A National Class One Conductor, Yuan Bei is the Resident Conductor of the China National Traditional Orchestra, a member of the Chinese Musicians’ Association, an executive member of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society, and the Principal Conductor of the Tsinghua Traditional Instruments Orchestra.

Yuan graduated from the Traditional Instruments Department of the Central Conservatory of Music, and the Conducting Department of the China Conservatory of Music. He received training in conducting under Professor Yang Youqing, a reputable conductor. He was selected to join the first “National Chinese Orchestra Conducting Training Programme” organised by the China National Traditional Orchestra, as well as the “Chinese Music Conducting Training Project” under the China National Arts Fund. In recent years, he has conducted at a number of Chinese music concerts such as the “Spring Festival Reception for the Communist Party of China”, “Rediscover Chinese Music”, “Sounds of the Four Seasons”, and “Instruments of the Chinese Orchestra: A Musical Guide”, as well as various symphonic and operatic concerts such as “Sing a New Song to the Party”, “Poetry and Songs”, “Singing Classical Poems”, “Yili River – Sounds of the New Century” and “Double-winged Sacred Horse”. He has also represented the country in a number of significant state-level performances by serving as a conductor.

Yuan has published research papers on topics concerning Huqin bowing techniques in the Chinese Orchestras, working relationships among the conductor and orchestral players, and acoustic balance in the Chinese orchestras.

As a conductor, Yuan has frequently performed with the China National Traditional Orchestra, the China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, the Guangdong National Orchestra, the Henan National Music Orchestra, the Jilin Chinese Orchestra, the Macao Chinese Orchestra, the Beijing Chinese Orchestra, the China Coal Mine Art Troupe Folk Orchestra, the Qingdao Chinese Orchestra, and the Inner Mongolia Manhan Art Theatre Chinese Orchestra in recent years, receiving wide critical acclaim for his conducting.

Dr. Mike Fansler is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, where he has served since 2001. He is the conductor of the university Wind Ensemble and Chamber Players and teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting.

Dr. Fansler studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Syracuse University, James Madison University, and Schenectady County Community College. He remains actively engaged in the Macomb Community as conductor of the Macomb Municipal Band (est. 1852) and saxophonist in the American Legion’s Post 6 Big Band.

His professional memberships include the prestigious American Bandmasters Association (2012), College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, Illinois Music Educators Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Under his leadership, the Western Illinois Wind Ensemble maintains a demanding performance schedule presenting a range of repertoire from historically significant masterworks to exciting world premieres. In the past decade, the group has engaged audiences at multiple Illinois All-State Conferences, the College Band Directors National Association’s North Central Conference, twice at the prestigious Armour Stage in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall and internationally on a 10-day tour of Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Dr. Fansler’s passion for music has led to performance invitations, conducting seminars and workshops on five continents. He regularly conducts honor bands throughout the United States including his most recent engagements with the Pennsylvania All-State Wind Ensemble, Las Vegas Honor Band and All-Iowa Band. He has lectured on the music of Percy Grainger at the Midwest Clinic and through a grant, visited the Grainger Museum in Melbourne, Australia to further study his music and life.

Dr. Fansler has collaborated with the Western Illinois University School of Music studio faculty on many important engagements, including the recent lead commission and world premiere of James Stephenson’s The Devil’s Tale, a sequel to Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. In addition, the Chamber Players recently released the world premiere recording of Brahms’ Variation and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24 which was dedicated to Dr. Fansler by the transcriber, Joseph Kreines.

(The above conductor’s biography provided by Western Illinois University)

Professor Gustavo Fontana is one of the most active and versatile directors in Argentina. He is currently the Professor of Orchestra Conducting at the National University of Arts in Buenos Aires.

Professor Fontana graduated as a Bachelor of Music from the National Conservatory of Music of Argentina and studied conducting with Cristóbal Sole, Milen Nachev and Charles Dutoit. He was the Artistic Director of the Mendoza Philharmonic Orchestra from 2014 to 2018, developing important productions in the field of symphonic music, opera and ballet and managing the first two tours of the orchestra outside its province of origin, performing at the Teatro Colón and at the Kirchner Cultural Centre in the city of Buenos Aires. He was also the Artistic Director of the Bahía Blanca Symphony Orchestra, Córdoba Symphony Band and the Buenos Aires Symphony Band.

