Warm Prompt:
Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted.
Each audience should have a tick regardless of the age.
 

 

Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra
Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) was founded in 1982. After more than 30 years of explorations and efforts, SZSO has since distinguished itself as having a high level of excellence and a rising international profile in China and aiming to become one of the Asia’s leading orchestras with international influence.
Violinist Mr. Nie Bing is the current president of the orchestra, music director is the distinguished conductor Mr. Lin Daye. Mr. Yu Long serves as artistic advisor, with Mr. Christian Ehwald as honorary conductor and Mr. Tan Dun as principal guest conductor.
The orchestra has toured regularly around China since 1987, making stops in many cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Sichuan and Xinjiang. The orchestra has also done regional tours in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao in that time. On the international stage, it has toured in over four continents, spanning countries such as the United States, Canada, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Italy, France, Turkey, South Africa, Singapore, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Thailand and has received international acclaim.
Since 1994, the orchestra has participated in major festivals including the 4th China Art Festival, 3rd China-International Piano Concerto Competition, Shenzhen-International Piano Concerto Competition, China Conducting Competition Concert, Beijing Modern Music Festival, National Center for the Performing Arts Festival, Shenzhen ICIF Art Festival, Turkey Istanbul Music Festival, Izmir Music Festival, Ankala Music Festival, Mittelfest, Ravello Wagner Music Festival, Bellini Music Festival, French Dinar Music Festival and 1st World Buddhism Symposium. They have received high praise in regard to these various performances. They have also been involved in many events on the CCTV. In 1997, they were invited to Europe and were the first orchestra from China to perform at the Berlin Philharmonie Hall and Smetana Concert Hall in the Czech Republic. In 2007, they were also the first orchestra from Asia to perform at the Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides in Paris. In 2013, the orchestra was invited by UNESCO to perform the Confucian Symphony “Ode to Humanity” at the UNESCO Headquarters City Hall.
In 2016, the orchestra received international acclaim for the Chinese New Year Celebration Performances in the United States and Canada. “Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra implacable grandeur performance could have graced the pit of any regional opera house in the United States or Europe”, praised by the Washington Post. In September, the orchestra appeared on the international stages of the Ljubljana Festival, Emilia Romagna Festival, Merano Festival as well as Radiro - International Radio Orchestras Festival in Romania invited by the Emilia Romagna Festival and Radio Romania with acclaim. In 2017, SZSO toured four countries of Central and Eastern Europe with the title of “One Belt, One Road” and performed at the Budapest Liszt Concert Hall, Austria Klagenfurt Concert Hall, Bratislava Slovak Radio Concert Hall and Prague Smetana Hall. In 2018 Chinese New Year’s Eve, the orchestra was invited to return to Kennedy Center for the Chinese New Year Celebration Performance and received well acclaim. In September 2019, SZSO was invited by Ljubljana Festival, Donizetti Festival, Festival delle Nazioni Città di Castello among others with well acclaim.
Throughout the years, the orchestra has cultivated long lasting collaborations with great conductors and soloists such as Lv Qiming, Chen Gang, Tan Dun, Ye Xiaogang, Tang Jianping, Wang Ning, Huang Anlun, Zhang Qianyi, Eric Kunzel; conductors such as Li Delun, Huang Xiaotong, Chen Bianyang, Tang Muhai, Chen Zuohuang, Zheng Xiaoying, Shui Lan, Hu Yongyan; renowned international conductors such as Kirill Petrenko, Daniel Oren, Edvard Tchivzhel, Guido Johannes Rumstadt, Lior Shambadal, Husco, Michael Foster and Smart. The orchestra has also performed works by famous composers like Lv Qiming, Chen Gang, Tan Dun, Ye Xiaogang, Tang Jianping, Wang Ning, Huang Anlun, Zhang Qianyi, Eric Kunzel; and has featured soloists such as Lang Lang, Li Yundi, Chen Sa, Wang Jian, Qin Liwei, Qian Zhou, Lv Siqing, Ning Feng, Chen Xi, Zhu Dan, Zee Zee, Arto Noras, Oxana Yablonskaya, Kun Woo Paik, Antje, Weithaas, Midori and Diana Tishchenko, as well as famous singers like Dai Yuqiang, Liao Changyong, Song Zuying, Zhang Liping, Huang Ying, Dilber Yunus, Wu Bixia, Yin Xiumei, He Hui, Jose Carreras, Carlow Struly among others.
On the home front, the orchestra has focused on actively supporting the works of local composers. Noteworthy pieces are the premieres of the Choral Symphony “Ode to Humanity”, “Symphonic Folksongs, Hakka Rhymes” and “Harmony of the Divine Land” which have received critical acclaim from professional musicians, audiences and the media. The orchestra is passionate about supporting the Shenzhen local symphonies. They also perform the works of local composers and promote the culture of Shenzhen annually.
“Being the finest orchestra, performing a public service, and bringing over elegant music into the society” is the motto of the orchestra. Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra will not only reform, but also innovate, overcome difficulties, constantly play out the “good voice” of Shenzhen, and make contributions to the dissemination of advanced culture and the development of Shenzhen's cultural undertakings and the “Chinese Dream”.
 

