Leon Botstein has been president of Bard College since 1975. An innovative voice in American higher education, he has sought to recast undergraduate liberal arts education in a new model that contributes to the character of culture and public life. He has published widely in the fields of education, music, and history and culture. President Botstein is also music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and Bard’s The Orchestra Now. More information at leonbotstein.com

President Botstein offers opening remarks on Beethoven’s role in society in the first evening of the 2020 China Now Music Festival, ‘China’s Sage of Music.’

Artistic Director, China Now Music Festival

Conductor Jindong Cai is director of the US-China Music Institute, professor of music and arts at Bard College, and associate conductor of The Orchestra Now. Over his 30-year career in the United States, Cai has established himself as an active and dynamic conductor, scholar of Western classical music in China, and leading advocate of music from across Asia. Cai founded the US-China Music Institute at the Bard Conservatory in 2017 and created the Institute’s the annual China Now Music Festival in the following year. In its first two seasons, China Now presented new works by some of the most important Chinese composers of our time, with concerts performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Bard’s Fisher Center, and Stanford University.

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Dean, Bard College Conservatory of Music

The world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun, has made an indelible mark on the world’s music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions. A winner of today’s most prestigious honors including the Grammy Award, Oscar/Academy Award, Grawemeyer Award, Bach Prize, Shostakovich Award, and most recently Italy’s Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement, Tan Dun’s music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. In 2019, Tan Dun was appointed dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music. As dean, Tan Dun will further demonstrate music’s extraordinary ability to transform lives and guide the Conservatory in fulfilling its mission of understanding music’s connection to history, art, culture, and society. Read more at http://tandun.com

The China Now Music Festival is thrilled to be presenting Tan Dun’s Internet Symphony No. 1 (Eroica) in the ‘Beethoven Made in China’ program on Dec 13, performed by the You Tube Symphony Orchestra.

Cao Peng is one of the most distinguished conductors in China. He was born in Jiangyin, Jiangsu in 1925. In 1946, he entered the Arts Department of Shandong University. In 1950 he was principal conductor of both the Shanghai Film Studio Orchestra and the Beijing Film Studio Orchestra. In 1955, he went to Russia to study at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under the celebrated conductor Leo Ginsberg. Cao Peng was appointed resident conductor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra after his return in 1961. He is now artistic director and principal conductor of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, artistic director of the Marco Polo Symphony Orchestra, music advisor and resident conductor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and music director and principal conductor of the Shanghai Chamber Orchestra.

Can is also conductor and artistic director of the Shanghai Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, whose performance of the final movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is featured in the opening evening of the China Now Music Festival, China’s Sage of Music, on Dec 11.

Hailed by The New York Times as “the most powerful figure in China’s classical music scene,” the conductor and impresario Yu Long has devoted his illustrious career to steering China’s growing connection to classical music while familiarizing international audiences with the country’s most eminent musicians and composers. From north to south, Maestro Yu currently holds the top position in China’s three most prominent orchestras—Artistic Director of the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing and Music Director of both the Shanghai and Guangzhou symphony orchestras—as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He is co-director of Shanghai’s Music in the Summer Air festival and Chair of the Artistic Committee of the Beijing Music Festival, an annual autumn event that he founded in 1998 and served as Artistic Director until 2018. He is currently Vice President of the China Musicians Association and Chairman of its recently established League of China Orchestras. Read more.

For the 2020 China Now Music Festival, Maestro Yu has generously contributed numerous performances of Beethoven works by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under his baton.

Lü Jia is Artistic Director of Music of National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), and Music Director of China NCPA Orchestra, and Music Director & Chief Conductor of the Macao Orchestra, prior to which he has acted as Music Director of the Verona Opera House, Italy, and Artistic Director of the Santa Cruz De Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, Spain.

Maestro Lü has conducted in as many as 2000 music concerts and operas in Europe and the United States. As the first Asian conductor assuming the director position in a national opera house of Italy, he is been proclaimed as "a conductor who has a deeper understanding of Italian operas than Italians" by Italian music commentators. In 2007, he was awarded "The President Cup" by the Italian President for his exceptional contribution and outstanding achievements in Italy, followed by the acclaim "Best Opera" of Europe for the La gazza ladra that he conducted in the "Rossini Opera Festival" held at Rossini's hometown Pesaro.

Maestro Lü conducts the China NCPA Orchestra in the closing event of the China Now Music Festival, Egmont in China, on Dec 18.

