As most of the concert audience, we are hardly able to observe the conductors from their front. Even for the musicians on stage, the off-podium life of the conductors is often veiled under obscurity. Therefore, the Conducting Division of the School of Music, CUHK-Shenzhen now launched the series seminar "Meet the Maestro", which unfolds the conductor's real mind, decision, and philosophy to the audience from multiple perspectives, by featuring guest conductors of diverse fields to deliver masterclass, lectures, rehearsals, or other forms of sharing sessions.

During the previous seven sessions, we had the privilege of engaging in face-to-face exchanges with esteemed professors, namely Professor Lingfen WU, Professor Julian Shew, Professor Sharon CHOA, Professor Christian EHWALD, Professor Ye JIN, Professor Daye LIN, and Professor Ni FAN. These interactions provided us with an in-depth learning and exploratory platform for the art of conducting, spanning from choral music to multiple historical masterpieces in symphonic repertoire.

In the upcoming eighth session of "Meet the Maestro" on April 26, at 1:00 PM, we are honored to have Professor Qi-Yuan ZHU, the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Chengdu City Music Hall Symphony Orchestra, share his conducting philosophy with the audience. His rich experience and unique insights will undoubtedly benefit the audience, as he imparts his techniques, musical understanding, and artistic expression, enabling a deeper appreciation and understanding of music and conducting.

【Date&Time】

Apr.26, 2024 (Fri.) 1:00PM

【Venue】

Auditorium 364, Teaching Building

School of Music, CUHK-Shenzhen

【Speaker】

Prof. Qi-Yuan ZHU

【Collaborative Piano】

Jie SONG, Xiaoyu XU, Mo HAN, Yihuan CHEN

【Speaker】

Eric Qi-Yuan ZHU was appointed Music Director of the Symphony Orchestra of SCCM (Sichuan) in 2007. This ensemble is a fully professional orchestra sponsored by the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. With this appointment, he established the first opera season in the west of China. Mr. Zhu and the orchestra have received great reviews on tours to Beijing, Shanghai, and countries such as Singapore and Italy, and have performed with soloists such as Lang Lang, Midori, Ni Feng, Fazil Say, Yundi Li, and Sa Chen.

Mr. Zhu was the Music Director of the Columbia Music Festival Orchestra (South Carolina) and Carolina Ballet for ten years. 

Mr. Zhu has conducted the Berliner Symphoniker, China National Opera Orchestra, China Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic, Singapore Opera, and Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra. In 2007, Mr. Zhu was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Kunming Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Zhu was born in Shanghai and educated in the USA. He studied conducting with David Effron and David Zinman. In 2005, he was chosen as one of the five Conducting Fellows at the Aspen Music Festival.

In 2021, he became the Music Director of China-Russia Symphony Orchestra in Harbin. In 2022, he was appointed Music Director of the Chengdu City Concert Hall Symphony Orchestra.