Shanghai Conservatory of Music Partners with University of Music and Drama Hamburg and San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Shanghai, Hamburg, and Berkeley Symphonies

The Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SHCM) is pleased to join a consortium comprised of six music institutions from around the globe to launch an international fellowship program titled “The Future of Orchestral Culture.” The research and performance projects undertaken by fellowship participants will explore new directions in orchestral culture, from management to performance, and the concert experience. Led by the University of Music and Drama Hamburg and the Symphony Hamburg, partners also include the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. SHCM participants of the program’s first year are cellist Yan Pan and violinist Runyin Zhang.

The new fellowship program, which began in September, gives eight fellows who are recent graduates and faculty of the participating conservatories the opportunity to spend a full academic year researching and developing innovative formats for the orchestral concert experience. Fellows will study and perform alongside symphony musicians while crafting new ideas and concepts that will be implemented in experimental events with the participating orchestras. Fellows will participate in performances, coachings, program meetings, and research. Participants are based in Hamburg and will spend several weeks in Shanghai and San Francisco implementing approaches they cultivated in Hamburg with the cities’ respective participating cultural institutions.

The new fellowship is funded through the next three years by the Federal Government of Germany with additional support from the University of Music and Drama Hamburg and Symphony Hamburg. All partner institutions have contributed to the concept and implementation of this project.

SHCM’s President Zaiyong Lin states, “The Shanghai Conservatory of Music is very pleased to collaborate with University of Music and Drama Hamburg, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, which is our excellent partner and also the best in China, to carry out this program. The significance of this program lies in the fact that it not only provides orchestra talents with opportunities of international academic and artistic practice, but also broadens humanistic horizons for them. Musicians who participate in this program can not only conduct in-depth study and thinking for the development of orchestral culture, but also do some pioneering work for the future of music.”

Director of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Ms. Ping Zhou says, “The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is pleased to provide young talented artists around the world a platform for artistic practice and management, to make our younger generation have better skills in performing, artistic planning and management. We are honored to work with Shanghai Conservatory of Music, art and educational institutions in the United States and Germany to implement this pioneering program and share the common international perspective as well.”

University of Music and Drama Hamburg President Elmar Lampson commented, “Without the support of Hamburg House of Representatives deputy Rüdiger Kruse and former State Council Dr. Roland Salchow, the fellowship would not have been possible. I am looking forward to the fantastic scholarship recipients from the USA, China, and Europe. Today, orchestral musicians who are thinking about and are flexible enough to take part in the formation of ideas to deal with many new challenges are in demand. I am very enthusiastic about the fact that we have found such excellent partners with the music colleges and orchestras in Shanghai and San Francisco as new ideas for the further development of orchestral culture can only be developed in international cooperation.”