Born in Beijing in 1957, composer Julian Yu studied at China’s Central Conservatory of Music, where he later taught, and at the Tokyo College of Music with Joji Yuasa and Schin-Ichiro Ikebe. Later he was a Composition Fellow at Tanglewood, where he studied with Hans Werner Henze and Oliver Knussen and was highly praised by Leonard Bernstein. He migrated to Australia in 1985.

Important commissions include Ensemble InterContemporain, the 2000 BBC Proms, and the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In 2011 he was Theme Composer at the Suntory Hall Summer Festival in Tokyo. Awards for composition include the 1988 Koussevitzky Tanglewood Composition Prize; the inaugural and consecutive Paul Lowin Orchestral Prizes of 1991 and 1994; and the Albert H. Maggs Composition Awards of 1988 and 2015.

His work, mostly for orchestra, is frequently performed in Australia and internationally. A free-lance composer, he is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Melbourne.

Yu’s Beethoven Variations, performed by the Shanghai Symphony, will be featured in the China Now Music Festival Dec 13 event ‘Beethoven in Chinese.’

Recognized as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso, Wu Man is a soloist, educator and composer who gives her lute-like instrument—which has a history of more than 2,000 years in China—a new role in both traditional and contemporary music. Wu Man has premiered hundreds of new works for the pipa, while spearheading multimedia projects to both preserve and create global awareness of China’s ancient musical traditions. Projects she has initiated have resulted in the pipa finding a place in new solo and quartet works, concertos, opera, chamber, electronic, and jazz music as well as in theater productions, film, dance, and collaborations with visual artists. Read more at wumanpipa.org

Wu Man is artistic advisor to the US-China Music Institute, offering master classes in Chinese music and improvisation at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. For the China Now Music Festival, she has adapted a Beethoven piece originally written for mandolin and harpsichord, which she will play on the pipa with harp accompaniment during the ‘Beethoven Made in China’ program on December 13.

As the winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2007, Shenyang was immediately propelled into the spotlight with an array of international engagements including debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich and Washington National Opera. A decade on, this Chinese Bass-baritone has established himself as one of the finest voices of his generation, has amassed an expansive repertoire for both the opera and concert stages, and enjoys enduring relationships with a wide range of today’s pre-eminent conductors. Read more at shenyang-music.com

For the ‘Beethoven Made in China’ program on Dec 13, Shenyang will perform traditional Chinese ‘school songs’ which were composed using tunes from Beethoven during the early 20th Century. Shenyang will also serve as the evening’s co-host. Shenyang also performs during the Dec 15 program ‘Shanghai Symphony: Night of Beethoven.’

Ning Feng is recognized internationally as an artist of great lyricism, innate musicality, and stunning virtuosity. Blessed with an impeccable technique and a silken tone, his palette of colors ranges from intimate delicacy to a ferocious intensity. The Berlin-based Chinese violinist performs across the globe with major orchestras and conductors, in recital and chamber concerts.

Recent successes for Ning Feng have included a return to Budapest Festival Orchestra; tours with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden to Europe, Asia and Australia; a tour to China with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Lawrence Foster as well as successful debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Xian Zhang, National Symphony Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Simone Young.

As Artist in Residence of the 2020-21 Shanghai Symphony concert season, Ning Feng performs the Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major during the China Now Music Festival’s ‘Shanghai Symphony: Night of Beethoven’ on Dec 15.

Soprano Song Yuanming obtained her Graduate Artist Diploma and Double Master’s Degrees in "Opera and Light Opera" and "Art Songs and Cantata" at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, under the tutelage of Professor Franz Lukasovsky.

Song has won several awards including the first prize at the 48th Concours International de Chant de La Ville de Toulouse and the first prize and the award of "Best Singer" at the 44th Antonín Dvořák International Vocal Competition in Czech Republic. She has performed at Schlosstheater Schönbrunn, Grazer Opera House, Karlovy Vary Opera House, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Buenos Aires Teatro, China National Centre for the Performing Arts and Salzburger Festspiele, and has worked with Wiener Philharmoniker and the Philadelphia Orchestra as well as renowned conductors including Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Song’s lovely voice will grace the China Now Music Festival Dec 18 performance of Beethoven’s Egmont by the China NCPA Orchestra.

An actor who has performed widely in China on the stage, and in film and television, Sun Qiang brings his signature voice full of dramatic tension as narrator in the NCPA production of Beethoven’s Egmont, which is featured as the closing event of the 2020 China Now Music Festival on Dec 18.

