National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO-China) Launches This Saturday, July 22, with International Debut at Carnegie Hall
This Saturday (July 22) marks the international debut of the National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO-China) under Ludovic Morlot at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Scheduled for live webcast on medici.tv, the ensemble’s inaugural program tips its hat to the orchestral traditions of three continents, combining Dvořák’s beloved “New World” Symphony with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring Musical America’s 2017 Artist of the Year Yuja Wang, and The Rhyme of Taigu by Pulitzer-prize-winning Chinese-American composer Zhou Long. After the concert, Morlot and the orchestra – comprised of 105 Chinese citizens aged 14 to 21 years old, chosen from more than 500 applicants by means of a rigorous online audition process – look forward to joining pianist Olga Kern for a tour of China with performances in Beijing, Suzhou, and Shanghai.
NYO-China was founded by three recent Yale College graduates who recognized the opportunities that a program of this kind could generate by observing Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). By providing an international platform for exceptional young Chinese musicians from all economic backgrounds, and by harnessing the unparalleled power of music to transcend geopolitical borders, NYO-China represents cultural diplomacy at its best. Click here to see an introductory video about NYO-China.
The upcoming concert and tour represent the culmination of an intensive two-week, all-expenses-paid training residency at Pennsylvania’s East Stroudsburg University, taking place now. Joining the students for the residency are Grammy Award-winner Morlot, NYO-China’s Artistic Director Jindong Cai, and NYO-China’s suite of teaching artists: 15 Chinese-born musicians recruited from among the world’s leading orchestras – a team that includes concertmaster Frank Huang and principal oboe Liang Wang of the New York Philharmonic (see full listing below). Besides attending rehearsals, master classes, seminars, workshops, chamber readings, and mentorship sessions, the orchestra’s members will record broadcasts for WQXR (July 19) and NPR’s From the Top (July 21), visit the Yale School of Music (July 15), and enjoy invaluable opportunities for cultural exchange with their American counterparts in the NYO-USA. A high point of the residency is NYO-China’s visit to State University of New York, Purchase College, where its members interact and rehearse with NYO-USA (July 16) before attending the American orchestra’s own Carnegie Hall concert (July 21).
High-resolution photos can be downloaded here.
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National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO-China): Inaugural Season
July 8–21
East Stroudsburg University, PA
Training residency with artistic director Jindong Cai, Ludovic Morlot, and teaching artists
- Rehearsals and sectionals
- Alexander Technique Workshop with Juilliard’s Lori Schiff
- Improvisation Workshops with Berklee’s Eugene Friesen
- Cultural excursion to Yale University, including event hosted by Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music Robert Blocker, which will be livestreamed to China (July 15)
- NYO-China travels to SUNY Purchase for cookout and joint rehearsal with NYO-USA (July 16)
- WQXR recording/broadcast (July 19)
- Recording for From the Top at East Stroudsburg University (July 21)
- Students travel to NYC to attend NYO-USA’s concert at Carnegie Hall (July 21)
July 22 at 8pm
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (international debut)
With Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Zhou Long: The Rhyme of Taigu
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Yuja Wang, piano)
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”
July 26–29
Tour of China (all information subject to change)
With Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Zhou Long: The Rhyme of Taigu
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Olga Kern, piano)
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”
July 26: Beijing
July 28: Shanghai
July 29: Suzhou
NYO-China: 2017 Teaching Artists
Violin 1: Frank Huang, Concertmaster, New York Philharmonic
Violin 2: Qing Li, Principal Second, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Viola: Jay Liu, Assistant Principal, San Francisco Symphony
Cello: Qiang Tu, New York Philharmonic
Bass: Daxun Zhang, University of Texas at Austin
Oboe: Liang Wang, Principal, New York Philharmonic
Bassoon: Fei Xie, Principal, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Clarinet: Yao Guang Zhai, Principal, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Flute: Sibei Weng, Principal, Macao Orchestra, China
Horn: Xiao-Ming Han, German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankfurt, Germany
Trumpet: Guang Chen, Central Conservatory/China National Symphony, Beijing, China
Trombone: Wei Zhu, Bremen Philharmonic, Bremen, Germany
Tuba: Haiyu Wang, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music/China National Symphony Orchestra
Percussion: Gert Mortensen, Principal, Royal Danish Orchestra, Copenhagen, Denmark
Harp: Jieyin Wu, concert harpist, San Francisco, CA
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© 21C Media Group, July 2017