Bass-baritone: Shenyang
As the winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2007, Shenyang was immediately propelled into the spotlight with an array of international engagements including debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich and Washington National Opera. A decade on, this Chinese Bass-baritone has established himself as one of the finest voices of his generation, has amassed an expansive repertoire for both the opera and concert stages, and enjoys enduring relationships with a wide range of today’s pre-eminent conductors.
 
After studying at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, The Julliard School, Salzburg Young Artist Project and the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program, Shenyang launched his operatic career in roles by Rossini, Mozart and Handel and enjoyed appearances at the Metropolitan Opera under Fabio Luisi, Sir Andrew Davis, Harry Bicket and Marco Armiliato to name a few. In a nod to a more dramatic future repertoire, Shenyang has made several key role debuts in the last two seasons: as Don Pizarro in Beethoven’s Leonore with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck; Jochanaan in concert performances of Salome with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Liebreich; and a unanimously-praised Gunther in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Jaap van Zweden (recorded by Naxos) and which Opera Magazine described as “full of character…with lyrical phrasing and polished diction.”
 
The concert stage has always played a pivotal part in Shenyang’s season planning taking him to all corners of the globe in a varied repertoire: Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with both the Sydney Symphony Orchestra/David Robertson and the San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson-Thomas; Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with the Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the New York Philharmonic/Alan Gilbert and the Oslo Philharmonic/Klaus Mäkelä; Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Sir Antonio Pappano and  Mahler’s Symphony No.8 with both the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest/Marc Albrecht and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Harding. Additional repertoire regularly performed includes Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Handel’s Messiah.
 
Shenyang’s 2019/20 season includes appearances with Berliner Philharmoniker/Daniel Harding for Berlioz’s Romeo et Juliette, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Santtu-Matias Rouvali for Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/John Eliot Gardiner to Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Wiener Philharmoniker/Andris Nelsons for Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, and Helsinki Philharmonic/Klaus Mäkelä for Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death. Last season included the hugely successful world premiere of Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion at Dresdner Musikfestspiele, a work which subsequently served as the vehicle of Shenyang’s debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and was extensively toured across China with Orchestre National de Lyon. The current season includes further performances with Santa Cecilia, NDR Elbphilharmonie and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by the composer himself.
 
Shenyang is committed to serving as a bridge between the cultures of East and West, breathing life into the vocal treasures of his native heritage, and was appointed a Brand Ambassador for Montblanc in recognition of his stature as a prominent musical and cultural figure in Asia. He has been Artist in Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra where he performed works by Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Mahler together with conductor Yu Long, he is a regular feature of the Beijing Music Festival where he returns this season in the Chinese premiere of Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy, and he gave the world premiere of the orchestral song cycle, Song of Farewell (written for him by composer Ye Xiaogang) in Beijing, before taking it to the Berlin Philharmonie with the China National Symphony Orchestra.
 
A dedicated Lieder singer, Shenyang received the Alice Tully Vocal Arts Award which led to his New York recital debut at Lincoln Center in 2009 with pianist Vlad Iftinca, and he has subsequently appeared as part of Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer with Daniel Barenboim at Carnegie Hall, and in duo recital with soprano Susanna Phillips and pianist Brian Zeger at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the trio recently released a disc of Schubert Songs and Duets titled “A Lost World” on Delos. In 2015, Shenyang and the Stradivari Quartet presented Schubert’s Die Winterreise in a specially commissioned arrangement at Shanghai’s Symphony Hall to exceptional critical acclaim, and he repeated the programme last season with the Borusan Quartet at Istanbul’s Is Sanat Hall.
   
Piano: Zee Zee
An imaginative and electrifying performer, Zee Zee, is unique among the young generation of pianists. Described as “full of enthusiasm and glamour, radiating the vigor of youth” (Chinese Gramophone), her interpretations and communicative abilities have been praised as “taking us to another reality... bright, expressive and moving to the extreme” (Belgischer Rundfunk), while her creative maturity has been hailed as “a powerful, passionate and compelling representation of pure artistry” (Los Angeles Times).
 
Highlights in the 19/20 season include the season opening concert with the Estonian National Symphony under Neeme Järvi, and concerts with the Macedonian Philharmonic, with the China Philharmonic at Beijing Music Festival, as well as with the Philarmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall under Paavo Järvi. She will also give a recital at the prestigious Lucerne Piano Festival. In October 2019, Universal released her first album, featuring Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Paavo Järvi and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
 
In the past seasons, Zee Zee performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich and at the Shanghai Arts Festival, and Ravel’s Concerto in G with the NHK Symphony Orchestra at the Hong Kong Arts Festival; both projects were led by Paavo Järvi. She returned to the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra (Edo de Waart), China Philharmonic Orchestra and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (Yu Long) and was the Artist in Residence with the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra. She made her debuts with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with Pablo Rus Broseta), Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra (Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 with Rei Hotoda) and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra (Grieg Piano Concerto with Michael Schønwandt), and appeared at the MiTo Festival (Italy), the Gilmore Festival (Kalamazoo, Michigan) and in the SJE Arts Series (Oxford, UK).
 
Zee Zee regularly works with some of today’s leading conductors, including Zhang Xian, Marin Alsop, Michal Nesterowicz, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Charles Dutoit and Neeme Järvi. She has performed with leading orchestras, such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Belgian National Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic and Hong Kong Philharmonic, and has given a number of notable recitals, including the recitals at the Wigmore Hall in London, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Center in New York, Vancouver Recital Society, and Hong Kong’s Premiere Performances. The 16/17 season saw her as the Artist in Residence with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, including on its European tour, and 15/16 marked her final season as a BBC New Generation Artist. In 2014 she gave a live, televised performance at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.
 
As a passionate chamber musician, Zee Zee also regularly performs with the Z.E.N. Trio, alongside violinist Esther Yoo and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan. The trio made its first US tour in October 2019.
 
Zee Zee began her musical training in Germany at the age of five. Upon returning to her native China, she became one of the most sought-after young artists in the nation, collaborating with the leading Chinese orchestras, with whom she retains close links. Having completed her piano studies with Dan Zhaoyi at the Shenzhen Arts School, Zee Zee was invited to continue her artistic development under the mentorship of Nelita True at the Eastman School of Music, and Yoheved Kaplinsky and Robert McDonald at The Juilliard School, where she won the coveted Petschek Piano Award. Zee Zee was awarded first prizes at China's 1st International Piano Concerto Competition, the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition and the Krainev International Piano Competition. She was also a prizewinner at the 2013 Queen Elizabeth Competition. She has studied at the Peabody Institute with Leon Fleisher and continues to receive guidance from Alfred Brendel.
 

GSO Henle String Quartet
Established in 2015, Henle String Quartet is a professional quartet of Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO). Henle, the name of the Quartet, is inspired by G. Henle Verlag Publishing House which specializes in sheet music. The publisher is known for its characteristic - being rigorous, orthodox, and faithful. In this flighty and impatient real society, the Quartet hopes to pay tribute to the spirit of rigorousness and seriousness with its humble efforts. In addition to the transliteration of “Henle”, Henle represents the willingness that may audience receive endless pleasure from the expansive world of classical music.
 
In possession of polished virtuosity and expressive performing, the Quartet members have close cooperation, convincing performance, and precise understandings of works in different time periods. Henlen Quartet has made frequent appearances at Xinghai Concert Hall, giving a number of concerts. In May, 2018, the Quartet performed at the opening concert of Chinese-American String Music Exchanges Art Week to critical acclaim, and was praised as a quartet of dazzling skill, unique style, and great vitality.
 
Henle Quartet consists of Meng Xian (first violin), Luo Jing (second violin), Liu Shuangshuang (viola) and Ye Hui (cello). They respectively graduated from The Juilliard School, The Curtis Institute of Music, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and currently serve as the principal, the associate principal, and the assistant principal of the string part of GSO.
 
 
Program
Ask                                                                                                    
Hometown                                                                                          
In the Mountain                                                                                  
Listen to the Rain                                                                                
Bid Farewell to South Seas                                                                 
The Native Land of White Clouds                                                       
Nostalgia                                                                                             
Homeland of the Moon                                                          
Eastward Flows the Yangtze River                                                                    
 
Intermission
 
The Story of Spring                               
Yearning                                                         
Excerpts from Eight Chinese Folk Songs
Returning Star                                                        
Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon                        
Original Heart                                                   
Hope (Theme Song of Shenzhen Story · Pursuit)                 
Motherland, Shenzhen Would Like to Say                          
 
Please check program updates at the concert.
 

Program 
Ask                                                                                                    
Hometown                                                                                          
In the Mountain                                                                                  
Listen to the Rain                                                                                
Bid Farewell to South Seas                                                                 
The Native Land of White Clouds                                                       
Nostalgia                                                                                             
Homeland of the Moon                                                          
Eastward Flows the Yangtze River                                                                    
 
Intermission
 
The Story of Spring                               
Yearning                                                         
Excerpts from Eight Chinese Folk Songs
Returning Star                                                        
Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon                        
Original Heart                                                   
Hope (Theme Song of Shenzhen Story · Pursuit)                 
Motherland, Shenzhen Would Like to Say                          
 
Please check program updates at the concert.