In the field of teaching, he held the position of National Coordinator of the Social Programme of Children's and Youth Orchestras of the Ministry of Culture of the Nation and actively collaborates with educational institutions and universities in four continents. He was a faculty member at the Manuel de Falla Municipal Conservatory, and also the founder of the Symphonic Band of the University of Buenos Aires and the Buenos Aires Moderna Youth Orchestra.

During the 2023 season, he carried out projects with the prolific orchestras in Argentina, in addition to his commitments with the Symphony Orchestra of Campinas, and the Medellin Symphony Orchestra. Parallel to his artistic activities, he constantly collaborates with musical and social educational projects throughout the Argentine territory.

Toh Ban-sheng is an active member in the international choral arena and a recipient of seven Conductor’s Prizes in Europe, he has been invited to adjudicate, conduct, or teach in more than 20 countries. Known for his artistry, he is one of few who also adjudicated international competitions in choral conducting and choral composition.

Starting out essentially as a self-taught musician, Toh completed two master’s degrees in Choral Conducting and Voice from the USA. Toh has since been recognised as an eminent conductor and educator, having garnered eight Grands Prix, numerous Category Champions and Jury Prizes, and some 70 gold awards. With Raffles Singers, a triple Grand Prix winner, he was invited to perform at the 11^th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, Spain.

In Singapore, Toh’s choirs were crowned the “Choir of the Year” in consecutive years. Among other notable appointments, he conducted the 800- strong National Day Parade Combined Choir on live telecast. His work as a Chorus Master for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 has won him rave reviews by the Straits Times. In recognition of his artistic achievements, Toh was conferred the national Young Artist Award in 2006 and the Honorary Member of the Choral Directors Association of Singapore in 2016.

His self-titled biography, The Accidental Conductor, was published in 2010 and the Toh Ban Sheng Choral Series with Earthsongs Music Publication in 2012. He has also written for the International Choral Bulletin and had his music published in Europe.

Toh is currently the Artistic Director of the International Choral Festival Orientale Concentus (Singapore), Raffles Singers and Amoris Singers in Singapore.

Ho Wing is Professor of Viola and doctoral supervisor of the Central Conservatory of Music, Vice President of Strings Association of China Musicians Association, Vice President of the Association of Violin and Viola Education for Children and Youths of Beijing Musicians Association, Member of the International Viola Congress, and Visiting Professor of Yale University. He is also a member of the juries for the Primrose International Viola Competition (USA), Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition (UK), and International Viola Congress Young Artist Competition. He has received the award of New Century Excellent Talent from the Ministry of Education of China, and has been honoured with the title of Beijing Cultural Worker with Integrity and Artistic Excellence.

Professor Ho graduated with a double degree specialising in violin and viola performance. In 1987, he obtained a Master of Musical Arts from Yale University. He went on to study conducting and art of musical performance in the Baroque period at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Professor Ho has been the principal violist of such renowned international music festivals as Bear Valley Music Festival, Oregon Coast Music Festival and Spoleto Festival in the USA, as well as famous orchestras including Ohio Ballet Orchestra, Orchestra New England, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Savannah Symphony Orchestra in the USA, Asia Philharmonic Orchestra (Japan), Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, and Macau Sinfonietta.

Professor Ho has also been teaching at the prestigious Brevard Music Center Summer Institute (USA), Heifetz International Music Institute (USA) and Great Mountains Music Festival & School (Korea) for many years. From 1990 to 1999, he was Director of Orchestral Music at the School of the Arts of the College of Charleston in South Carolina, USA. In 1999, he served as a guest professor at the Central Conservatory of Music and established the first viola education and research centre in China. He also founded the China Youngsters Chamber Orchestra for the affiliated school of Central Conservatory of Music, and acted as the Orchestra’s artistic director and conductor. He is frequently invited to host academic seminars and masterclasses at major conservatories all over the world.

