A Moving Sound

Shen Don—or "A Moving Sound," as they're known in English—is a Taiwanese-American performance company based in Taipei, Taiwan that fuses Taiwanese, Chinese and neighboring Asian musical ideas in inspired and engaging modern song compositions. Led by husband and wife team Mia Hsieh (vocals) and Scott Prairie (vocals, bass, zhong ruan, gong), the group performs their songs on a combination of Western and Chinese instruments such as the vertically held and bowed erhu and the Chinese guitar known as zhong ruan. The troupe also incorporates elements of traditional and modern dance, courtesy of Hsieh.

A Moving Sound released its first album, Pacu's Trip, in 1994, and returned with a newly re-tooled sound with 1996's Songs Beyond Words. The difference between the two releases is striking, mainly thanks to a newly revamped crew of traditional Taiwanese musicians—Zheng-jun Wu (percussion, erhu, flute) Tang-Hsuan Lo (Erhu), Hua-Zhou Hsieh (guitar, zhong ruan), Hsin-Hai Yang (souna horn), Han-Sheng Hsyu (sheng flute)—who helped hone the ensemble's traditional focus.