JIALING

Janie Shih or Jay/JiaLing (assimilated named) is an interdisciplinary artist who combines analog and digital instruments to create music, video, performances and interactive experiences. 

Shih was born in Baltimore, MD to parents working in science and medicine. Raised by her grandparents who immigrated to the United States from Taiwan in the 90’s, she grew up with multicultural influences, speaking Mandarin at home and English in school. 

Beginning her music education at the Peabody Institute from an early age, Shih continued to study cello performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY under a scholarship. Jay left for a hiatus from classical music in 2015, but continued to perform with the cello outside of the genre, musically and functionally. Graduating with a BFA in Fine Arts, her interdisciplinary background in visual arts, photography, sound, coding and film has influenced multimedia collaborations and projects. 

In 2019, Shih collaborated with Morrison Gong on “Phoenix Lament”, an expanded cinema performance focusing on thematic connections between marriage, shame, denial and oppression within both Eastern and Western cultures. Shih composed a 15 minute long soundtrack for the performance, reconstructing samples from American and Chinese movies referencing marginalized female characters seeking liberation. Collaging experiences with media, Shih wrote and directed a narrative music video “Amor Fati” for her track “Cello Techno No.1”, experimenting with forms of interpretation and methods of storytelling through a personal trauma. Jay is interested in creating more immersive and interactive projects addressing technology, cultural standards and race.  

Shih has performed at venues ranging from concert halls, clubs, bars. Currently based out of Tel Aviv, Shih frequently visits Baltimore, New York and Taipei to perform and see family.