About the Shanghai Orchestra Academy 2018 Zarin Mehta Fellows

Renchao Yu, 24, was born in Shanghai, China. Mr. Yu studies with Vera Tsu Weiling at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and with Pei Li at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA). He was appointed concertmaster of the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, and Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 he joined the Asian Youth Orchestra, with whom he toured. In 2018 he joined the Youth Music Culture Guangzhou and he was the concertmaster of the YMCG Symphony Orchestra. As a student at the SOA, he has performed with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He took lessons with New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Frank Huang, Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples, and Assistant Concertmaster Michelle Kim; Berlin Philharmonic concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley; and Stefan Wagner, Roland Greutter, Eduard Grach, Kevork Mardirossian, Lucie Robert, Kathleen Winkler, Mayumi Fujikawa, Alexander Barantschik, Weigang Li, and Feng Ning.

Kuan Liu, 26, was born in Hubei Province, China. Mr. Liu studied viola with Xidi Shen at the middle school affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Roberto Diaz and Michael Tree. He served as principal viola of the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra from 2012 to 2014. In 2014 he attended the Geneva Conservatory of Music as an exchange student, studying with Matthias Buchholz. As a student at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA), he has performed with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, among others. A second-year student at the SOA, he studies with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra vice principal viola Li Chen and performed in master classes with New York Philharmonic Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, Singapore Symphony Orchestra principal viola Manqin Zhang, and NDR Symphony Orchestra principal viola Jan Larsen.

Fangyu Huang, 24, was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Ms. Huang studied with Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra principal flute Wen Yuan Lin at Kaohsiung Senior High School. In 2012 she studied with associate professor Hsiao Pei Iris MA at National Kaohsiung Normal University (NKNU), where she served as principal flute of the NKNU Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with Tone Melody Flute Ensemble and Miracle Flute Ensemble. In 2016, as a student at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, she performed with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra. She studied with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra principal flute Zhe Hu and has taken lessons with New York Philharmonic Principal Flute Robert Langevin and flutists Yoobin Son and Mindy Kaufman, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra principal flute Wolfgang Ritter, and Hong Kong Philharmonic principal flute Megan Sterling.

Yanru Chiu, 23, was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Ms. Chiu studied with Minho Yeh at the National Kaohsiung Normal University (NKNU), where she was appointed principal clarinet of the NKNU Symphony Orchestra. As a student at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, she has performed with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. She studies with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra principal clarinet Kun Chen and has taken lessons with New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill and Acting Associate Principal Clarinet Pascual Martínez Forteza, and with Hong Kong Philharmonic principal clarinet Andrew Simon, San Francisco Symphony principal clarinet Carey Bell, Singapore Symphony Orchestra principal clarinet Yue Ma, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra associate principal Francesco Celata.

Sihong Zhao, 27, was born in Harbin, China. He studied with Zhihong Song at the middle school affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he served as principal bassoon of the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 and 2017 he served as principal bassoon of the Asian Youth Orchestra, with whom he toured. In 2017 he joined the Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra as principal bassoon. He is currently in his second year at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, where he studies with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra principal bassoon Min Cheng.