Originally from Shenyang, China, Wu Weiqiao began studying at the Central Conservatory of Music in China at the age of ten with Xiaoshao Huang. His passion for performance led him to study with Markus Placci at The Boston Conservatory, and he is now a member of The Orchestra Now. He has played in the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra under Conductor Benjamin Zander and performed as a soloist with the Chichibu International Music Festival Orchestra and the Boston Conservatory String Ensemble. He was the winner of 2014 and 2015 Boston Conservatory String Competitions and has appeared as concertmaster at The Boston Conservatory, National Orchestra Institute and Tanglewood Music Center orchestra under Conductor Andris Nelsons in 2017 and 2018.

Mr. Wu performs Beethoven’s ‘Spring’ Sonata for violin, opus 24, for the opening concert of the 2020 China Now Music Festival on Dec 11, ‘China’s Sage of Music.’

Young ruan performer Xue Miao began her musical education studying piano at the age of four years old. A great admirer of Chinese traditional culture, she has specialized in ruan performance since the age of nine, studying with Zhang Xinhua and Xu Yang, a professor at the Central Conservatory of Music. Xue has won the first prize in major competitions such as the Wenhua Prize, the Youth National Instrumental Music Competition, the fourth International Chinese instrumental Music Competition in Hong Kong, and the Singapore International Huale Competition, among others.

Xue has held eight individual solo concerts and published five CD and DVD albums. She is currently the youngest ruan performer in cooperation with professional orchestras in China, including the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and more.

Xue Miao will be performing a piece by Beethoven originally written for the mandolin, which has been especially adapted to be performed on the traditional Chinese ruan for the 2020 China Now Music Festival. Her elegant performance will be featured in the Dec 13 program ‘Beethoven Made in China.’

Daniella Travaglione, age 13, of Rhinebeck, New York, is a student of Bard College Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division. Daniella has been studying piano since age six and voice since age seven. She has consistently been selected by judges of Bard Preparatory Division for the biennial Honors Recitals for both piano and voice. In 2019, Daniella was selected to perform as the child vocal soloist at the world premiere of Men of Iron and Golden Spikes by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long at Carnegie Hall. She was a second-prize winner of American Protege Competition for piano four-hands and performed in the winners recital at Carnegie Hall. In addition, Daniella has performed numerous times at Steinway Hall. As a member of the Bard Preparatory Division Chorus, she participated in the Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 concert at Fisher Center.

Daniella is home-schooled. Her favorite subjects are History and English. During her free time, Daniella enjoys reading, cooking, tennis, golfing and watching old-time movies.

Daniella again graces the stage of the China Now Music Festival, this year performing two ‘school songs’ in Chinese, set to Beethoven’s classic melodies in the Dec 13 program ‘Beethoven Made in Chinese.’

Julie Smith Phillips, appointed Principal Harpist of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra in 2007, is one of the most prominent American harpists today, performing as both an orchestral musician and concert artist. Internationally recognized for her performing style and diverse repertoire, Ms. Phillips’ playing has been described as “precise” and “luminous” (American Record Guide), “musically polished” (Hartford Courant) with “spectacular results” (San Diego Story). Equally experienced as a chamber and orchestral musician, Ms. Phillips collaborates with renowned musicians across the country. Prior to her post in San Diego, she served as Acting Principal Harpist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (2006-07) and Principal Harpist for the New World Symphony Orchestra (2004-06).

Ms. Phillips performs with pipa virtuoso Wu Man in the China Now Music Festival program ‘Beethoven Made in China’ on Dec 13, in a piece originally written for mandolin and harpsichord and adapted for the festival to be played on pipa and harp.

Russian-born pianist Diana Borshcheva started her career nearly 15 years ago. Ms. Borshcheva won several competitions in Russia and Europe, among them the International Piano Competition in Gorizia (Grand Prix), Moscow Virtuoso Competition (First Prize), and International Piano Competition by S. Moniuszko (First Award) before she moved to the USA. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Solo Performance from Longy School of Music of Bard College in 2016, and Master of Music Degree in both Solo and Collaborative Piano from Cleveland Institute of Music in 2019. She is a current recipient of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Collaborative Piano Fellowship.

For the China Now Music Festival Ms. Borshcheva will accompany violinist Weiqiao Wu in a performance of Beethoven’s Spring Sonata for the Dec 11 program ‘China’s Sage of Music.’

