Studio Series. An avid chamber musician, May has appeared in chamber music festivals around the world, including the Allegro Vivo Festival, International Akaroa Music Festival and the Mimir Chamber Music Festival.

May holds a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours from the University of Melbourne studying under Dr. Curt Thompson. During her studies, May was a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships including the coveted Kate Flowers Memorial Scholarship which enabled her to take lessons with renowned pedagogues in Germany and Switzerland. She has also benefited from masterclasses with artists such as Tanja Becker-Bender, Danielle Belen, Jun Iwasaki, Stephen Rose, and Elizabeth Layton. 

Together with composer-writer Xiaole Zhan (詹小乐), their duo DUSK MOUTH 名 creates new music that amplifies unheard voices, blending text, sound and their shared Chinese heritage.