Tuesday, April 09, 2013

The Beijing Chamber Ensemble: Biographies

The Beijing Chamber Ensemble was formed in 2008. In the 2010-2011 concert seasons the Ensemble performed at some of the most prestigious venues in China before embarking on a national tour of music schools.

 Its current members are:


 Frank Ge-Fang Yang, Violinist

 Former first violinist for the Alexander String Quartet in San Francisco, he was a member of the San Francisco State University faculty and in 1992 became a director of the Morrison Chamber Music Center in San Francisco.

 He has performed in some of the worlds’ most prestigious concert halls in the UK, Europe and the U.S. He has performed complete cycles of quartets b Beethoven, Mozart, Bartok, Brahms and Schostokovich. He produced and recorded the complete Beethoven string quartets for the Arte Nova label in Germany, which received rave reviews worldwide. He has also recorded for the labels Foghorn, CRI and Inova USA.

 He was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree twice, once by Allegheny College of Pennsylvania in 1995, and once by St. Lawrence University of New York in 1998 for his outstanding achievements in music performance and education.

 Since 2002, Mr. Yang has been teaching master classes in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Wuhan in China as visiting scholar. In 2009, he joined the faculty of Renmin University, one of the most prestigious institutions in China, as professor in chamber music and violin, and Chair of Music Department since 2012. Mr. Yang obtained his BA degree from Wuhan Conservatory in China and his Artist Diploma from College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, USA.

Yue Qi, Viola

 Mr. Qi has been on the Music Department faculty of Renmin University of China since 2006. He has served as a Director of the Chinese Viola Society, Executive Director of the Beijing Viola Ensemble, and Executive Director of the Eastern Strings Festival, one of the best summer programs in China. In the 2010-2011 academic year, Mr. Qi was a Visiting Fellow at the Yale School of Music.

 Mr. Qi won the China National Solo Viola Competition in 2001, and received a fellowship from the Aspen Music Festival in 2004. He lectured and performed at the National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing Concert Hall, Forbidden City Concert Hall and other famous halls in China. He was invited as guest artist by the U.S. Ambassador for the New Year Concert at the United States Embassy in Beijing for more than 30 ambassadors from different countries in 2005.

He has performed widely in the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Spain and China. Qi Yue holds Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he studied with Prof. Wing Ho. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Marketing Management of School of Business, RUC. Qi Yue also teaches Arts Management course at RUC.

 Ying Wang, Cellist

 Ying Wang started studying cello at age of six. She graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.  In 2005, she was granted a full scholarship by Royal Northern College of Music in the UK and graduated with a Masters degree.

 She has studied with well-known cellists, including GuangQuan Hu, MingQing Yu, Hannan Roberts and Ralph Kirshbaum. She also studied with Master Cellist Bernard Greenhouse, who described her as “a young artist born with the understanding of music and the power to control it. There is unlimited passion for music in her performance." From 2003-2005 she was tutored by world famous cellists including Yo-yo Ma, Li-wei Qin, Rodin and others.

  Ying Wang has won many prizes including the First String Quartet Competition of Central Conservatory of Music and the Fifth China National Cello Competition. She performed in Germany with the China Youth Symphony. She toured Switzerland and recorded a CD there. She returned to Remnin University in 2008 to teach cello, and was invited to join the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra in 2010.


Fang Zhang, Pianist

 Born in Shenyang, China, Mr. Zhang began piano lessons at the age of four, and won his first piano competition at age seven. Mr. Zhang received his BM degree in piano at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and was awarded a scholarship to enter MM degree program at the Eastman School of Music. He received the Eastman Performer’s Certificate, the school’s highest award for achievement in performance.

 Fang Zhang was a finalist and prize winner in the 2006 Vladimir Viardo International Piano Competition, where he was awarded the Rachmaninoff Society Special Prize. In 2007 he was awarded First Prize in collaborative pinao in the Jessie Kniesel Lieder Competition at Eastman. In the 2010 season, he appeared with the Xiamen and Shenzhen Symphony orchestras, and released a live concert CD.

 A frequent guest as soloist with orchestra, Mr. Zhang has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in China and the United States. , Mr. Zhang has been on the School of the Arts faculty at Renmin University since 2001, and Director of Piano Studies. He was awarded the 2010 Annual Excellence Teacher Award at Renmin University.

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