Qi Yiduo is a first-year graduate student of Piano at China’s prestigious Central Conservatory of Music. He studies with Professor Wei Danwen, and previously studied under Professor Zhang Jin and Professor Wang Chun. In recent years he has won high honors at the "Little Admiralty" Piano Competition, the Beijing International Music Festival piano competition, the 5th Shenzhen Open and the 12th Central Conservatory of Music "College Cup" Piano Concerto Competition, among others. He has performed at the National Center for the Performing Arts, Zhongshan Music Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall, Taipei Normal University, Beijing People's University, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Central Conservatory of Music and many others. He has also played piano concertos with conductors Chen Lin and Zhu Qiyuan.

In the 2020 China Now Music Festival, Qi will accompany ruan player Xu Miao in an adaptation of one of Beethoven’s compositions for mandolin and piano, as part of the Dec 13 program ‘Beethoven Made in China.’

Nicholas Platt is one of America’s most distinguished Asia experts. Having worked as both a diplomat in the US Foreign Service and in the non-governmental sector as the president of the Asia Society, he is knowledgeable of both US policy towards Asia and domestic politics within Asia.

After being educated at Harvard College and the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Ambassador Platt began his 34-year Foreign Service career with assignments in Hong Kong (1964-68), Beijing (1973-74) and Tokyo (1974-77), and culminated with service as the US Ambassador to the Philippines (1987-1991) and Pakistan (1991-92). In 1972 he accompanied President Nixon on the historic trip to Beijing that signaled the resumption of relations between the United States and China.

Ambassador Platt joins the panel discussion “Building Bridges through Music” on Dec 17, hosted by Asia Society of Northern California and part of the 2020 China Now Music Festival.

Ms. Zhou Ping is the President of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the executive director of the Shanghai Musician Association. After graduating from Shanghai Normal University Music College, Zhou Ping entered the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) in July 2000, holding the position of archivist, office administrator, assistant general manager, promotion manager and vice president; in December 2014 she was appointed president of the Orchestra.

The Orchestra is determined to ensure the future of great music and throughout the world under Ms. Zhou’s efforts, not only fostered cultural exchange but have also built a bridge between people, orchestras and nations.

For the 2020 China Now Music Festival, Ms. Zhou graciously offers us a history of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in the Dec 15 program “Shanghai Symphony: Night of Beethoven.”

Jennifer Lin is the co-director, producer and writer of the documentary film Beethoven in Beijing. She lived and worked in China for four years as Asia correspondent for The Philadelphia Inquirer. She launched Beethoven in Beijing in 2015 after 31 years at the newspaper. For the film, Lin took four reporting trips to China. An award-winning reporter, Lin is author of two books, including a family memoir, Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal & Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016).

Ms. Lin will join the Dec 17 webinar ‘Building Bridges through Music: Beethoven in Beijing,’ hosted by Asia Society and part of the 2020 China Now Music Festival.

Sheila Melvin is a writer and consultant who focuses on both culture and business. Together with her husband, the conductor Jindong Cai, she is the author of of Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became Chinese, Beethoven in China: How the Great Composer Became an Icon in the People’s Republic, and The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra: Music Connecting Worlds (Sanlian, 2019 limited edition). Ms. Melvin’s writing on the arts in Asia, primarily China, has been published in widely in US and international publications. Ms. Melvin is also a writer for the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Earlier in her career, she spent many years working for the US-China Business Council.

Ms. Melvin will serve as the moderator of the Dec 17 webinar ‘Building Bridges Through Music: Beethoven in Beijing,’ presented as part of the 2020 China Now Music Festival and hosted by Asia Society of North America, where she is also a member of the board.

As CEO of the China NCPA Orchestra, Ren Xiaolong has overseen the orchestra’s growth into a mainstay of Beijing city life. During the disruption of the pandemic, Ren helped to create an innovative new approach to programming so that the orchestra could continue to reach their audience. Said Ren in a recent interview, "The orchestra sailed against the current in the pandemic and via music inspired and connected each other with faith. It is not only a rare re-examination and re-reflection of our responsibilities and mission as an artist but also an opportunity to grow and self-educate."

On Dec 18, Ren Xiaolong joins Maeistro Lü Jia to offer remarks on the landmark production of Beethoven’s complete Egmont on the final evening of the 2020 China Now Music Festival.