 

Conductor: Lin Daye
Music Director & Chief Conductor of Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra
Associate Head of Conducting Department, Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Prize winner of the 6th International Conductors Competition Sir Georg Solti
 
Distinguished young conductor, Lin Daye was born in 1980 in Shandong Province, China. He has studied conducting under the tutelage of Prof. Xu Xin at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Prof. Zhang Guoyong at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin under the guidance of Prof. Christian Ehwald and obtained the Konzertexam certificate in Germany.
Between 2010 and 2015, Lin Daye was appointed as Principal Conductor of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO) and made several concert tours with the GSO in homeland and overseas. At the Shanghai “Music in the Summer Air” Festival, in August 2010, he conducted London’s Royal Philharmonic. In October 2010 he conducted the Chinese premiere of Madame White Snake – the Pulitzer Prize-winning new opera co-commissioned from Zhou Long by Opera Boston and the Beijing Music Festival (BMF).
In 2011, he made a very successful North American debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, Lin Daye won First Prize at the 6th Sir Georg Solti International Conductors Competition which was held in Frankfurt, Germany and was the first Chinese recipient of the prize in this competition. In 2013, he was awarded the Outstanding Contribution Award by Guangdong Musician Association.
Highlights of 2013-2015 seasons included the world premiere of a major new work named A Symphonic Epic “Nine Odes” by Zhou Long at the Beijing Music Festival. In 2015, he received the invitation from Mariinsky Theatre to attend the Musical Olympus International Music Festival and conducted the St Petersburg Symphony. In June 2015 he was chosen to replace Edo De Waart, and conducted the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in the new SSO Symphony Hall. In September, Lin Daye was appointed as the Associate Professor and Head of Teaching and Research of Conducting Department at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music under the recommendation of conducting scholar Mr. Huang Xiaotong, conducting educator Mr. Zhang Guoyong and the well-known conductor Mr. Yu Long. Recently, he was appointed as the Associate Head of Composition & Conducting Department at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
In 2016, Daye conducted China Philharmonic Orchestra, Castillo y Leon Symphony Orchestra and the Composition Concert of Zhao Jiping at the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival. In May, Daye was officially appointed as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO). In September, he made his first appearance as Music Director with SZSO on the international stage of the Ljubljana Festival, Emilia Romagna Festival, Merano Festival as well as Radiro - International Radio Orchestras Festival in Romania invited by the Emilia Romagna Festival and Radio Romania.
Highlights of 2017-2018 season included his appearances with Filarmonica Artura Toscanini, Nürnberg Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and the Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM in Mexico and with SZSO in the “Belt & Road” Central and Eastern Europe concert tour.
In 2019, he was invited again by the Emilia Romagna Festival, Donizetti Festival and Erlangen, Nuremburg to conduct SZSO at the Ljubljana Festival, Donizetti Festival, Festival delle Nazioni, Kammerphilharmonie dacapo München among others.
 

© Felix Broede

Violin: Ning Feng
Ning Feng is recognized internationally as an artist of great lyricism, innate musicality and stunning virtuosity.
Ning Feng has toured Europe, Asia and Australia with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden, he has toured China with the Budapest Festival Orchestra with Iván Fischer, with whom he has also performed several times in Budapest, with the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester and Lawrence Foster. Other career highlights to date include performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, National Symphony (Washington), Helsinki Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Russian National Symphony orchestras amongst others. In chamber music, Ning Feng regularly performs at the Schubertiade Festival and Kissinger Sommer Festival, and venues across Germany and London, including both Wigmore Hall and Barbican Centre.
In China, Ning feng is held in the highest regard; he appears regularly with all the major orchestras, and in 20/21 season is Artist-in-Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. At the beginning of the 20/21 season Ning Feng embarked on a tour of China, performing Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas in 14 different cities. During this period, he performed Beethoven Violin Concerto with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and China Philharmonic Orchestra. Ning Feng records for Channel Classics and his earlier recording of Bach’s Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo was hailed by Gramophone as “unlike anyone else’s… it’s the illusion of a freewheeling conversation projected from within that held me captive."
 

