Besides the chance to hear composer Ye Xiaogang's latest works, there are several elements of tonight's concert that will surely reward the audience's senses, not the least of which is the skill of Conductor Hu Yongyan.
Hu was born into a musical family in Shanghai, where at the age of 5 he commenced violin lessons with his grandfather.
He then pursued conducting studies with Zheng Xiaoying, the best woman conductor in China who taught at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
After serving as music director and conductor with the Shanghai Ballet Company Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Hu went to the United States and attended Yale University and the renowned Juilliard School.
While at Juilliard he was a Bruno Walter Fellow, studying conducting under Otto W. Mueller. Hu completed a Master's degree in 1989.
From 1994 through 1998 Hu was the artistic director and conductor of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra in Lincoln, Nebraska.
He has also worked as a guest conductor with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the New Jersey Symphony and the Duluth-Superior Symphony, all in the United States, as well as with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
In 2000, Hu was appointed artistic director of the young Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as the artistic director and conductor of the Duluth-Superior Symphony in Minnesota in the United States.
Though established just in 1996, the Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra has already established a reputation for the talent of its domestic and international musicians, and its innovative and inspiring approach to Chinese and Western music.
Artistic Director Hu, an accomplished maestro in his own right, brings tremendous energy, vitality and vision to the stage.
Hu has assembled China's top musical talents and contracted with some foreign musicians as well to create an orchestra of international caliber.
The orchestra has collaborated with many internationally renowned artists including Luciano Pavorotti, Placido Domingo, Isaac Stern, Kathleen Battle, Barbara Hendricks, Joann Falletta, Vladimir Rylov, Tan Dun, Tang Muhai and Yu Long.
The Shanghai Grand Theatre recently signed a contract with the orchestra to be its orchestra-in-residence.
Tonight's concert will also feature the stellar talent of Tang Junqiao, 28, the chief bamboo flutist in the Shanghai Traditional Instruments Orchestra. Tang is widely regarded as one of the best young bamboo flutists in China today.
Tang performs with talent and skill. She has excellent techniques and creates beautiful sounds.
After launching into learning to play the bamboo flute when she was still a child, in 1986, she entered the middle school of the Shenyang Conservatory to study under Chinese flutist Kong Qingshan.
Tang had her first solo concert when she was 16 years old. In 1992 she was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. After graduation, she joined the Shanghai Traditional Instruments Orchestra.
In March 2000, she was invited to record a solo performance on the bamboo flute for the Oscar-winning movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The music for the film was composed by Tan Dun.
Her amazing performance attracted the notice of the global music world. In September, she took part in the Across Water and Fire Music Festival in London, and co-operated with the well-known cellist Ma Youyou to perform the soundtrack of the movie at the famous Barbiken Art Center.
She has visited many countries and regions such as Germany, Japan, England, France, and Austria, and has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra, the Macao Chinese Symphony Orchestra, the China Philharmonic Orchestra, and Belgium's National Symphony Orchestra.
Also playing at tonight's concert will be Vera Tsu Wei-ling, who has established herself as a leading young violinist of international standing.
A native of Shanghai, she began to study the violin with her father.
In 1980, after nearly two years of study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Tsu went on to study in the United States at the Juiliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, where she worked with Dorothy Delay and Rafael Bronstein.
After winning the First Prize in the Manoque International Young Artists Competition in 1981, she went on to win other competitions, including the Waldo Mayo Talent Award and the Artists International Competition.
Famed violinist Isaac Stern (1920-2001) once praised Tsu as "an outstanding young virtuoso" during his visit to the Central Conservatory of Music and chose her to play with him in the award-winning documentary From Mao to Mozart.
About 20 years later, Tsu performed with Stern in the closing concert of the 1999 Beijing Music Festival.
Tsu was the first violinist of her generation from the Chinese mainland to appear as a soloist at both Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall.
The New York Times described her as "an accomplished young artist" after her debut recital at Carnegie Hall in 1984.
The BBC's Music Magazine proclaimed that "Tsu proves a big-toned player with considerable fire. She plays with character, verve and heart."
Tsu, Tang and Hu: Beijing music fans are fortunate to find such an array of talent in one show.
(China Daily October 15, 2002)
