Sun Peng is considered one of the outstanding conductors of the younger generation in China. He is music director and principal conductor of the Wuxi Traditional Chinese Orchestra and permanent guest conductor of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Previous positions have taken him to the Macao Chinese Orchestra and the Shanxi Performing Arts Group Chinese Orchestra, among others.

He initially trained in China with Prof. Yan Huichang, later at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where he graduated with highest honors. With extensive experience in both Chinese and Western repertoire, Sun Peng has conducted hundreds of concerts, including numerous world premieres, and is considered a versatile and distinguished musician.

Zhang Hongyan is an internationally acclaimed pipa soloist and professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She performs regularly in major concert halls in Asia and Europe and has been hailed by the press as an “ambassador of the East.”

In addition to her concert activities, she is also involved in teaching and cultural outreach. Many of her students have gone on to become award-winning musicians themselves. Through innovative teaching formats and the founding of ensembles, she is shaping the further development of Chinese plucked string music and combining tradition with contemporary repertoire.

Deng Jiandong is one of China’s most important erhu virtuosos. He is artistic director of the Wuxi Traditional Chinese Orchestra and professor at leading conservatories in Shanghai and Nanjing. Numerous awards, including the China Gold Record Award, recognize his achievements.

As a soloist, he has performed with renowned orchestras worldwide, including the Vienna Musikverein, and has premiered works that are now an integral part of the modern erhu repertoire. Deng’s playing combines technical brilliance with great expressiveness, making him one of the defining voices of his instrument on the international stage.

Resident Conductor China National Traditional Orchestra 

A graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music, Liu pursued further studies from 2011 to 2014 at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, studying opera and symphonic conducting with Alexander Polishchuk as well as researching the Ilya Musin conducting method. Among his teachers at the master classes are Seiji Ozawa, Mstislav Rostropovich, Jorma Panula, Colin Meters and Gustav Meier.

Resident conductor of the China National Traditional Orchestra, Liu Sha is widely recognized as a leading figure among the new generation of traditional orchestra conductors. To date, he has conducted the China National Traditional Orchestra on its tours to Russia, France, Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany and the United States. As a champion of contemporary music, he has premiered and commissioned hundreds of thousands of new works from composers of the younger generation. In the realm of symphonic music, his Russian and East European repertoire has won critical acclaim.

Mr Liu has conducted at several state visit and diplomatic occasions including APEC in 2014. He appeared in the Chinese New Year’s Concert in Hawaii in 2013 and at the Pan-Pacific Asian Arts Festival at Stanford in San Francisco. In 2015, he conducted two sold-out concerts featuring music composed by Jiang Ying at the Kennedy Centre and Carnegie Hall.

Muhai Tang is one of the most distinguished Chinese conductors of our time. As Laureate Conductor of the China National Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, and the Harbin Symphony Orchestra, he plays a vital role in shaping China’s classical music scene.

Born in Shanghai, Tang studied composition and conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he later taught. In 1979, he received a scholarship to study at the Munich Musikhochschule, and in 1983 he was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – a milestone that marked the beginning of his international career. Since then, Tang has collaborated with leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

The son of renowned film director Tang Xiaodan, he developed a profound passion for opera. He has conducted at prestigious houses such as La Scala Milan, Zurich Opera House, Hungarian State Opera, Frankfurt Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Chief Conductor of the Finnish National Opera, and during the Milan Expo 2015, he made history as the first Chinese conductor ever to perform at La Scala, leading Rossini’s Otello.

Li Chao is a young erhu virtuoso and the Assistant Concertmaster of the China National Traditional Orchestra. He also serves as Executive Director of the Erhu Society of the Beijing Musicians Association. Li was the recipient of the highest awards in both the junior and youth categories of the Wenhua Art School Award – National Traditional Instrument Competition.

His performances have taken him to many parts of the world, gracing some of the most prestigious stages, including the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Berlin Philharmonie, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the United States, the Lucerne Concert Hall, and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Through his artistry, he continues to share the charm and expressive power of Chinese music with audiences worldwide.

Song Lei is principal erhu of the China National Traditional Orchestra and a Council Member of the Beijing erhu Association. A graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music, he has won the Gold Prize in the Beijing “Virtue and Art” National Instrumental Music Competition (erhu category) and the Gold Prize at the First Huaxia International Instrumental Competition.

Song has performed at major state events, including the APEC Summit Gala, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, and the Boao Forum for Asia.

His performances have taken him to prestigious venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and the Berlin Philharmonie.

Tang Feng is the President and Honorary Principal of the China National Traditional Orchestra, and a renowned huqin virtuoso. He is a recipient of the State Council’s Special Government Allowance for experts. In 1996, he became the youngest concertmaster in the history of the China National Traditional Orchestra. Over the past decades, he has performed in more than 30 countries and regions as both concertmaster and soloist. He has recorded and released several albums, including “Dream Unveiled — Tang Feng’s Erhu Concerto Album”.

Zhang Jiali is a young guanzi performer. He began studying the guanzi at the age of six under the guidance of Professor Hu Zhihou. He recorded the first guanzi work in history, Dance of Qiuci, for Deutsche Grammophon (DG).

He won the China Golden Bell Award for Music, becoming the first guanzi player to receive this honour. Zhang has toured extensively with the orchestra and has participated in numerous major state events.

He has served as principal soloist in productions such as Grand Music from China and Impression: Chinese Music, and contributed to the recording of soundtracks for projects including Honor of Kings and Black Myth: Wukong.

Dong Xiaolin is a renowned contemporary pipa virtuoso, National First-Class Performer, and Principal pipa of the China National Traditional Orchestra. Known for her refined, meticulous artistry and poised, expressive style, she is the recipient of the 8th China Golden Bell Award for Music and was named one of China Central Television’s “Top Ten Pipa Performers.”

Her representative works include Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum and Song of the Heaven and Earth, among other modern classics of the pipa repertoire. She has also created acclaimed adaptations such as The Lament of Lady Zhaojun, Deep in the Night, and Pink Lotus, featured in her album Ballet on Fingertips — a National Key Audio-Visual Publication Project released by China Record Corporation and nominated for the CMIC Music Awards.