During his tenure as curator of the Central Conservatory of Music Library, Professor Ho built a database of literature on Bach from the 16^th century to date, laying a solid foundation for the study of early music in China. He also set up the first database of the complete scores of the orchestral music for the music institutions in China, a viola-making database, a database of digitised versions of precious recordings of the Central Conservatory, etc. He also collaborated with different sectors to develop the world’s first professional smart piano room and piano room management system which is widely adopted by the major music institutions all over the country.

Professor Ho has edited nearly a hundred titles, including written works on the viola, viola teaching materials such as the From Beginner to Advanced series, and coursebooks on scales, some of which have already been published. His only brand of viola and strings for children and related artificial intelligence products he developed in recent years have been widely used domestically and internationally.

Currently resident conductor of Ding Yi Music Company of Singapore, Wong De-li, Dedric has shown a great interest in conducting since his school days, and has studied under Dr. Tay Teow-kiat. A two-time recipient of the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Arts and Cultural Bursary in 2004 and 2006, he was admitted to the Conducting Department of the China Conservatory of Music in 2014, where he was a student of Professor Yang Youqing.

In 2013, Wong was selected to participate in the Conducting Masterclass organised by the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, where he was trained by renowned conductors Professor Zhang Guoyong and Qu Chunquan. He was awarded the 2014 National Arts Council Arts Scholarship for a master’s degree in conducting. In 2015, he was selected to attend a Conducting Workshop organised by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra to receive training under the tutelage of Tsung Yeh. He has represented Singapore in various performances held in China, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Taiwan,

In 2016, Wong presented his graduation concert for his master’s in conducting with the Youth Chinese Orchestra of the Affiliated School of the China Conservatory of Music, sharing the stage with reputable conductor Gu Guanren, who conducted a concert entitled “New Repertoire of Jiangnan Sizhu” together with Wong. In the same year, Wong took up the post of Conductor of the Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra.

Leung Ka-lok is currently Assistant Music Officer of the Chinese Music Section of the Music Office, and a member of the Yue Pipa Ensemble.

Leung started learning pipa with Li Ping at the Music Office, and was a student of pipa virtuoso Zhang Ying, minoring in zhongruan under the tutelage of Professor Lui Kwan-on at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA). In 2018, Leung was selected as an exchange student at the Central Conservatory of Music, representing the HKAPA and majoring in pipa with Prof. Zhang Qiang. He has also benefited from the coaching of renowned pipa pedagogues, such as Ren Hong and Chen Yin. He obtained the Bachelor of Music (Honours) with first-class honours and earned a Master of Music degree from the HKAPA. He was awarded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Scholarship, the Cecil Leong Scholarship, Chan Ho Choi Enchanting Scholarship, and the HKAPA Local Society Scholarship.

Leung has won many prizes in various International Pipa Competitions, including the gold awards in the “LiaoYuan Cup”, “DunHuang Cup”, and “ChuHan Cup”; merit award of the “Taipei Chinese Orchestra’s Pipa Competition”, and 5^th prize at the “Nanyang International Music Competition”. He was also one of the “Youth Music Makers” of RTHK.

Leung has actively performed on both solo and concerto stages. In 2018, he performed the pipa concerto Hua Mulan at the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra 40^th Anniversary Concert, and premiered the symphonic arrangement of the pipa concerto Cloud and Flower Fantasies with the Hong Kong Academy Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, he represented Hong Kong to participate in the Macau International Music Festival, captivating the audience with his rendition of Ink Spirit with the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra (HKYCO). In 2021, he was selected to play the pipa concerto Late Autumn at the “Academy Chinese Orchestra Concert – Li Bochan Series”, and in 2022, he mesmerised the audience with Moonlight on the Spring River alongside the HKYCO.

For overseas performances, he participated in the Ear Up Incubation programme, performing in Germany with other bands from Hong Kong. He toured Shanghai and European countries with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) in 2019 and 2020. In 2023, he was invited to play a pipa and dizi concerto at the Sochi Winter Art Festival.

Leung served as a Contract Freelance Musician with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and a freelance pipa player of the Macau Chinese Orchestra. He participated in the “professional orchestra internship” of the HKCO. He was the former pipa principal of the HKYCO and the Yao Yueh Chinese Orchestra, also a member of the HKAPA Chinese Orchestra.