DAI WEI is originally from China. Her musical journey navigates in the spaces between east and west, classical and pop, electronic and acoustic, innovation and tradition. She often draws from Eastern philosophy and aesthetics to create works with contemporary resonance and reflects an introspection on how these multidimensional conflicts and tension can create and inhabit worlds of their own. Her artistry is nourished by the Asian and Chinese Ethnic cultures in many different ways. Being an experimental vocalist, she performs herself as a Khoomei throat singer in her recent compositions, through which are filtered by different experiences and backgrounds as a calling that transcends genres, races, and labels.
Described as “impassioned” by The New York Times, “with a striking humanity” by The Washington Post, and "incredibly creative and dynamic" by the Utah Symphony Orchestra, she was awarded CANOA Commission (Composing a New Orchestra Audience) from the American Composer Orchestra Underwood New Music Reading. Her newly composed chamber orchestra Invisible Portals, conducted by Marin Alsop, is premiered at Carnegie Hall in March 2022. Invisible Portals is also be performed by the Michigan Philharmonic in March 2023 and will be premiered by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in October 2023. Wei was featured in The Washington Post’s “22 for 22’: Composers and Performers to Watch this year.”
During a centralized quarantine, she wrote a piece for solo violin and electronics called Song for Shades of Crimson which was dedicated to people who have died from coronavirus. It is premiered by violinist Todd Reynolds at the Bang on a Can 2020 Marathon. She served as a Young Artist Composer-in-Residence at Music from Angel Fire and Composer Fellow at Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong. Other Projects include commissions and collaborations with orchestras and ensembles such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Michigan Philharmonic, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, and Aizuri String Quartet. Her compositions were broadcast by WRTI, Performance Today, WHYY, Shanghai Dragon Television, Radio Television Hong Kong, and Qinghai Television.
Wei was commissioned by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia under the direction of Dirk Brossé for two consecutive years, where she performed herself as the vocalist and premiered at Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. From concert halls to local bars, her music has been performed in various venues and festivals, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royal Festival Hall, Steinmetz Hall, Alex Theatre, People’s Forum, Boomtown Brewery, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, International Computer Music Conference, World Saxophone Congress, and North American Saxophone Alliance.
Wei is currently pursuing her doctorate in Music Composition at Princeton University as a Naumburg Fellow. She holds an Artist Diploma at the Curtis Institute of Music. After she finished her B.A. in Music Composition at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in China, she came to the United States and earned an M.M. in Music Composition at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.