Kui Dong‘s music has been performed and commissioned by numerous ensembles and has received honors and prizes from a wide spectrum of prestigious institutions, including being named a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow.

Dong’s compositions span diverse genres and styles that include ballet, orchestral and chamber works, chorus, electro-acoustic music, film scores, multimedia art and free improvisation. Her works written in the US show a unique synthesis of influences from avant-garde experimental, jazz and other ethnic music, and at the same time maintain a profound respect to Western classical music and a deep cultural connection with her roots. She sometimes incorporates theater, as well as Chinese and non-western instruments and musical concepts into contemporary settings.

Dong’s music can be found on four full-length albums: Pangu’s Song (New World Records 2004), Hands Like Waves Unfold (Other Minds Records 2008), Since When Has The Bright Moon Existed (Other Minds Records 2011) and Painted Lights (KARIOS Records, Vienna 2022).

Kui Dong is a professor of Music Composition and served as Department of Music Chair (2018-20) at Dartmouth College. When not writing music, she occasionally performs free improvisation on piano and writes prose fiction. She is currently working on a comic chamber opera titled Hu Tong and a solo cello piece.