<p><span style="font-family: Arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">Growing up in Southern California, surrounded by diverse cultures and musical traditions, Allison always had a passion for world music and cultures, and devoted herself to studying as many instruments as she could. Beginning with the violin and transitioning to the guitar and mandolin, Allison dedicated herself to developing her musical talent from a young age—this dedication led her to discovering the Erhu, known as the Traditional Chinese violin, at the age of 15. Allison soon devoted her time to studying and practicing Erhu under formal instruction, while also studying Mandarin Chinese language in intensive language and cultural immersion classes; one year later, Allison was placed as a finalist in the ICN 2012 National Talent Competition, and was selected as the only winner from ICN’s top ten finalists as a guest of the Chinese government to perform for CCTV’s 2012 New Year Festival Gala on stage in Beijing. Allison then furthered her Erhu scholarship at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s 2012 Summer Camp for Erhu, and returned to China in the summer of 2013 where she travelled from Shanghai to Qinghai, before returning home to America to begin her undergraduate career at UCLA. As an Ethnomusicology undergraduate, she joined UCLA’s Advanced Music of China Ensemble under the instruction of world-class Erhu performer, Chi Li, who nominated Allison as an applicant for the Beijing Conservatory of Music’s 2014 International Summer Camp with the Royal Danish Academy of Music. Allison attended this program on full merit scholarship, and went on to teach high school English in China over the summer of 2015, becoming a certified TOEFL tutor for OCSEP Academy and an international ambassador and Vice President of Treasurie Jewelry Designs. Currently, Allison is completing her undergraduate degree in Ethnomusicology at UCLA, and continues to develop her Mandarin Chinese fluency while performing as a guest Erhu artist throughout Southern California venues including Royce Hall, the Huntington Gardens, and the Bowers Museum. </span><br></p>