Shanghai Orchestra Academy Opens Inaugural Year

The inaugural class of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) -- founded by the New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music -- begins studies with two weeks of coaching and master classes in Shanghai by nine New York Philharmonic musicians, September 4-12. The opening weeks launch the four-year Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership, a collaboration between the New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra that includes both the SOA and annual performance residencies by the New York Philharmonic. The SOA's first two weeks will culminate with the opening concert of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Hall -- featuring musicians from the New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Shanghai Orchestra Academy and led by Long Yu, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra music director and inaugural president of the Academy -- on September 12.

The Shanghai Orchestra Academy is designed to address the need for advanced, post- graduate orchestral training, identified by Long Yu as one of the main issues of musical development in Asia. It is an area that the New York Philharmonic has been exploring in the context of today's global, cultural, and economic climates, and that the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra has been pursuing among its educational initiatives. The SOA differs from traditional conservatories in cultivating a curriculum design and pedagogical direction that focuses on training for an orchestral, rather than solo, career, with the goal of preparing its graduates to join orchestras in China, the U.S., and beyond.

The SOA's inaugural class comprises 22 students ranging in age from 22 to 35 who have trained in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Italy. The matriculating students include violinists, violists, a double bassist, flutists, an oboist, bassoonists, horn players, a trumpet player, and trombonists.

The faculty comprises musicians from the New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, as well as professors from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The nine New York Philharmonic musicians who will provide coaching and master classes during the SOA's first two weeks are Acting Concertmaster Sheryl Staples, Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, Acting Associate Principal Bass Max Zeugner, flutist/piccolo player Mindy Kaufman, Principal Oboe Liang Wang, Principal Bassoon Judith LeClair, Principal Horn Philip Myers, Acting Associate Principal Trumpet Ethan Bensdorf, and Bass Trombone George Curran. Classes will take place at the newly built Shanghai Symphony Hall.

Class offerings include Orchestra Performance, Chamber Music, and Musicianship Skills for Orchestral Performance, among others. Highly qualified students may have the opportunity to play with musicians from the New York Philharmonic during its annual summer residency in Shanghai beginning in 2015 or through an official apprenticeship program in New York City. Students who successfully complete the two-year program will obtain a Master of Fine Arts in Orchestral Performance, which emphasizes teaching and learning within an international context and perspective.

Later in the inaugural year, Philharmonic musicians will return to teach in November 2014 and March 2015, as well as during the Philharmonic's first-annual performance residency in Shanghai in July 2015. The performance residency will include at least four concerts in and near Shanghai, including a Young People's Concert and activities associated with the Shanghai Orchestra Academy such as master classes and educational seminars.

The opening weeks of the SOA culminate with the opening concert of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Hall on September 12, which will feature a chamber orchestra made up of SOA students and musicians from the New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Led by Long Yu, the program will include Karen LeFrak's String Serenade; Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1, with Jian Wang as soloist; and Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, with Philharmonic Acting Concertmaster Sheryl Staples and Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps as soloists. The Chamber Hall is part of the newly built Shanghai Symphony Hall, the new home of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, which will be unveiled the week before.

SOA is a key component of the four-year Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership, a joint endeavor of the New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra launched in November 2012. The partnership is part of an evolving global strategy through which the New York Philharmonic is committed to developing tomorrow's leading orchestral musicians. Through long-term partnerships with educational institutions around the world, Philharmonic musicians provide intensive training to musicians at the beginning of their careers, both abroad and in New York.

The New York Philharmonic's growing connections with China include annual Chinese New Year Gala Concerts conducted by Long Yu since 2012; joint commissioning projects such as John Corigliano's One Sweet Morning, co-commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic and premiered in 2011; and a joint concert in Central Park with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in celebration of Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The New York Philharmonic made its debut in Shanghai in 2008 led by then Music Director Lorin Maazel. Long Yu will conduct the New York Philharmonic in his subscription debut in January 2015, as well as in the fourth annual Chinese New Year Concert and Gala in February 2015.

Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) is established through the intercontinental cooperation of the New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music, with the aim of training musicians to become eminent players in orchestras around the world. The new Academy will contribute to the long- term development of China's, and even Asia's, symphony orchestras, and will stimulate Sino-U.S. cultural relations, cultivate international performing talents, and serve as a new platform for music education. The faculty of SOA includes many of the world's top performing musicians, such as principals of the New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Classes and lessons will be led by New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music professionals, and will be a central part of this comprehensive orchestral training program. Students will have an exclusive opportunity to serve apprenticeships with the world-renowned New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra, creating unparalleled experience that will enrich their musical experience and provide a head start in their careers. Musicians matriculating at SOA are enrolled in an educational program that can confer a Master of Fine Arts degree. Admission to the highly competitive program is open to students from around the globe and the Academy will provide different levels of scholarships to all of its students. For more information: www.orchestraacademy.com

The New York Philharmonic continues to play a leading cultural role in New York City, the United States, and the world. This season's projects will connect the Philharmonic with up to 50 million music lovers through live concerts in New York City and on its worldwide tours; digital downloads; international broadcasts on television, radio, and online; and as a resource through its wide range of education programs. The Orchestra has commissioned and/or premiered works by leading composers from every era since its founding in 1842 -- including Dvor?a?k's New World Symphony, Copland's Connotations, and John Adams's Pulitzer Prize-winning On the Transmigration of Souls, dedicated to the victims of 9/11. Renowned around the globe, the Philharmonic has appeared in 432 cities in 63 countries -- including the groundbreaking 1930 tour of Europe; the unprecedented 1959 tour to the USSR; the historic 2008 visit to Pyongyang, D.P.R.K., the first there by an American orchestra; and the Orchestra's debut in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2009. The New York Philharmonic serves as a resource for its community and the world. It complements its annual free concerts across the city with a wide range of education programs -- among them the famed, long-running Young People's Concerts and Philharmonic Schools, an immersive classroom program that reaches thousands of New York City students. Committed to developing tomorrow's leading orchestral musicians, the Philharmonic has partnered with cultural institutions at home and abroad to create projects that combine performance with intensive training by Philharmonic musicians. These include collaborations with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Conservatory of Music as well as Santa Barbara's Music Academy of the West. The oldest American symphony orchestra and one of the oldest in the world, the New York Philharmonic has made almost 2,000 recordings since 1917, including several Grammy Award winners, and its self-produced download series continues in the 2014-15 season. Music Director Alan Gilbert began his tenure in September 2009, succeeding a distinguished line of 20th-century musical giants that includes Leonard Bernstein, Arturo Toscanini, and Gustav Mahler. For more information: www.nyphil.org.

One of the oldest symphony orchestras in China, and indeed in Asia, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) was founded in 1879 as the Shanghai Public Band. Later renamed the Municipal Council Symphony Orchestra, it was hailed as "the best in the Far East." In 1919, when the renowned Italian pianist Mario Paci took the podium, the orchestra started its performing history in association with well-known musicians from Europe and elsewhere. In 1956 the orchestra took its current name and gradually developed into what is dubbed a "cultural calling card" of Shanghai. Long Yu, the current Music Director, is the first Chinese conductor to have been invited to conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra, and is the Chinese conductor most active with renowned orchestras around the world. The future Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will be a creative intersection between the public and music. Emerging and rising through the past centuries, SSO has had a widespread musical impact across Asia. Fostering a modern vision, it contributes to the world's understanding of Chinese culture.

Committed to introducing classical music and related art forms to the public, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra established its Education Department in 2010. With the mission of cultivating top symphonic talent and improving the music accomplishments of Chinese people, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will hold a series of music education programs in the newly established Shanghai Symphony Hall. The new hall will feature a museum and music experience center, providing open music education and seminars with the goal of encouraging music appreciation in Shanghai. For more information: www.sh-symphony.com

The predecessor of Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SCOM) was the state-run Conservatory of Music, founded by Mr. Cai Yuanpei and Professor Xiao Youmei in 1927. The institution was renamed Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1956, after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Xu Shuya is now its President. With its 14 departments, SCOM offers approximately 20 majors ranging from rich groundings in the traditional subjects to newly established innovative and interdisciplinary areas, all of which are led by first-class faculty members from both China and outside the country. Reputed to be the "cradle of musicians," SCOM maintains an extensive alumni network across China and around the world. For more information: www.shcmusic.edu.cn

The Starr International Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership.