Astonishing in her musical versatility, Qing Li brings great warmth, poise, and insight to her music making. She is the Baltimore Symphony’s Principal Second Violin and a sought-after recitalist, chamber musician, and guest concertmaster. Li is currently also a violin faculty member of the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. She gives master classes throughout the American, Asian, and South American major conservatories and international festivals. Born in Beijing, China, Li began violin studies at age four with her father. At age 12, Qing Li was accepted to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and later continued her studies at Peabody on full scholarship. She currently performs on a Neopolitain instrument made by Nicolo Gagliano in 1736.

Yong Ma is Principal Flute at the China National Opera and has been hailed by the New York Concert Review as a player of “astonishing brilliance.” Mr. Ma began studying flute at the age of eight in China and later became a student of Yongxin Wang at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In 1996, Mr. Ma came to the United States and later earned both his Bachelor and Master degrees from the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with Carol Wincenc and Robert Langevin. Before his current role at the China National Opera, he served as Principal Flute in the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra and the Louisville Orchestra. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, and the Juilliard Orchestra.

Guang Chen is currently an associate professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the Chief Executive Director of China’s Orchestra Academy, and the Visiting Principal Trumpeter with the China National Symphony Orchestra. He is a former student of Professor Ji Rui-kai and in 1999 he was sponsored by the Zubin Mehta Scholarship to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. Since graduating in 2005, Guang Chen has performed as the visiting Principal Trumpeter for multiple world famous orchestras including the China Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Ballet of China, and many other municipal orchestras. In addition, Guang Chen has consistently been named by CCTV one of the Top Ten Trumpeters in China.

Halfway through their residency, NYO-China’s students had the opportunity to “warm up” by presenting a portion of their concert program in a concert event held at the Yale Center Beijing. Little did they know… the event was live-streamed to over 150,000 viewers across China!

After two weeks of preparation, the Chamber Series officially began with a sold-out debut in the Central Conservatory of Music’s Opera and Concert Hall, in which students performed side-by-side with their faculty mentors. The concert was praised as “a huge success, of high artistic quality” by the Chinese Literary Critics’ Society.

Two days after their debut, several of NYO-China’s chamber ensembles performed alongside members from Carnegie Hall’s NYO-USA (itself on tour throughout Asia) in a program presented in the United States Embassy in Beijing, with United States Ambassador Terry Branstad in attendance.

Following their stint in Beijing, NYO-China’s students continued on to perform in a sold-out concert at NYU-Shanghai, where the ensemble was officially welcomed by Lizhong Yu, Chancellor of NYU-Shanghai. After the performance, students enjoyed a post-concert reception with many friends and family in attendance.

NYO-China next performed at the Chuansha Piano Festival in a special event held in memory of Huang Zi, the first Chinese graduate of the Yale School of Music. The ensemble was honored to be welcomed by Keng Zhou, Professor of Piano at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and Xiaogang Ye, NYO-China's Tuan Zhang.

The 2018 Chamber Series concluded with a featured performance in the Eurochestries Festival, held just outside of Qingdao. After the concert, students, mentors and staff enjoyed a final dinner by the sea; a fitting conclusion for a wonderful three weeks spent making music together.