Saturday, May 30, 2026
7-9 pm
FREE
Celebrating the Zither: Asian American Identity and Cultural Survival invites audiences into a powerful musical journey with accomplished musicians Shirley Muramoto and Winnie Wong, where tradition becomes resilience and heritage becomes liberation. Through the luminous sounds of the koto and guzheng, this program explores how cultural access is not just preservation—but survival—especially in the wake of histories like Japanese American incarceration and the ongoing shaping of Asian American identity.
Though visually similar, the koto and guzheng carry distinct cultural lineages, each echoing stories of endurance, adaptation, and belonging. In this concert, they meet in collaboration and creative reimagining—bridging past and present, individuality and shared experience.
This is a celebration of multiplicity: of holding many worlds at once, of honoring what makes us unique while finding connection through sound. Through new works, cross-cultural dialogue, and bold reinterpretations, Celebrating the Zither offers a space where music becomes a living testament to identity, memory, and the freedom to define what it means to be Asian-American.
About Shirley Muramoto
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, Koto musician, teacher, band leader, filmmaker, event producer, has played the Japanese koto since a young child under the tutelage of her mother, Kazuko Muramoto. She continued to study traditional Japanese koto and jiuta shamisen music with masters Chikushi Katsuko, Kazue Kudo, and Yoko Gates. Shirley plays the koto in various styles and genres, expanding the repertoire of traditional music through collaborations, arrangements, and compositions.
Based in Oakland, Calif., she received her Shihan koto teaching credential with Yushusho (highest) honors and her Dai Shihan master’s credential from the Chikushi Kai in Japan. This year is her official 50th anniversary since receiving her koto teaching certification. In 2012, the Hokka Nichi Bei Kai inducted Shirley into the Bunka (Japanese cultural arts) Hall of Fame. In that same year, the National Park Service’s Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program awarded her funding for the documentary film “Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the World War II Internment Camps” (2014), culminating her decades-long research on this little-known part of U.S. history.
In 2024, Shirley became one of the artists awarded by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and Mellon Foundation for the inaugural Taproot Fellowship’s recognition of traditional artists and culture bearers across the U.S. in 2024. Shirley continues to talk to students and organizations about the history of music in the WWII camps, and the importance of keeping cultural heritage practices in our lives.
About Winnie Wong
Winnie Wong is a Hong Kong–born, San Francisco–raised guzheng artist who began training at age four under virtuoso Weishan Liu and debuted publicly at five. Deeply rooted in her Chinese heritage, she uses the guzheng not only to preserve tradition but to foster cultural connection and diversity within her community.
Over four decades, Wong has built a distinctive artistic voice that blends Chinese classical and traditional music with jazz, world music, and improvisation. She is the founder of China’s Spirit Music Ensemble, creating a nurturing space for students to develop both technical skill and cultural understanding. Expanding beyond tradition, she performs as principal guzheng soloist with The Ultra World X-tet and collaborates in cross-cultural projects such as the Irish-Chinese duo Willow Stream and Asian zither collaborations.
Wong’s work is defined by storytelling through sound—her compositions weave imagery, emotion, and global influences into immersive musical experiences. Her career reflects a lifelong commitment to bridging cultures, inspiring new generations, and redefining the guzheng as a dynamic, contemporary instrument. She was honored with the “Musician of the Heart” award in 2016 for her cultural impact and artistic dedication.