Conductor Jindong Cai is the director of the US-China Music Institute, professor of music and arts at Bard College, and associate conductor of Bard’s The Orchestra Now. Before coming to Bard in 2017, Cai was a professor of performance at Stanford University for 14 years. Over the 30 years of his 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.

At Bard, Cai founded the annual China Now Music Festival. In its first four seasons, China Now presented new works by some of the most important Chinese composers of our time, with major concerts performed by The Orchestra Now at Bard’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Stanford University. In 2019, the festival premiered a major new work by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Zhou Long, Men of Iron and the Golden Spike—a symphonic oratorio, in commemoration of the Chinese railroad workers of North America on the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Founded in 2016, Duo Chinoiserie has emerged as an unparalleled musical phenomenon, captivating audiences with their transcendent performances. Spearheaded by the exceptional talents of Chinese guzheng virtuoso Jing Xia and classical guitarist Bin Hu, this duo comprises two highly accomplished musicians who have attained unrivaled acclaim in their professional fields.

Critics and audiences alike have been captivated by Duo Chinoiserie's awe-inspiring performances. Grammy winning guitarist David Russell praises their work as a "moving and impressive combination" that showcases their mastery, profound musicality, and attractive phrasing of melodies. With their resolute global vision, Duo Chinoiserie magnificently weaves together the elegance of the Chinoiserie style, seamlessly blending Eastern and Western cultures through their extraordinary musical interpretations. Their meticulously curated repertoire, boldly handpicked, explores the enchanting dialogue and complementary textures of their instruments, expertly uniting contrasting musical styles into a cohesive and well-defined whole.

Having graced illustrious stages in Spain, China, and the United States, Duo Chinoiserie maintains an active concert schedule, enthralling audiences with their sensational performances. They have been proudly presented by esteemed presenters such as Arizona Arts Live, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, St. Andrew’s Bach Society, Tucson Guitar Society, Qinling International Guitar Festival, and many others. In recognition of their immense talent and creative artistry, Duo Chinoiserie has garnered widespread media attention, with mainstream outlets such as the Arizona Daily Starand Tucson Lifestyle Magazine highlighting their captivating endeavors. Their award-winning debut album, "Chinoiserie: Building New Musical Bridges," released by Navona Records, has received high praise from music critics worldwide, acclaimed as "the most engaging anthology showcasing artistry at the highest level."

Embracing a boundless passion for innovation and the exploration of new musical forms, Duo Chinoiserie warmly welcomes collaborations that seamlessly integrate chamber music into other creative realms of performing arts. Their visionary spirit continues to reshape the landscape of contemporary music, captivating audiences worldwide with their extraordinary talent and unwavering dedication to artistic excellence.

Noted for her “dazzling, virtuoso singing” (Boston Globe), Lucy Fitz Gibbon is a dynamic musician whose repertoire spans the Renaissance to the present. She believes that creating new works and recreating those lost in centuries past makes room for the multiplicity and diversity of voices integral to classical music’s future. As such, Ms. Fitz Gibbon has given modern premieres of rediscovered works by Baroque composers Francesco Sacrati, Barbara Strozzi, and Agostino Agazzari, as well by 20th century composers including Tadeusz Kassern, Moses Milner, and Florence Price. She also works closely with today’s composers, workshopping and premiering works by John Harbison, Katherine Balch, Kate Soper, and Pauline Oliveros, to name just a few. In helping to realize the complexities of music beyond written notes, the experience of working with these composers translates to all music: the commitment to honestly communicate not only the score, but also the underlying intentions of its creator.

Lucy has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Tafelmusik; the Naples Philharmonic; the Albany, Richmond, and Tulsa Symphonies; and the American Symphony Orchestra in her Carnegie Hall debut. As a recitalist Ms. Fitz Gibbon has performed with her husband and collaborative partner, pianist Ryan McCullough, in such venues as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Park Avenue Armory, and Merkin Hall; London’s Wigmore Hall; and Toronto’s Koerner Hall.

A graduate of Yale University, Ms. Fitz Gibbon also holds an artist diploma from The Glenn Gould School and a master’s degree from Bard College Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program. Her principal teachers include Monica Whicher, Edith Bers, and Dawn Upshaw. She has spent summers at the Tanglewood Music Center (2014-2015) and Marlboro Music Festival (2016-2019, 2021-2024) and serves on the faculty of Bard College Conservatory.

For more information, see www.lucyfitzgibbon.com.

Hong Zhenxiang, baritone, is a teacher in the Vocal Opera Department of Xinghai Conservatory of Music, a doctoral student at the Central Conservatory of Music, and a standing member of the Young Singers Academic Committee of the Chinese Association for the Promotion of Traditional Culture. He has studied under Professor Chen Xiao and Professor Liu Yue, a world-renowned bass singer and opera performance artist.

 In 2023, Hong Zhenxiang won the third prize of the "17th International Tchaikovsky Music Competition" (vocal group) and first place in the "2023 China International Vocal Competition" (male vocal group). He was also winner of the Golden Bell Award for Vocal Music (Bel Canto) at the 14th Golden Bell Awards for Chinese Music.

Over many years, he has accumulated a large repertoire with different styles, held many solo concerts, and collaborated with many top conductors in China and overseas. He has performed as the lead in The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Juan, The Bat, Rigoletto, Don Carlo, La Traviata, Carmen, The Wilderness, Farewell to Cambridge, Xinghai Xinghai, Yin Red Kapok, and others. In 2021, he released his solo album "Love", published by China Record Group Co., Ltd.

Shi Lin is a young mezzo-soprano, opera singer, and teacher in the Central Conservatory of Music's Vocal and Opera Department. She graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music's attached middle school and was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music in the same year. She was admitted to the University of Music and Drama of Munich on scholarship. In 2013, she graduated with a double master's degree in Opera Performance and Concert Singing, then enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music in the U.S. and signed as a young soloist of Semper Opera in Dresden and Zurich Opera in Switzerland. Shi was awarded the Gold Prize of the 13th China Music Golden Bell Award, the second prize in the Wenhua Award of the 8th National Vocal Competition of the Ministry of Culture of China, and the first prize in the 4th International Vocal Competition of Gut Immling, Germany.

She has performed at the SemperOper in Dresden, Opera House in Hannover, the Niedersachsen Music Festival, the Champs-Elysees Theater in Paris, the Aix-en-Provence International Music Festival in France, Theater Bern in Switzerland, the Chautauqua International Music Festival, the National Center for the Performing Arts in Warsaw, the National Center for the Performing Arts in China, and more. Lin performed with the world-renowned conductors Christian Thielemann, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Corrado Rovaris, Andreas Spering, Robin Ticciati, Fabio Luisi, Marco Armiliato, and Yu Feng. She has sung in more than 30 classic operas including Madame Butterfly, Cosi fan tutte, La Finta Giardiniera, Le Nozze di Figaro, Werther, Alcina, La Cenerentola, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Rigoletto. She performed in the German drama Exile under Protection and the original English musical The Enchanted Pig. She also performed with the National Theatre and Mariinsky Theatre in Lucia di Lammermoor and in China-tour performances of Dream of the Red Chamber by the San Francisco Opera. She has sung Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Second and Third Symphonies, and Brahms' Alto Rhapsody. Since 2018 she has been teaching at the Vocal Department of the Central Conservatory of Music, China.

Founded in 2015 by conductor and educator Leon Botstein, The Orchestra Now (TŌN) is a graduate program of Bard College that is training the next generation of music professionals to become creative ambassadors of classical music. It offers accomplished young musicians a full-tuition fellowship toward a master’s degree in Curatorial, Critical, and Performance Studies or an advanced certificate in Orchestra Studies. TŌN’s innovative curriculum combines rehearsal, performance, recording, and touring with seminars, masterclasses, professional development workshops, teaching, and more. The members of the orchestra are graduates of the world’s leading conservatories, and hail from countries across North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Many have gone on to have careers in the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Vancouver, and National symphony orchestras; Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia; the United States military bands; and many others.

TŌN performs dozens of concerts a year at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Fisher Center at Bard. Specializing in both familiar and rarely heard repertoire, the orchestra has given numerous New York, U.S., and world premieres, and has performed the work of living composers, including Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, Jonny Greenwood, and Tania León. In 2023, TŌN appeared with Bradley Cooper in the Academy Award-nominated film Maestro, and was featured on the Deutsche Grammophon soundtrack, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The orchestra has performed with many other distinguished guest conductors and soloists, including Leonard Slatkin, Gil Shaham, Neeme Järvi, Stephanie Blythe, Fabio Luisi, Vadim Repin, Joseph Young, Peter Serkin, Naomi Woo, Peter Moore, Tan Dun, and JoAnn Falletta.

TŌN has released several albums on the Hyperion, Sorel Classics, and AVIE labels. May 2024’s The Lost Generation includes world-premiere recordings of works by Hugo Kauder, Hans Erich Apostel, and Adolf Busch. Other highlights include rare recordings of Othmar Schoeck’s Lebendig begraben and Bristow’s Arcadian Symphony, and the soundtrack to the motion picture Forte. Recordings of TŌN’s live concerts from the Fisher Center can be heard regularly on Classical WMHT-FM and WWFM The Classical Network, and the orchestra has appeared over 100 times on Performance Today, broadcast nationwide. Learn more at ton.bard.edu

The Bard East/West Ensemble is a dynamic and original music group that brings together the essence of Chinese and Western soundscapes to create a new model of cross-cultural performance.  The ensemble’s founder and artistic director, Jindong Cai, has devoted his career as an orchestra conductor and educator to advocate for the development of Chinese music in the West. The Bard East/West Ensemble appeared at the renowned Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 2022, and on the stage of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City in 2023. A second highly successful tour to Washington D.C. in late 2023 brought them to performances at the Chinese Embassy and the University of Maryland. The group has collaborated with world-class solo artists including winds virtuoso Guo Yazhi and pipa virtuoso Wu Man.

The ensemble aims to combine Eastern and Western musical traditions, and is committed to performing arrangements and original works with unique instrumentation, thereby creating a new realm of musical expression. The core members of the orchestra are composed of a Western string quintet and seven Chinese instruments including dizi, erhu, pipa, ruan, suona, guzheng and sheng, as well as Chinese and Western percussionists.

The China Now Chamber Ensemble is comprised of some of the most talented young musicians in the Bard College Conservatory of Music, where students pursue either a rigorous 5-year undergraduate double-degree in music and another field in the liberal arts, or an intensive 2-year master of music focusing on professional training at the highest level. The Bard Conservatory aims to teach the whole musician, fostering a love of learning and a broad world-view for the professional musicians of tomorrow. The current dean of the conservatory, famed composer and conductor Tan Dun, and Conservatory director Frank Corliss, a pianist with a career spanning both education and performance, uphold the highest standards of excellence in both musicianship and scholarship. The music director of the China Now Chamber Ensemble is conductor Jindong Cai, director of the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music. Through Cai’s dedication to bringing a knowledge and appreciation of Chinese music to the West, the China Now Chamber Orchestra performs new works by contemporary Chinese composers at major venues in New York City during the China Now Music Festival.