Min Xiao-Fen & Julian Kytasty
Few artists have done more to both honor and reinvent the 2000-year history of the pipa than soloist, vocalist and composer Min Xiao-Fen. Classically trained in her native China, she served as a principal pipa soloist at Nanjing Traditional Music Orchestra and was an in-demand interpreter of traditional music before relocating to the United States and forging a new path for her instrument alongside many of the leading lights in modern jazz, free improvisation, experimental and contemporary classical music. NPR Weekend Edition lauded Ms. Min as “one of the world’s greatest virtuosos” and JazzTimes hailed her as “a pioneer in integrating her ancient instrument with modern jazz and improvised music.” The New York Times raved that her singular work “has traversed a sweeping musical odyssey.” In 2023, Min received a commission from the Smithsonian Institution in 2023 to compose new original soundtracks for Romance of the Fruit Peddler and Romance of the Western Chamber, two historical Chinese silent films from the 1920s, premiered with Middle Eastern percussionist River Guerguerian at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC in May 6,2023.The two scores are being recorded for her album Metta. On March 24, 2024, Metta released and performed with the two films at the Big Ears Festival, also at Leaf Festival on May 10, 2024. GRAMMY U selected her as a mentor for 2023 – 2025. Min’s other notable works include the 2021 album White Lotus, her original score to the 1934 silent film The Goddess, the deeply personal 2017 release Mao, Monk and Me, which explores the music of Thelonious Monk.
Julian Kytasty was born in Detroit, Michigan, in a family of Ukrainian refugees who came to the United States after World War II. He is a third generation bandurist, first learning the instrument from his father and grandfather. In 1980 he moved to New York to become the artistic director of the New York School of Bandura. Since then, his multi-faceted work as a performer, recording artist, composer, teacher, and ensemble leader has redefined the possibilities of his instrument.
Julian Kytasty’s discography ranges from the ancient tradition of Ukraine’s blind epic singers (Songs of Truth, released this year on Smithsonian Folkways) to ventures into free improvisation, world music collaborations, electroacoustic projects, and his own solo instrumental music. Since 1998, he has worked in experimental theater with New York’s Yara Arts Group, contributing as composer, musical performer, and actor to projects including Scythian Stones, Capt. John Smith Goes to Ukraine, and 1917-2017, which won Innovative Theater Awards for Best Original Score and Best Musical. He has also created film music and scores for contemporary puppet theater and dance.
Kytasty first toured Ukraine in 1989-90, performing over 100 concerts as a soloist and with a bandura trio. Through these concerts, bandura compositions and playing styles that were unknown or suppressed in the Soviet Union, but preserved by bandurists in the United States, returned to Ukraine. He continues to find opportunities to share his art and skills with new generations of bandurists around the world, and to make new music. He has traveled to Ukraine many times since independence, performing all over the country as a soloist, in Yara theater projects, and in collaborations with Ukrainian artists. In September 2021, President Zelensky awarded Julian Kytasty the title Honored Artist of Ukraine in a ceremony in New York City.