Artistic Director: Yu Long

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is one of the earliest and best-known orchestral ensembles of its kind in Asia. Originally known as the Shanghai Public Band, it was renamed the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra in 1922. Notably under the baton of the Italian conductor Mario Paci, the orchestra promoted Western music and trained Chinese young talents very early on in China, and was the first to introduce the first Chinese orchestral music to the public. With a long history of 141 years, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is synonymous with the history of China's symphonic music development. Spanning three different centuries, the Shanghai Symphony has now embraced a new era. The orchestra created a series of musical products, including: the Concert Season, the Shanghai New Year’s Concert, the Spring Festival Concert, and Music in the Summer Air. These performances have not only fostered cultural exchange but have also built a bridge between people, orchestras and nations. Read more at shsymphony.com

The China Now Music Festival is honored to have fostered a close partnership with the Shanghai Symphony for this year’s festival, ‘China and Beethoven.’ Their performance of composer Yu Jingjun’s Beethoven Variations will be featured in the Dec 13 program ‘Beethoven Made in China,’ and on Dec 15 the festival will devote an evening to recent performances by the orchestra in ‘Shanghai Symphony: a Night of Beethoven.’

Music Director: Lü Jia

Conductor Laureate: Chen Zuohuang

China NCPA Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Beijing. Since its founding in 2010, the orchestra has fast established itself as one of the most adventurous and dynamic orchestras in the country and earned an international reputation through extensive performances abroad. For more information, visit en.chncpa.org

In this unpredictable 2020, the NCPAO led by the Music Director LÜ Jia has collaborated with many artists in presenting an online concert series over several months. In November, the NCPAO announced its 2020-21 season after several rounds of adjustments. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Music Director LÜ Jia conducted the NCPAO in Egmont with actor SUN Qiang. NCPAO generously contributed their Egmont performance for the final event of the 2020 China Now Music Festival on Dec 18.

Music Director: Leon Botstein

The Orchestra Now (TŌN) is a group of vibrant young musicians from across the globe who are making orchestral music relevant to 21st-century audiences by sharing their unique personal insights in a welcoming environment. Hand-picked from the world’s leading conservatories—including The Juilliard School, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Royal Conservatory of Brussels, and the Curtis Institute of Music—the members of TŌN are enlightening curious minds by giving on-stage introductions and demonstrations, writing concert notes from the musicians’ perspective, and having one-on-one discussions with patrons during intermissions. Conductor, educator, and music historian Leon Botstein founded TŌN in 2015 as a graduate program at Bard College, where he is also president. The orchestra’s home base is the Frank Gehry-designed Fisher Center at Bard, where they perform multiple concerts each season and take part in the annual Bard Music Festival. Learn more at theorchestranow.org

Having performed major new works by Chinese composers in the first two seasons of the China Now Music Festival, TŌN makes a special contribution this year in the Dec 11 opening event, with a historic representation of the 17-member Peking University Orchestra, active in the 1920’s and the first Chinese orchestra to play Beethoven symphonies.

Music Director: Yannick Nézet-Séguin

The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the world’s preeminent orchestras. It strives to share the transformative power of music with the widest possible audience, and to create joy, connection, and excitement through music in the Philadelphia region, across the country, and around the world. Through innovative programming, robust educational initiatives, and commitment to the community, the ensemble is on a path to create an expansive future for classical music, and to further the place of the arts in an open and democratic society. Read more at philorch.org

The China Now Music Festival is proud to be presenting a special screening of the new documentary film about the orchestra, Beethoven in Beijing: and Orchestra’s Journey on Dec 16. On Dec 17, Asia Society hosts a roundtable discussion with the filmmakers, the orchestra’s executive director, Ryan Fleur, and special guests.

Music Director: Cao Peng

The Shanghai Youth Philharmonic Orchestra was established with the aim of making an “urban cultural name card” for Shanghai, the international metropolis, and its modern education, gathering high-quality resources of arts education in Shanghai, and setting up a high-level platform for orchestral music for students in Shanghai. The renowned artist CAO Peng is the Music Director of the Shanghai Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Principal players from the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and other renowned ensembles, both in China and abroad, act as instructors for all parts. The Shanghai Youth Philharmonic Orchestra participates in the annual Music in the Summer Air Festivai (MISA).

The orchestra’s rousing performance of the final movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony during the 2020 MISA festival will be presented in the opening program of the China Now Music Festival, ‘China’s Sage of Music,’ on Dec 11.

Michael Tilson Thomas, Music Director
Tan Dun, Conductor

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra (www.YouTube.com/Symphony) is the world’s first orchestra selected entirely through auditions online. The project is a collaboration between YouTube, the London Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Grammy Award -winning conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, Academy Award -winning and Olympics composer Tan Dun, world-renowned pianist Lang Lang, and many other classical musicians and leading institutions.

The China Now Music Festival program ‘Beethoven Made in China on Dec 13 presents the orchestra’s performance of Tan Dun’s Internet Symphony No. 1 (Eroica), recorded at Carnegie Hall in 2009.