“She's got a gift for adventurous melody and a penchant for layered harmonies” —PopMatters
“I was in a long-distance relationship with music for many years,” jokes songwriter Vienna Teng. “Now we’re finally moving back in together.”
Long-distance, perhaps, but also long-running. In 2002, Teng released her debut album Waking Hour, landing her on NPR’s Weekend Edition, The Late Show with David Letterman, and the top of Amazon’s music charts. More albums followed, including Aims in 2013, which became the first album to win four Independent Music Awards.
A computer science major before she was a recording artist, Teng is a nerd at heart, as comfortable in spreadsheets as the spotlight. She returned to academia in 2010 to study environmental sustainability, which led to a new career working on climate change, energy, and waste issues. In 2022, she launched a “music x climate action” community on Patreon, combining monthly livestream shows and recording studio updates with Zoom climate action sessions, as well as working one-on-one with patrons on their own climate projects.
On the road, she’s started hosting workshops between concerts, bringing members of her audience together to share knowledge and take real steps for climate – events that participants have described as “life-changing,” “rocket fuel,” and “the perfect antidote to despair.” The long-distance phase is over. Now it’s time for communion – and moving forward.