6-wire world music ensemble biography

6-WIRE is inspired by the historical connection between the erhu, the Chinese 2-stringed violin, and the 4-stringed violin – both essential leading instruments in the East and West. As a Chamber Music America grantee with unique instrumentation, the Delaware-based world music ensemble is a site-specific, pioneering American ensemble featuring 8 core members that mix traditional world music with pop, rock and jazz elements. 

Founded and directed by the award-winning violinist, composer and producer Sean Gao, 6-WIRE celebrates diversity in performance, weaves stories and context into their concerts, and transforms how live instrumental music is experienced.

6-WIRE offers the options of performing entirely on acoustic instruments or with their own wireless sound system and cutting-edge electronic sound libraries designed by sound engineers exclusively for the ensemble.  

Ensemble-in-residence at the University of Delaware since 2010, 6-WIRE performs internationally in world music concerts, new music festivals, university concert series,  community concerts, and for TV and outdoor events to fulfill its mission: to promote cultural exchange while attracting new audiences with unique repertoire and sounds from around the world. For the past 15 years, 6-WIRE has been drawing people of all ages to classical and world music concerts. 

6-WIRE’s current concert project, “Conflict Connections”, includes pre/post concert lectures promoting world peace and cultural understanding, bringing artists and musical styles from historically conflicting regions/countries together on stage. Featured collaborators from Iran, Syria, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Afghanistan, the U.S., Korea, and Latin America among others., include many Grammy-winning master musicians and virtuosi such as Sandeep Das (Indian tabla drums), E Shawn Qaissaunee (Afghan dutar lute), Mike Penny (Japanese shamisen lute), Wu Tong (Chinese mouth organ and vocalist), and Chen Zimbalista (Israeli percussionist and conductor) among others. Grammy-winning sound engineer Andreas Meyer produced 6-WIRE’s new Conflict Connections album.