Faculty

Profile

Award winning pianist Donna Weng Friedman enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, curator, producer and app developer.   Her album Heritage and Harmony: Silver Linings, featuring exclusively AAPI/BIPOC artists, aims to promote understanding and tolerance and combat racism, with all proceeds donated to an organization that supports the AAPI community and fights against racism.  Recorded and released during the pandemic, the album has won two SIlver Medals from Global Music Awards- one for Outstanding Concept and the other for Outstanding Instrumentalists.  This season, Donna is thrilled to be collaborating with Ariel Rivka Dance as Artistic Advisor to share  stories of heritage and harmony through music and dance.

In collaboration with WQXR, Ms. Weng Friedman created and produced Heritage and Harmony, a virtual concert video series in celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month.  She is the co-creator and co-host of HER/MUSIC;HER/STORY, a mini-series on WQXR as well as a concert series that shines a light on women composers, past and present.  She was the guest speaker on TEDx Santa Barbara’s series Making Waves: Conversations with Influencers and Disruptors.

In January and April 2021, Donna was the featured guest artist on the National Women’s History Museum’s series NWHM Presents: Sundays@Home, honoring women whose activism and talents serve to inspire others.  On March 8th, 2022, she is launching a new education program in collaboration with the National Women’s History Museum called Heritage and Harmony: Her Art, Her Voice, featuring leading female BIPOC role models in the arts who share their stories of heritage, their challenges and their triumphs, as they seek to inspire and empower future generations of groundbreaking young women.  

Donna has performed in concert halls worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the 92^nd St. Y and appeared as soloist with major symphony orchestras, including the Atlanta, Philadelphia and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras. An avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Carter Brey, Ani Kavafian, David Shifrin, Elizabeth Mann, Kelly Hall-Tompkins and Anthony McGill.  She has conducted master classes at the Shanghai and Beijing conservatories and is on the faculty of the Mannes School of Music.

The curator of the Donna Weng Friedman '80 Master Class Series at Princeton University, she is also a member of Princeton University Music Department’s Advisory Council as well as the board of directors of Friends of Thirteen and WNET.  Ms. Weng Friedman received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University where she was a University Scholar and a Master of Music Degree from the Juilliard School, under the tutelage of Adele Marcus, where she was awarded the prestigious Gina Bachauer Award as well as the William Petschek Full Scholarship Award. She has had the privilege of working with the great composer/teacher Nadia Boulanger as well as pianist Radu Lupu.

She was the music supervisor and recording artist for the award-winning film documentary “Frames of Life” as well as for the documentaries “Living Liberty” and “Morris Engle: The Independent”.  Ms. Weng Friedman created “The Music Bee Club” interactive classical music app series for children ages 2-8 featuring world class musicians, such as cellist Carter Brey and flutist Elizabeth Mann, produced by nineteen-time Grammy Award winner David Frost.

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/donnawengfriedman/heritage-and-harmony-silver-linings

https://www.wqxr.org/story/heritage-harmony/

https://www.wqxr.org/shows/her-music-her-story/

Degrees Held

• B.A. Princeton University
• M.M. The Juilliard School

Professional Affiliation

• Princeton University:  Director of the Donna Weng Friedman '80 Masterclass Series, Music Department
• Advisory Council Member, Princeton University Music Department
• Mannes College of Music: Prep Division, Piano Faculty
• WNET/Friends of THIRTEEN Board of Directors
• Ariel Rivka Dance Artistic Advisor
• Creator/director: Heritage and Harmony in collaboration with WQXR
• Creator/director: Heritage and Harmony: Her Art, Her Voice in collaboration with the NWHM

