This is turning into a notable year for composer-conductor XI Wang, who teaches composition and music theory at Southern Methodist University. In February, the Dallas Symphony presented the world premiere of her YEAR 2020: Concerto for Violin, Trumpet, and Orchestra.
And today, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship — one of 188 people from a pool of almost 3,000 applicants.
Wang has taught at SMU since 2009. She came to the United States from China in 2001 to pursue her graduate studies. A Guggenheim fellowship can award between $30,000 and $45,000. Wang hopes that the money and a leave of absence from SMU will allow her to travel to Tibet for the first time to research the Himalayan country's music and culture.
"I have always had this dream and this desire of learning more about Tibet," she said. "And I feel it just naturally attracts me spiritually. I feel that is a place very pure. And a place I think that for me, very beautiful, therapeutic and exotic."
Tibetan music has already inspired Wang's compositions, including her "Tibet Fantasia" in 2015, a work premiered by the Dallas new music ensemble, Voices of Change.
The new Guggenheim Fellows also include former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith, political writerJonathan Alter and bestselling novelist Emma Straub.
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