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Biography
Infobox musical artist | | name = Vienna Teng| image = Vienna Teng - Joe's Pub NYC 4-7-07 Photo by Anthony Pepitone.jpg|| caption = Teng performing at Joe's Pub in 2007.| image_size = 250| landscape = yes| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Cynthia Yih Shihcite journal|url= http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2003/novdec/show/noteworthy.html|title=NOTEWORTHY: Changing Her Tune|journal=STANFORD Magazine |date=November/December 2003|first=Summer |last=Moore http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-0612110136dec11,1,1818892.story? coll=chi-ent_music-hed Topic Galleries – chicagotribune.com (zh|c=linktext|?|?|?|p=Shi Yìxin)| alias =| birth_date = Birth date and age|1978|10|03|birth_place = Saratoga, California , U.S.| death_date =| instrument = Vocals , piano , guitar | genre = Folk music|Folk , Pop music|pop , indie folk , chamber pop | occupation = Singer-Songwriter | years_active = 2003–present| label = Virt Records|Virt , Rounder Records|Rounder | associated_acts =| website = http://viennateng.com/ viennateng.com Cynthia Yih Shih (b. October 3, 1978, Saratoga, California ), better known by her stage name Vienna Teng , is a Taiwanese American pianist and singer-songwriter based in Ann Arbor, Michigan . Teng has released four studio album s: Waking Hour (album)|Waking Hour (2002), Warm Strangers (2004), Dreaming Through the Noise (2006), and Inland Territory (2009). She has also released one live album, The Moment Always Vanishing (2009), on which she is double-billed with her percussionist, Alex Wong.
Teng's musical style incorporates folk music|folk , pop music|pop , classical piano, and a cappella . She uses piano as her primary instrument and writes lyrics with emotion, narrative, and personal history.
Career
Teng took her stage name "Vienna" from the Vienna|capital city of Austria . A native of Saratoga, California , she began playing classical piano at age 5. While pursuing a degree in computer science at Stanford University , Teng joined the Stanford Harmonics , a student-run a cappella group. cite web|url= http://www.stanfordharmonics.com/alumni|title=Alums|work=Harmonics Alums|accessdate=2007-05-14 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070928100558/ http://www.stanfordharmonics.com/alumni |archivedate = 2007-09-28 She began recording her compositions at the studios in Stanford's CCRMA|Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) , intending to distribute her music on campus. Many of these recordings were eventually released in her debut album Waking Hour . After graduating in 2000, Teng worked as a software engineering|software engineer for Cisco Systems in San Jose, but she continued to write music and perform in her free time. In 2002, Teng signed with Virt Records and quit Cisco Systems to focus on her musical career. Teng's first major national exposure was on National Public Radio 's Weekend Edition in January 2003, followed shortly thereafter by CBS 's Late Show with David Letterman . She has since made appearances on the CBS Saturday Early Show , CNN 's NewsNight with Aaron Brown and The Wayne Brady Show , and opened concerts for Joan Baez , Shawn Colvin , Joan Osborne , India.Arie , Brandi Carlile , Sarah Harmer and Marc Cohn . Her first album, Waking Hour , peaked at #5 on the Amazon.com bestseller list; her second album, Warm Strangers , reached as high as #2.Cite web|url= http://v1.viennateng.com/info/news.html|title=Vienna Teng – News | accessdate= 2006-12-02 | year=2003Cite web|url= http://www.rounder.com/? id=bio.php& musicalGroupId=7629| title=Rounder Records – Vienna Teng – Bio | accessdate= 2006-12-02 In 2006, Teng signed with Rounder Records|Zoë/Rounder .Cite web|url= http://www.rounder.com/index.php? id=news.php& newsId=539|title=Zoë/Rounder Records Signs Vienna Teng | accessdate= 2006-12-02 Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot
Her fourth album, Inland Territory, won the ninth annual The Independent Music Awards|Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Album.Cite web|url= http://www.independentmusicawards.com/imanominee/9th/Album/Folk-Singer-Songwriter|title=Album Nominees : 9th Annual Independent Music Awards | accessdate= 2010-08-21
In 2010, Teng announced to her fans that she had been accepted into the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan . Through the program, she will receive an MBA from the Ross School of Business and an MS from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment|School of Natural Resources and Environment . Teng continues to perform and compose music, although she does not tour as frequently as she had before enrolling.
Cultural influence on music
Although nearly all of Teng's recordings are in English, Warm Strangers features a hidden track|hidden cover of " Green Island Serenade ," a 1950's Taiwanese classic by Teresa Teng performed in Standard Mandarin|Mandarin Chinese . Teng has also stated live that the lyrics to "Grandmother Song" from Inland Territory are nearly a verbatim translation of a lecture Teng received from her Mandarin-speaking grandmother, voicing her disapproval of Teng's career choice.
Discography
2001 in music|2001 : Waking Hour – self-produced
2002 in music|2002 : Waking Hour (album)|Waking Hour – Virt Records
2004 in music|2004 : Warm Strangers – Virt Records
2006 in music|2006 : Dreaming Through the Noise – Rounder Records|Zoë/Rounder
2009 in music|2009 : Inland Territory – Rounder Records|Zoë/Rounder
2009: The Moment Always Vanishing – self-produced live album; recorded at Joe's Pub in New York City on December 20 , 2009
http://v1.viennateng.com/ v1.ViennaTeng.com – Vienna Teng's first website (2000–2004)
http://www.warmstrangers.com/ WarmStrangers.com-Unofficial fansite with song anecdotes, a list of unreleased tracks, and a database of live performances.
http://www.archive.org/details/ViennaTeng Vienna Teng collection at the Internet Archive 's live music archive
http://www.therainfarm.com/paradigm3 Paradigm interview – August 2007 interview with Vienna Teng. Located under "Music."
http://www.collectedsounds.com/interviews/intervienna.html Collectedsounds.com – Interview in which Vienna Teng discusses her musical history and influences.
http://www.asiaxpress.com/Articles/2007/sep/vienna/1.html Vienna Teng interview (September 2007) with asiaXpress.com
|date=November 27, 2002 |title=Saratoga Style: Talented local musician plays at Blue Rock Shoot |work=Saratoga News |first=Shari |last=Kaplan |location=Saratoga, California |note=2002 Vienna Teng interview in her hometown of Saratoga, California Persondata | NAME =Teng, Vienna | ALTERNATIVE NAMES =Yih Shih, Cynthia | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American singer | DATE OF BIRTH =1978-10-03 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Saratoga, California , U.S. | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Teng, Vienna Category:1978 births Category:American female singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American musicians of Chinese descent Category:Living people Category:Musicians from California Category:People from Santa Clara County, California Category:Stanford University alumni Category:American musicians of Taiwanese descent Category:American pop singers Category:University of Michigan alumni
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