Recent Publications

• Heritage and Harmony: Silver Linings, an album featuring AAPI/BIPOC artists in support of the AAPI community https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/donnawengfriedman/heritage-and-harmony-silver-linings
• Heritage and Harmony, a virtual concert video series on WQXR featuring classical musicians of Asian descent https://www.wqxr.org/story/heritage-harmony/
• HER/MUSIC;HER/STORY, a 4 part mini series on WQXR - shining a light on the stories and music of women composers https://www.wqxr.org/shows/her-music-her-story/
• HER/MUSIC;HER/STORY commission The Clara Cycle, music by Kim d. Sherman, poems by Royce Flippin
• Featured on WNET Asian Americans of N.Y. and N.J.: https://www.wliw.org/asian-americans-ny-nj/your-stories/donna-weng-friedman/?fbclid=IwAR1JAFKueh-DjL6radDfUo0-XXq4gfDZvrJgpPht2uJUnP4tTDMk8Cx0XmY
• Featured on Metro Focus, an award winning multi-platform magazine covering news, culture and life around New York :https://www.thirteen.org/metrofocus/2020/05/asian-americans-of-new-york-and-new-jersey/#.XrYp1_daqA8.email
• Featured on All Arts:https://allarts.org/2020/05/donna-weng-friedman-heritage-and-harmony/
• The MusicBee Club, interactive classical music apps for children
• The Swan, featuring Carter Brey, cello  and Donna Weng Friedman, piano , David Frost, producer                               
• Flight of the Bumble Bee, featuring Elizabth Mann, flute and Donna Weng Friedman, piano, David Frost, producer 
• HER/MUSIC;HER/STORY as part of the Centennial Celebration at the NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM https://www.womenshistory.org/season-hope?fbclid=IwAR0GJeBF9J3KvsqdCP06sKgZHy-RAnsUXhp8CIpQQy6SI9j5SR_4A-ohD94
• https://music.princeton.edu/events/donna-weng-friedman-%E2%80%9980-master-class-series
• Guest speaker on TEDx Making Waves: https://tedxsantabarbara.com/2020/donna-weng-friedman-pandemic-empowerment-finding-resilience-in-music-and-stories/
• Interview with Classical Archives:https://vlog.classicalarchives.com/2021/04/26/powerful-ways-to-express-our-support-for-our-asian-american-neighbors-and-musicians/
• Interview with DM Life and Business  online Magazine https://www.dmmagazine.org/donna
• Interview with I Care If You Listen:https://icareifyoulisten.com/2021/05/5-questions-to-donna-weng-friedman-pianist/
• BroadwayWorld:https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Pianist-Donna-Weng-Friedman-Releases-New-EP-Heritage-And-Harmony-Silver-Linings-Featuring-AAPIBIPOC-Artists-20210501

Performances and Appearances

Link to my new album Heritage and Harmony: Silver Linings, featuring AAPI/BIPOC artists in support of our AAPI community https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/donnawengfriedman/heritage-and-harmony-silver-linings   A recent Artist's Portrait, where I share stories of  the AAPI artists featured on my album Heritage and Harmony: Silver Linings: https://vimeo.com/541094937   My family story: WNET, Asian Americans of NY and NJ   My appearance on TEDx program Making Waves: https://tedxsantabarbara.com/2020/donna-weng-friedman-pandemic-empowerment-finding-resilience-in-music-and-stories/   wqxr.org - Heritage Harmony - my video series featuring stories and music os leading AAPI musicians

wqxr.org - Her Music Her Story. my radio mini series on WQXR that shines a light on the stories and music of women composers, past and present

New releases on Spotify: Daisies, by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Carter Brey, principal cellist of the NY Philharmonic, Donna Weng Friedman, pianist

The Swan, by Camille Saint-Saens, Carter Brey, principal cellist of the NY Philharmonic, Donna Weng Friedman, pianist - produced by David Frost, 19 time Grammy Award winning producer: https://open.spotify.com/album/1FNzrbdU5PG2xYc1vyEmtU

Research Interests

• Teaching children how to understand and connect with the inherent narrative in classical music.
• Shining a light on under appreciated and over looked women composers, past and present, sharing their stories as well as their music.
• Spotlighting classical musicians of Asian descent performing music by Asian composers, sharing their stories of heritage during a time of increasing racial bias against Asians:https://allarts.org/2020/05/donna-weng-friedman-heritage-and-harmony/

• https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/donnawengfriedman/heritage-and-harmony-silver-linings New album featuring AAPI/BIPOC artists in support of the AAPI community

Awards And Honors

• Princeton University:  University Scholar 1976-1980, Sachs Scholarship Award
• Juilliard School:  Gina Bachauer Piano competition,  William Petschek Full Scholarship Award
• Silver Medal, Global Music Awards 2022 for Outstanding Concept Album, Heritage and Harmony: Silver Linings
• Silver Medal, Global Music Awards 2022 for Outstanding Instrumentalists, Heritage anda Harmony: Silver Linings

Portfolio

wqxr.org - Heritage Harmony

wqxr.org - Her Music Her Story

WNET, Asian Americans of NY and NJ

Princeton University Masterclass Series

NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM