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East Wind - A Free Lunchtime Concert


26th January

1pm

Free to attend

lunchtime

Book Tickets

The Actors' Church is thrilled to present this long awaited opportunity, an ensemble of Chinese Musicians, trained in London Music Schools undertake a series of classic Chinese classical pieces. 

The theme is propelled by the hope that East-West exchange in classical music can become the perfect building block for a peaceful, hopeful, and constructive link between the UK and China. 

Programme:

Pianist  Ke Ma 

Scenes in a Jade Terrace (1988)

II. Memories in an ancient garden

A.S.Arensky (1861-1906)

Etude Op.25 No.4 ‘Theme Chinois’(1890)

Zhang Zhao(b.1964)

Pi Huang (1995)

Pianist  Yuzhou Zhang

Yiqiang Sun (b.1945)

Spring Dance (1980)

Tenor  Zihua Zhang

Jianfen Gu (b.1935)

That Would be Me (1982)

Text by Xiaoguang Chen (b. 1948)

 (1906-1944)

Hokkien folk song Bang Tshun Hong( Longing for the Spring Breeze) (1933)

Text by Linqiu Li (1906-1979)

Soprano  Xiaofei Shen (Siyu)

Pianist   Naixin Li

Huang Zi (1904-1938)

Spring Nostalgia (1932)

Poet Hanzhang Wei(1905-1993)

Tingjiang Hu(b.1981)

Ask Spring (2010)

Lyrics by Yan su(1930-2016)

Baritone Zheng Tu

Huang Zi (1904-1938)

Homeland Nostalgia (1932)

Poet Hanzhang Wei (1905-1993)

Qing Zhu (1893-1959)

The Endless River Eastward Flows (1920)

Poet Su Shi (1037-1101)

Tune: Charm of a Maiden Singer (Song Dynasty)

Memories of the Past at Red Cliff

Mezzo Soprano  Yixuan Qian

Huang Zi (1904-1938)

Three Wishes of the Rose (1932)

Poet Yusheng Long (1902-1966)

Plum Blossoms in the Snow

Text by Xuean Liu (1905-1985)

Baritone&Chinese zither  Yang Kang

Weijie Gao (b.1938)

Amour-to the Tune of Red Embroidered Shoes

Poet Yunshi Guan (1286-1324)

Chinese Folk song

Flower Drum of Fengyang

(Created between Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty 1368- 1912)

Chinese zither

Ancient Chinese music arranged by Liu Le (b.1985)

Loves the Spring Breeze

London Youlan Qin Society

Pipa (4-stringed Lute) Cheng Yu

White Snow in Sunny Spring

Pipa & Xiao flute Duo  Cheng Yu & Dennis K. T. Lee

Moonlit Night by the Spring River

Zither small ensemble

Song of Yue

Spring at Royal Palace

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Please note there are no public toilets on site, the closet are located just outside the church on the Piazza.

Please note there is no set seating or this event.

Biographies

Zheng Tu

Baritone

Chinese baritone Zheng Tu(b.1998) currently studies with Stephan Loges and Andrew West at Guildhall School of Music & Drama in Artist Masters Progamme (Vocal Studies). As a scholar holder he is generously supported by The Sidney Perry Foundation. After gaining BMus (Hons) in Vocal Studies at Xiamen University, he built his reputation as a soloist and vocal teacher at Hong Kong-Macao-Guangdong Great Bay Area.

Zheng regularly appears as a soloist in recitals, oratorios and operas in UK, USA, Austria, China and Italy and has sung in many venues like National Grand Theatre of China, Barbican Center, Wiener Musikverein, Milton Court, UN Headquarters(NYC), Teatro Bramante, and Stiftes Lilienfeld. He made his debut as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro and also performed as supporting roles in Riggoletto and Madama Butterfly with Genova Teatro. Other roles includes Gugliemo (Così fan tutte),Brooke (Little Women) at GSMD.

Besides, he is the winner of several international vocal competitions, such as the double 2nd Prize (Art Song Division and Aria Division) in 8th Citta di Urbania International Vocal Competition and the winner (1st Prize) of Citta di Massa Vocal Competition in 2022. He is also an artist with the Josephine Baker Trust.

Ke Ma

Pianist

“Pianists go on a lifetime’s search for the heart of this music, but Ke Ma is already closer than many, and quicker than most” – Peter Quantrill, The Arts Desk

“Where [Timothy Ridout] and his sensitive pianist Ke Ma are at their most convincing is in the short character works.” Vieuxtemps Disc review on Gramophone

Since 2017, Ke made her debut at Wigmore Hall under the auspices of the Kirckman Concert Society, she has given concerts across the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary and the US. As a soloist highlights have included appearances with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Young Musicians Symphony, Suffolk Symphony Orchestra and the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tamás Gál at the Palace of the Arts in Budapest.

During 2020, Ke appeared as one of the soloists at the Gold Medal competition and performed the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 with the new low latency technique and collaborated with Guildhall Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Richard Farnes. In addition, it’s a privilege to perform at the York Minster as the first Chinese pianist ever in the prestigious venue, where she was also invited to discuss the influence of pandemic on musicians and was featured on BBC television programme ‘Look North’.

A committed chamber musician Ke has undertaken a Tunnell Trust Award tour of Scotland, given a recital at Wigmore Hall and recorded music by Vieuxtemps for Champs Hill Records with violist in Timothy Ridout. She has collaborated with the Cuarteto Casals at Santander International Piano Competition.

Ke studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Christopher Elton, Michael Dussek and Andrew West, where she received her Bachelor and Master degree with distinction in 2017. Now, she is currently pursuing her Doctoral study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Professor Joan Havill, Rolf Hind and Dr. Alexander Soares.

Xiaofei Shen

Soprano

Xiaofei Shen (Siyu Shen) is a Chinese soprano who is studying Artist Diploma in Trinity Laban Conservatory of Music and Dance with British mezzo-soprano Sarah Pring and coach teacher Panaretos Kyriacskis. Xiaofei studied piano with her mother from the age of five and developed a strong interest in singing and began to study classical singing in 2008. She got her Bachelor’s degree in Department of Music of Beijing Normal University in 2015 where studied with Chinese soprano professor Lin Sun. She obtained a Master degree in Music performance from university of Sheffield where studied singing with British soprano Carol Smith in 2021. Siyu was worked in Shenzhen Harbour school as a music teacher and organized the Harbour Boy’s Choir before she studied in UK.

Xiaofei won the Gold Medal at the 4th Singapore International Music Festival in the Bel Canto Group and the Gold Medal in the 12th Western China Folk Song Competition. Since 2011, she had held solo recitals in Beijing, Xinjiang and Sheffield which earned positive comments and praise. She has a variety of performence experience in cities of China and UK, mainly includes the 110th anniversary gala concert of BNU; Chinese folk opera “Yang Ou Sang” porducted by National Theatre of China; Chinese folk song concert “Yun Gui Chuan” produced by China Ethnic Song & Dance Ensemble; Chinese New Year’s gala in Xinjiang (2015, 2018, 2019), Shenzhen(2016, 2017), Sheffield(2020), Manchester(2021) and London(2022). She has played Donna Anna in Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” in Trinity Laban opera scenes 2022.

Zihua Zhang

Tenor

Chinese Tenor Zihua Zhang noted for “His notoriously high tessitura style and wit” (Paul Nilon 2021) was born in Xiamen (Amoy).

He has recently completed his PGDip in Vocal studies at The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where he also completed his Masters degree under the vocal tuition of internationally renowned opera singer, Paul Nilon. In 2021, he graduated with Distinction where he gained one of the highest marks of 95% in his principal study module.   

Throughout his studies at The RNCM he was generously supported by the college with a scholarship. Before commencing his Masters education Zihua studied as an undergraduate student at Jimei University with 6 terms scholarships and graduated with distinction in 2018. At the university he studied singing, clarinet, and choral conducting and was an assistant conductor of the university choir

He is now studying on the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma course in Professional Performance (Level 8) at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under Christopher Turner, where he is also kindly supported by RBC with a scholarship.  

In the summer of 2022 Zihua made his European debut singing the role of Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi in Berlin.Other recent roles include the role of Basillio in Le Nozze di Figaro for the RNCM which was directed by Jonathan Cocker and conducted by Peter Whelan. He also performed the role of Tanzmeister in the Opera Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss also for the RNCM, which was directed by Stuart Barker and conducted by Peter Robinson. In the RBC’s spring opera production 2023, he will be singing the Cock in The Cunning Little Vixon by Janácek.

For Opera scenes performances he has sung the role of Brighella Ariadne auf Naxos, Prunier La Rondine, and Cat in Jonathan Dove’s Pinocchio. In Autumn of 2022 Zihua will sing the role of Tamino Die Zauberflöte for The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Opera Scenes which will be directed by Rebecca Meltzer and Ashley Beauchamp.

Zihua is recipient of many awards, including the London Young Musician, where he won Gold Prize in the Master group, Classical period group and Romantic period group.

He was awarded Gold Prize in the classical category at the Global Genius Music Competition.  In April 2022, he received his World Top 50 Musicians Award, certified by London Young Musician.

Zihua continues to grow his international career and has participated in many important international performances. In 2016-2019, he was invited by Taiwanese official department to have two performances each year for promoting cultural establishment between two sides of the strait. In 2017, he performed at the BRICS Xiamen International Summit (5 important developing countries). The following year he performed in Singapore Amoy Guild. Later in January 2020, he participated in the China-Britain Chinese New Year Extravaganza, UCL, London.

 

Yixuan Qian

Mezzo-Soprano

“Yixuan is a highly gifted mezzo-soprano. As an international student who has studied in the UK, she would be a superb ambassador for what our British Conservatoires can offer.” - Jennifer Hamilton

“She has the unique ability to play the widest range of emotion, from quiet introspection to readily embracing the gutsy and emotional. Her vocal range is excellent, with a haunting profound lower register and top notes which are full and beautiful.” – Gidon Saks

Yixuan Qian, a Chinese Mezzo-soprano, trained at Berlin Opera Academy 2022 in Berlin with Ian Donald Wilson Memorial Scholarship and Elizabeth Luxton Memorial Scholarship and studied opera at Morley Opera School (2021/2022) in London, where she has been supported by the Nicholas John Trust. She obtained an Advanced Postgraduate diploma in Vocal Performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in 2021, where she studied singing with Patricia Rozario and was coached by Helen Yorke. She has also been given the Kathleen Roberts Vocal Scholarship for this program. She holds a Master degree in Music Performance from University of Surrey in 2019, and an undergraduate honours degree in Music from Chongqing Normal University in China in 2016.

Most recently Yixuan has played La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (in Berlin, 2022), Cenerentola from Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Orlofsky from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Hänsel from Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Dorabella from Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Idamante from Mozart’s Idomeneo, Medoro in Handel’s Orlando and Èboli in Verdi’s Don Carlos (Morley college Opera Scenes 2021/2022), and Chérubin in Massenet’s Chérubin and Suzanne in Milhaud’s La Mère coupable (Trinity Laban Opera Scenes 2021). Yixuan is the founder of Musicians in the UK Chinese platform and she holds a Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa in the United Kingdom.

Yu Zhou

Pianist

Pianist Yu Zhou started with the violin at 6 and piano followed at 8. He soon began studying at Junior Guildhall, studying violin with Erika Klemperer and piano with Chenyin Li. At 16, after deciding to pursue music as a career, he was accepted into Chetham's school of music to study violin with Benedict Holland and piano with Jonathan Middleton. He was then offered a scholarship to study at Trinity Laban, where he studied violin with Mayumi Fujikawa and piano with Hilary Coates. During this time, he also studied conducting with Richard Markson. He completed his BMus degree studying with Jianing Kong at the Royal College of Music, where he earned a place on the RCM Gateway concert scheme and has recently completed a 1-year MMus and Professional Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Tatiana Sarkissova.

He has won numerous awards, being a prizewinner at the Jaques Samuel piano festival and Suffolk festival of performing arts. He also won second prize in the Yamaha piano competition at Chetham's. At Trinity, he won the John Longmire (Beethoven) competition, despite being the youngest student to enter and reached the final of the Alfred Kitchin competition. He also won first prize at the Emanuel Trophy piano competition and recently won first prize at the Cleveland Institute of Music International Academy Piano Competition. He has performed concertos and recitals in venues all around the UK and abroad, including Wigmore Hall, Meany Hall USA, St. James Piccadilly, St. Brides and a Snape Maltings concert which was broadcast on BBC Radio Suffolk. He has also been invited to many music festivals and courses across Europe and America, and was awarded a full scholarship to take part in the Seattle piano institute 2018.

He is also active in the field of chamber music and works regularly with talented musicians. He enjoys studying scores and believes it's always important to be faithful to the composer, but also to make their genius accessible to a wider audience. He hopes to continue to study and perform in competitions and concerts in order to bring music of the highest quality to audiences who need it in the future.

Kang Yang

Baritone and Chinese Zither

Kang Yang is a versatile and thrilling young artist based in London, England.

Currently, Kang studies with Professor Janice L. Chapman and Marcus Van den Akker at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, on the Artists Masters programme.

As a singer, Kang has performed in places such as Westminster Hall (2022), Chongqin Grand Theatre of China (2018), Guotai Grand Theatre of China (2019), Barbican Center(2021-2022), and Milton Court(2022) etc. Previous engagements include Brriten’s Albert Herring (The Vicar), Morzart’s Così fan tutte (Guglielmo) and Le Nozze Di Figaro (Figaro), Oratorio work includes soloist in Hyden’s The Creation, Handel’s Messiah and Fauré’s Requiem. After his debut in Thétis by Rameau in historical performance earlier this year, he will also perform as a specialist in Handel’s Agrippina (Claudio) and Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria (Ulisse) in March 2023 with Guildhall Baroque Orchestra.

And he was also invited to sing in the 2022 Burberry Autumn/Winter Fashion Show (London) with London Contemporary Orchestra. Record voice works for 2022 Chanel Fashion Show (Paris) with British music collective-SAULT.

Kang is the recipient of numerous awards, such as the First Prize of the Thirteenth Chinese Youth Arts Exhibition Competition, the First Prize of The China-Singapore International Music Competition, Bel Canto Group, and the First Prize of The Fifth Melbourne International Youth Instrument and Music Competition, Bel Canto Group.

As a Zither Musician, after he won The First Prize of the Third International Youth Chinese Zither Competition for professional category. Kang started his Masterclass & concert tour across China, including Hunan (2018), Guizhou (2019), Chongqing (2020-2021). He has collaborated with Conductor Rosie Danvers record 5 albums with British music collective-SAULT (2022 God collection).

Naixin Li

Pianist

Naixin is a promising young pianist from China. Professor Hilary Coates is her supervisor as she pursues a Master's degree in piano performance at London's Trinity Laban Conservatoire. She studied at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien with Professor Matthias Trachsel and Professor Gereon Kleiner(Deputy Head of Department in Mozarteum in Salzburg). Several prestigious music universities in the UK and Ireland have accepted her for her master’s study with substantial scholarship funding.

Naixin was born in Xiamen and has been studying piano since she was three years old. She studied at the Xiamen Music School and the Gulangyu Piano School of the Central Conservatory of Music. Li Naixin has won the Silver Prize in the Junior Group of the Helen Cup Shanghai International Youth Piano Competition Grand Final, the Gold Prize in the Chinese Composition Group, the First Prize in the Youth Group of the Steinway National Youth Piano Competition Provincial Competition and first place in the concerto division of the Asian Piano Competition in Hong Kong. She has also given many concerts in the Vienna Ehrbar saal, Shenzhen Concert Hall, Shenzhen Nanshan Cultural Centre, Gulangyu Concert Hall and Xiamen Wuyuanwan Concert Hall.

Dennis Lee

Xiao Flute

 Dennis specialises in traditional and contemporary repertoire and guqin duets on the xiao flute. Member of the London Youlan Qin Society, Dennis has performed at the British Museum, V&A Museum, Royal Opera House, The Bramall (Birmingham), Rich Mix, The Place (Euston), Trafalgar Square, Southbank Centre, etc. His teachers included Hu Ruijun (London), Zhang Weiliang (Beijing) and Luo Shoucheng (Shanghai).

Elaine Yu

Guqin

Elaine Yu is a member and guqin instructor of the London Youlan Qin Society. She has been performing and teaching the guqin and zhongruan (moon lute) for many years and excels in both traditional and modern repertoire. Elaine also regularly performs with the UK China Ensemble.

Shen Xin

Erhu

Shen Xin started to learn erhu when she was 5 years old and qualified with the highest certificate of erhu performing at the year of 10. When she was in Uni, she was a member of Nanjing University's traditional Chinese music orchestra and performed over 20 concerts in different cities. After she moved to Sweden, she was performing in the first and second Chinese culture festivals in Stockholm, the 11th Swedish Chinese New Year Gala, and several concerts. She was invited to perform a solo piece of 「Jubilate deo」with a Finnish chamber orchestra Wegekius Sinfonietta in 2019.

Dr Cheng Yu

Pipa

A renowned pipa and guqin virtuoso, ethnomusicologist and teaches at SOAS University of London.  Formally, a soloist in China’s National Orchestra. A recipient of several Arts Council of England’s funding awards and was recognised by Songlines as “a leading and creative Chinese musician”. Cheng performed at Southbank, Barbicans, Rich Mix and at WOMEX and WOMAD festivals.  She played with BBC and London symphony orchestras and with Lang Lang, Tan Dun and Gabriel Prokofiev. Her Silk Breeze was the only Chinese ensemble invited to performed at WOMAD festival in 2022.  Her published CDs include 4 solo albums and many cross-cultural music under such labels as Realworld, ARC, Universal and EMI.  Cheng is the founder of the UK Chinese Music and London Youlan Qin Society and has led numerous music projects widely in the UK and Europe.

Qin Lei

Guqin

Qin Lei is a London-based calligraphy artist, guqin player and committee member of London Youlan Qin Society.   She has performed with London Youlan Qin Society at various cultural events in the UK to promote guqin and Chinese culture.  Prior to that she has worked for global Chinese media company Phoenix CNE and international banking firms to promote Chinese business culture and etiquette.

East Wind - A Free Lunchtime Concert

26 January 2023

1pm

Free to attend

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