Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership Set for New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program

The Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership continues this summer when students from the Shanghai Orchestra Academy travel to New York City to participate in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program as the first international Zarin Mehta Fellows, June 11-17, 2016, and the New York Philharmonic travels to Shanghai for its second annual performance residency, July 2-8, 2016.

"The results of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership have already exceeded our hopes," said New York Philharmonic President Matthew VanBesien. "Now we are looking forward to welcoming four talented young students from the Academy to New York, as our first international Zarin Mehta Fellows. The students will be able to experience life as a Philharmonic musician during one of the most exciting weeks of our year: the free Concerts in the Parks. We are also looking forward to our return to Shanghai in July for the New York Philharmonic's second residency, during which we will be building on the rewarding connection with our partners, students, and audience members that has been forged throughout the past two seasons."

Four students from the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) have been selected to participate in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program - in which select students travel to New York to train and play with Philharmonic musicians, a week-long immersion in the life of an orchestral musician - as the first international Zarin Mehta Fellows. The students are: Aolie Wu, violin; Tong Ba, viola; Shuang Lv, oboe; and Hui Zhang, bassoon. Auditions were held at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy in March 2016 by a panel of New York Philharmonic musicians.

The students will participate in a week of activities in New York June 11-17, 2016, including individual lessons with Philharmonic musicians and training and playing Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Eroica, alongside the Orchestra at the Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer. Led by Music Director Alan Gilbert, these performances will take place in Central Park, Manhattan, and Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

The New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program is a key component of the New York Philharmonic Global Academy. Previous participants have come from Music Academy of the West and The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.

About the Shanghai Orchestra Academy 2016 Zarin Mehta Fellows
Tong Ba, 29, was born in Liaoning, China. During her four years at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Ms. Ba has received numerous domestic awards. She performed as a soloist in the Young Euro Classic Festival, and in 2008 she was invited by Japanese violist Nobuko Imai to participate in Viola Space Japan. Ms. Ba obtained her master's degree with First Class Honors from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 2011 and performs with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. She has performed chamber music with violinists Chao-Liang Lin, Xiao-Dong Wang, and former Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow. A second-year student at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, Ms. Ba studies with Philharmonic Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, violist Robert Rinehart, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra principal viola Zhen Wei.

Hui Zhang, 24, was born in Harbin, China. She was the principal bassoon of the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra as an undergraduate and was delegated by the Conservatory to perform in the Sydney Conservatorium. She was accepted by both the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) and Shanghai Opera House, has toured around the country, and visited Italy with Shanghai Opera House. A second-year student at SOA, she studies with Philharmonic Principal Bassoon Judith LeClair, Associate Principal Bassoon Kim Laskowski, bassoonist Roger Nye, and former Shanghai Symphony Orchestra principal bassoon Zhaolu Liu.

Aolie Wu, 24, was born in Xinjiang, China. Mr. Wu studied with Lina Yu at the middle school affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He was appointed concertmaster of the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. In 2013 he joined the Asian Youth Orchestra, with whom he toured. In June 2015 he was invited by conductor Guoyong Zhang to play Yi Chen's Violin Concerto with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra. As a student at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA), he has performed with the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. A first-year student at SOA, he studies with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Guillaume Molko and has had lessons with former Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow, Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples, Assistant Concertmaster Michelle Kim, Stefan Wagner, Rodrigo Reichel, Yijin Li, and Nan Xie.

Shuang Lv, 28, was born in Hangzhou, China. After studying with Professor Sun Minghong at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, he now performs with the Shanghai Huju Opera Theater. Last summer, he played in the New York Philharmonic in the Young People's Concert. He has also taken master classes with Albrecht Mayer, David Walter, Hansjorg Shenllenbeger, Christian Schmitt, Nora Cismondi, Diana Doherty, and Elaine Douvas, and performed with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Hangzhou Philharmonic orchestras. A second-year student in the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, Mr. Lv studies with Philharmonic Principal Oboe Liang Wang and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra principal oboe Xin Zhang.

Second Annual Performance Residency in Shanghai

The New York Philharmonic's second annual performance residency in Shanghai will take place July 2-8, 2016, with five performances; a Young People's Concert; activities associated with the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA), including master classes, lessons, coachings, and a side- by-side Philharmonic rehearsal with Academy students; a Very Young Composers workshop and performance; and a free, public, outdoor concert featuring the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet. The performances are presented as part of Shanghai's Music in the Summer Air (MISA) festival.

Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct the World Premiere of Xu Shuya's The Light of Summer, a Philharmonic co-commission with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra; Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2, with Daniil Trifonov as soloist; and R. Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, July 2, 2016, at Shanghai Symphony Hall and July 4, 2016, at the Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre. Alan Gilbert will also lead Boulez's Messagesquisse, with Philharmonic cellist Eric Bartlett as soloist along with Philharmonic cellists Patrick Jee, Qiang Tu, Sumire Kudo, Maria Kitsopoulos, and Alexei Yupanqui Gonzales and guest cellist Wendy Sutter as the ensemble; Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, with Gil Shaham as soloist; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Eroica, July 8, 2016, at Shanghai Symphony Hall.

Assistant Conductor Joshua Gersen will conduct a Young People's Concert on July 3, 2016, at Shanghai Symphony Hall, hosted by media personality Dashan, featuring Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Dashan; selections from R. Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks; and music by Very Young Composers of New York and Shanghai.

The Philharmonic will present a complete screening of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights, July 7, 2016, at Shanghai Symphony Hall with the Orchestra performing Chaplin's score live, conducted by Timothy Brock, who restored the score for live performance.

The New York Philharmonic will also present a Very Young Composers workshop led by Young Composers Advocate Jon Deak and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Teaching Artists, as well as musicians from the New York Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The workshop will culminate in a performance on July 8, 2016, at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Hall.

The Shanghai Orchestra Academy will hold its first-ever graduation ceremony on July 5, 2016, at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Hall. Alan Gilbert and Long Yu will participate in the ceremony. Zarin Mehta Fellows Tong Ba, Shuang Lv, and Hui Zhang will be among the graduates of the SOA's first class.

The New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet will perform a free concert on July 5, 2016, on the lawn of the People's Square.