To Carnegie Hall & Back

NYO-China’s inaugural season brought together 105 impressive young musicians, selected from a pool of over a thousand applicants, for a residency in Pennsylvania and a concert tour of the United States and China. After two weeks of rehearsals, the ensemble premiered in a sold-out concert presented by Carnegie Hall featuring Music Director of the Seattle Symphony Ludovic Morlot and acclaimed pianist Yuja Wang, before continuing on to perform in Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou with Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist Olga Kern.

 
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Ludovic Morlot

Conductor

Ludovic Morlot is a bright star among a new generation of international conductors, serving as the principal conductor of the Seattle Symphony and a frequent guest conductor of the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. As Music Director of the Seattle Symphony, Morlot won the 2016 GRAMMY Award for “Best Classical Instrumental Solo” for conducting Augustin Hadelich in Dutilleux’s Violin Concerto. Prior to his tenure at the Seattle Symphony, Morlot served as the Conductor-in-Residence at the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) under David Robertson from 2002 to 2004 where he led ONL’s two youth orchestras. Beyond his duties at the Seattle Symphony, Morlot is also the Chair of Orchestral Conducting Studies at the University of Washington.

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Yuja Wang

Soloist (New York)

Widely celebrated as the most exciting pianist working today, Yuja Wang has enraptured sold-out concert halls all around the world. Born in Beijing, Wang started playing the piano at the age of six, and only one year later, enrolled at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In 2001, she was named a Steinway Artist, and in 2002, she began her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music as a personal student of its President Gary Graffman. Among her many accolades, Wang was awarded Artist of the Year by Gilmore Young Artist in 2006, Gramophone Classic FM in 2009, ECHO KLASSIK in 2011, and Musical America in 2017. Her impeccable technique, intelligent interpretation, and indelible star power make Yuja Wang an inspiration to countless young musicians aspiring to play onstage.

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Olga Kern

Soloist (China)

Universally revered within the classical musical world, Olga Kern rapidly ascended into the highest tier of concert pianists by winning two of the instrument’s most prestigious competitions: the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (the first woman to do so in over thirty years). Since then, she has toured across the globe, with especially reliable fans in both her home country of Russia and in the United States where she currently resides. Kern's discography includes her GRAMMY-nominated recordings of Rachmaninoff’s Corelli Variations (2004), Brahms Variations (2007), and Chopin Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3 (2010). In 2016, she launched the Olga Kern International Piano Competition for pianists aged 18 to 32.

 
“If [the performance at Carnegie Hall] was a test run for this new venture, these Chinese musicians scored big.”
— Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times
 
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Carnegie Hall

Alongside pianist Yuja Wang and under the baton of conductor Ludovic Morlot, NYO-China delivered a stunning international premiere for over 2800 concertgoers in Carnegie Hall’s sold-out Stern Auditorium. Among the audience were dignitaries from the Consulate General of China in New York and their guests, faculty and administrators from the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, and the entire National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, which had its own debut on the same stage the previous evening. Hundreds of thousands were also able to watch the concert live through Medici.tv, including so many teachers, parents, and friends of students in the orchestra back in China.

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Beijing Concert Hall

The orchestra commenced its tour of China with a performance at one of the country’s most stunning venues – the Beijing Concert Hall. Now accompanied by Van Cliburn laureate Olga Kern, the orchestra was also honored to be formally introduced by the venerated Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang, who arranged that evening’s encore “Thunder in a Drought.”

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SHOAC Concert Hall

After impressing audiences in Beijing, the orchestra traveled to Shanghai where it performed for nearly 2000 concertgoers at the city’s largest and most highly esteemed concert hall – the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. The ensemble delighted many of Shanghai’s leading figures in arts, education, and diplomacy, not to mention the critics of Xinhua News and People’s Daily.

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SSCAC Grand Theatre

The ensemble concluded its season in the rapidly growing city of Suzhou, performing for audiences at the newly constructed Suzhou Culture and Arts Centre. More than just an obviously emotional end of the tour, the concert also served as a chance for students to inspire hundreds of prospective new musicians invited from primary schools throughout the city.

 

Concert Program

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Zhou Long

The Rhyme of Taigu

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Pyotr TchaikovskY

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor

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Antonín DvoRák

Symphony No. 9 in E Minor

 

Residency

The inaugural residency took place across two weeks in July on the campus of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, several hours outside of New York City in the heart of Poconos. There, students undertook several hours of lessons and rehearsals every day, the former meant to hone the instincts and technique of each individual player, and the latter to prepare the orchestra as a whole for its upcoming tour. Apart from this curriculum, students also had the opportunity to partake in cultural excursions and performance opportunities in nearby cities, not to mention befriend and create music with fellow students from all across China.