French Horn: Zeng Yun
Hailed by Maestro Valery Gergiev as “a wonderful horn player” and “the biggest surprise of the competition” at the gala concert of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019, Zeng Yun, a 19-year-old gold medalist in the new brass category has become a rising star of today’s musical world. Along with winning first place of Tchaikovsky Competition, he was the laureate of major international competitions including Prague Spring (2018), Città di Porcia (2017) and Lieksa (2016).
As a soloist, Zeng Yun has performed some of the most renowned French horn repertoire with Mariinsky Orchestra, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra (as Artist-in-Residence in the Season 2020-2021), Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, Xi’an Symphony Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra and Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra. Some of his performances have been broadcast by China Central Television, All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company and Medici.tv.
Born into a musical family in the year of 1999, Zeng Yun began learning French horn with his father, Zeng Jie, principal horn player of Sichuan Symphony Orchestra, at the age of 6. He was both times the first place winner in major assessments when admitted to the middle school as well as the undergraduate studies of Central Conservatory of Music in 2011 and 2017 respectively. He has studied with Prof. Wen Quan. During this period, he was supported by “Best of the Best Project” (2012 until now) – a program designed by the conservatory especially for talented young musicians, and “Edifier Musician Foundation” (2014). In academic year 2019-2020, he was studying in Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève with Prof. Bruno Schneider.
Since 2014, his instrument was sponsored by BRIZ Musical Instrument Ltd., and now he is playing the “BRIZ 2000TP” horn.
 

Soprano: Zhang Meigui
Zhang Meigui, the U.S. based soprano, was born in Chengdu, Sichuan. She completed her postgraduate studies in Mannes School of Music and has signed with the Metropolitan Opera House. She has collaborated with many well-known maestros and toured across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Active on the international opera stage in the recent years, Zhang Meigui has been hailed as an outstanding singer of the new generation born in the 1990s. Her representative works include DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, DON GIOVANNI, COSI FAN TUTTE, RIGOLETTO, ROMEO AND JULIET, MANON, HANSEL AND GRETEL, RIVER IN SPRING, Mahler’s Symphony No.4, Bach’s Coffee Cantata, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Gliere’s Vocal Concerto, and so forth.
Since 2013, she has been invited to perform recitals in the United States, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, China and many other places and to appear in several New Year’s concerts, projects for young singers, and international music festivals, including Manchester Music Festival, Merola Opera Program, Verbier Festival and the iSing! International Young Artists Festival among others. The awards she has claimed include “George and Elizabeth” Excellent Talent Award, the Prix Yves Paternot of Verbier Festival, Final Prize of 2019 Queen Sonja International Music Competition, Second Place of 2020 Opera Index Competition, and Audience Choice Award of 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup.
The conductors and orchestras she has worked with include Joseph Colaneri, Dean Williamson, Valery Gergiev, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Stéphane Denève, Zhang Xian, Tang Muhai, and Zhu Qiyuan among others. She has also performed with Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Harbin Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian National Opera Orchestra, MET Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra.
 

Baritone: José Rubio
In past seasons Baritone José Rubio has sung principal roles at the Cincinnati Opera, Portland Opera, Nashville Opera, Alamo City Opera, Tacoma Opera, Vashon Opera, Bellevue City Opera, Brava! Opera Theater and Pacific Northwest Opera. His roles have included the title roles of IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, DON GIOVANNI, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Enrico in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, Marcello and Schaunard in LA BOHÈME, Escamillo in CARMEN, Tarquinius in THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA, Tonio in I PAGLIACCI, Guglielmo in COSÌ FAN TUTTE, Papageno in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. In the summer of 2011, Mr. Rubio performed Figaro in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA with the Music Academy of the West. The LA Times heralded him as a “Figaro with an impressively booming baritone”.
A contemporary opera and musical enthusiast, Mr. Rubio was featured in two of Philip Glass's operas, ORPHEÉ and GALILEO GALILEI, recorded on the Orange Mountain Music label. He also performed in Albany Records' world premiere recording of Evan Mack's ANGEL OF THE AMAZON. Mr. Rubio had attended the iSing! International Young Artists Festival in China in 2014, 2017, and 2018, respectively.
Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition, Mr. Rubio received his Artist Diploma and Master's Degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati, and a Bachelor’s from the University of Washington. He is a three-time alumnus of the Music Academy of the West Summer Festival where he worked closely with Marilyn Horne, Warren Jones and music staff from the San Francisco Opera and Metropolitan Opera.
 
Program
Leonard Bernstein: Candide Overture
Johann Strauss: Beliebte Annen Polka, Op.137
Vittorio Monti: Czardas (French Horn: Zeng Yun)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of Bumble Bee (French Horn: Zeng Yun)
Josef Strauss: Plappermaulchen Polka, Op.245
Josef Strauss: Sport Schnell Polka, Op.170   
Arturo Márquez: Danzón No.2
 
Intermission
 
Leroy Anderson: The Typewriter
Zequinha de Abreu: Tico Tico no Fubá
Pablo de Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen (Violin: Ning Feng)
Richard Hayman: Pops Hoe-Down
Leroy Anderson: Bugler's Holiday
Charles Francois Gounod: “Ah je veux vivre” from Roméo et Juliette (Soprano: Zhang Meigui)
Music: Zheng Qiufeng\Lyric: Zhai Zong: I Love You, China (Soprano: Zhang Meigui)
Gioacchino Rossini: “Largo al factotum” from Il barbiere di Siviglia (Baritone: Jose Rubio)
George Bizet: “The Toreador Song” from Carmen (Baritone: Jose Rubio)
Ottorino Respighi: The Pines of Rome (Excerpts)
 
(Please check program updates at the concert.)