Daughter of immigrant parents from Taiwan and East Timor, but born in the United States, Shyu has sung music by innovative musicians such as Sumi Tonooka, Nicole Mitchell, Linda May Han Oh, Anthony Braxton, among others, and performed her own music on international stages including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and festivals worldwide.

She speaks 10 languages and has studied traditional music and dance in Cuba, Taiwan, Brazil, China, South Korea, East Timor, and Indonesia, conducting research that culminated in her 2014 stage production Solo Rites: Seven Breaths, directed by Indonesian filmmaker Garin Nugroho.

Winner of the 2025 Rome Prize, she has been recognized by prestigious institutions such as the Guggenheim Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission. She masters piano, violin, Taiwanese moon lute, erhu, Japanese biwa, and kayagum, among others.