 
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Rehearsals at East Stroudsburg

So as to take advantage of their limited time with some of the world’s most accomplished orchestral musicians, students were fully occupied with a demanding regimen of full orchestral rehearsals, sectional rehearsals, private lessons, and a variety of lectures and workshops with guest speakers such as improvisation expert Eugene Friesen and the Juilliard School’s Alexander Technique instructor Lori Schiff. Halfway through the residency, Ludovic Morlot arrived onsite to not just lead the ensemble through rehearsals, but also engage with particular sections required more attention. Despite their busy schedules, students still found time to create their own chamber groups, rehearsing pieces for a recital at the end of the residency.

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Chamber COncert at Yale University

As their first cultural excursion, the orchestra traveled to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut for a private tour of the campus with the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music Robert Blocker. Before the day was through, select students also performed several chamber works during a live streamed recital at the Yale School of Music’s historic Sprague Hall.

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Cultural Exchange & Rehearsal With NYO-USA

Students traveled to Purchase University in New York where the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America was preparing for their own debut at Carnegie Hall in just a few days. Following some fraternizing and a few friendly games of ping-pong, all 225 students from both ensembles gathered on a single stage to perform works from both countries.

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NPR From the ToP With Christopher O'Riley

Just before the residency concluded, NPR decided to pay NYO-China a visit, featuring the ensemble in its own dedicated episode of From the Top with Christopher O’Riley. Within, the orchestra gave listeners a preview of their concert repertoire, and several of the students also spoke with the O’Riley about their experiences growing up as a musician in China.

 

Faculty

Without risking any threat of hyperbole, NYO-China’s inaugural faculty represented one of the most impressive collections of Chinese-speaking musicians ever assembled. Whether they were principal members of exalted international orchestras like the New York Philharmonic or professors at some of the most distinguished conservatories in the world, each faculty offered students the extraordinary opportunity to learn first-hand what skills and mindsets are necessary to become a superior technician of their particular instrument.

JINDONG CAIResident ConductorStanford UniversityProfessor of Conducting

JINDONG CAI

Resident Conductor

Stanford University

Professor of Conducting

QIANG TUCelloNew York PhilharmonicCello

QIANG TU

Cello

New York Philharmonic

Cello

YAOGUANG ZHAIClarinetBaltimore Symphony OrchestraPrincipal Bassoon

YAOGUANG ZHAI

Clarinet

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Principal Bassoon

WEI ZHUTromboneBremen Chamber PhilharmonicPrincipal Trombone

WEI ZHU

Trombone

Bremen Chamber Philharmonic

Principal Trombone

FRANK HUANGViolin INew York PhilharmonicConcertmaster

FRANK HUANG

Violin I

New York Philharmonic

Concertmaster

DAXUN ZHANGDouble BassUniversity of Texas at AustinProfessor of Double Bass

DAXUN ZHANG

Double Bass

University of Texas at Austin

Professor of Double Bass

FEI XIEBassoonBaltimore Symphony OrchestraPrincipal Bassoon

FEI XIE

Bassoon

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Principal Bassoon

HAIYU WANGTubaIndiana UniversityProfessor of Tuba

HAIYU WANG

Tuba

Indiana University

Professor of Tuba

QING LIViolin IIBaltimore Symphony OrchestraPrincipal Second Violin

QING LI

Violin II

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Principal Second Violin

SIBEI WENGFluteMacao OrchestraPrincipal Flute

SIBEI WENG

Flute

Macao Orchestra

Principal Flute

XIAOMING HANFrench HornGerman Radio PhilharmonicPrincipal French Horn

XIAOMING HAN

French Horn

German Radio Philharmonic

Principal French Horn

GERT MORTENSENPercussionRoyal Danish Academy of MusicProfessor of Percussion

GERT MORTENSEN

Percussion

Royal Danish Academy of Music

Professor of Percussion

JAY LIUViolaSan Francisco SymphonyAssociate Principal Viola

JAY LIU

Viola

San Francisco Symphony

Associate Principal Viola

LIANG WANGOboeNew York PhilharmonicPrincipal Oboe

LIANG WANG

Oboe

New York Philharmonic

Principal Oboe

GUANG CHENTrumpetCentral Conservatory of MusicProfessor of Trumpet

GUANG CHEN

Trumpet

Central Conservatory of Music

Professor of Trumpet

JIEYIN WUHarpSan Francisco SymphonyConcert Harpist

JIEYIN WU

Harp

San Francisco Symphony

Concert Harpist