Musicians of the UK Chinese Ensemble

 

Cheng Yu Cheng Yu started learning the pipa at the age of seven. Before moving to the UK, she was a pipa soloist in the Central Orchestra for Chinese  Music in Beijing. Since the 1990's she has been based in London and has performed widely throughout Europe, Asia, Canada and the United States. She co-founded the UK Chinese Ensemble in 1994. In addition to performance, she  teaches pipa, qin, and a Chinese ensemble class at The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

	Chang Chun-Jung Chun-Jung is a professional yangqin dulcimer player and also performs on the liuqin, ruan and sanxian lutes as well as percussion. Born in Taiwan, he was the 1991 Taiwan National Musical competition champion on the yangqin and attained second place on the ruan lute. He holds an MMs degree in yangqin performance from the Central Conservatory of Music, China and is now reading a PhD in ethnomusicology at the University of York. He has performed in China, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand, Europe and the UK.
	Chen Dacan Chen Dacan graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1964, then taught the erhu there for over 20 years. An expert on Daoist music, he has produced a number of television programmes and recordings. In 1990, Chen moved to England and became a founder member of the UK Chinese Ensemble.
	Chuang Cheng-Ying Chuang Cheng Ying is an accomplished liuqin and zhongruan lutenist and a countertenor. Born in Taiwan, he won 1st prize in the Taiwan Music Competition for liuqin solo in 1991, was the winner of the Taipei Philharmonic Foundation’s 4th Voice Competition in 2004 and won 2nd prize in the Cecil Drew Oratorio Prize 2006 at the Birmingham Conservatoire. He obtained an MMus degree in 2007 as a countertenor at the Birmingham Conservatoire and has since performed widely with the UK Chinese Ensemble.
	Han Ying Han Ying is a yangqin (dulcimer) and percussion virtuoso currently based in Manchester. Born in Beijing, she gained an Advanced Diploma in both yangqin and percussion from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2001 and a postgraduate diploma with distinction in percussion at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. Han Ying has performed widely in the UK, Europe, Japan and Australia.

Hu Bin Well-known erhu player Hu Bin was born in Xi'an, Northwest China and began to learn the erhu at the age of 10.  She went on to study it for 10 years at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, graduating with distinction in 1986. She won first prize at the Shaanxi Provincial Erhu Music Competition in 1987 and worked as an erhu player with the Shaanxi Provincial Traditional Music Ensemble. Since settling in Britain in 1992, she has performed widely in Britain and Europe.

Hu Ruijun Hu Ruijun was born in Gansu Province in the northwest of China. Initially self-taught, Hu has had a passion for dizi music since he was a child. After graduating in music in 1986, he worked as a dizi player in the Gansu Province Opera Troupe. He has been active in Europe since the early 1990s.

	Kim-Ho Ip  Composer, conductor, cellist and yangqin player Kim-Ho Ip was born in Hong Kong and studied there, in the UK and in Germany. He has received numerous awards for his music. Since the year 2000, he has been actively working with musicians, dancers and visual artists in the UK. He performs on the yangqin and cello with ensembles in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Bristol and York. His compositions have been performed at the ISCM World New Music Days (2002), music@Edinburgh festival (2003) and the Edinburgh International Festival (2005).
	Li Ming Born in Shenyang, northeast China, Li Ming was a yangqin player with the Liaoning Provincial Music and Dance Ensemble before coming to Britain in the 1990s. He has played at major venues with the UK Chinese Ensemble at the Purcell Room, the Edinburgh Festival and the Duke’s Hall as well as at many cultural events.
	Liang Qin Liang Qin is a singer and Beijing Opera performer specialising in daomadan (Military Lady role). She gained a diploma in 1999 from the Performance Department of the National Academy of Chinese Opera, Beijing and graduated in 2002 from the Music Education Department of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. She has given many performances since arriving in the UK in 2004.
	Liu Haishuo Liu Haishuo is a professional percussionist specialising in Chinese music including Beijing Opera. Born in Beijing to a musical family, he graduated from the Beijing Opera School in 1996 in percussion instruments. He also studied both Western and Chinese drumming in the Secondary School affiliated to the China National Music University. He is now actively involved in Chinese music performances in the UK.
	Liu Qing Liu Qing is a professional erhu player from Beijing, now based in the UK
	Liu Xiaohu Liu Xiaohu was born in Beijing and studied the sheng at the Chinese Music Conservatory. He worked as a sheng soloist in the Beijing-based China Film Orchestra until he came to Britain in 1990. He is also is an accomplished player of the guanzi and the bamboo flute, dizi.

Ren Hu Ren Hu, currently based in London, is a professional Chinese suona (shawm) player and also plays saxophone. Born in Shandong, Northeast China, he was trained in the Opera School in Ji’nan and in suona and saxophone at the Professional Arts Middle School in Shangdong. He also learnt professional magic at the Allan & Friends' Studio. He has been active in the UK Chinese cultural scene both as a musician and as a magician.

Sun Zhuo Sun Zhuo, one of today's finest guzheng performers, was born in Xi'an, China. She has given concerts at major venues in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, and has worked with several major orchestras there. She has won numerous prizes and accolades, including the Millennium Guzheng Competition in Taiwan in 2001. She is one of a new generation of Chinese performers devoted to exploiting the rich musical possibilities of the instrument, and has worked with some of China's finest contemporary composers. She has collaborated with several prestigious ensembles in Britain and Germany. Her solo performances have been recorded and broadcast by BBC3, and she has released a number of albums. Now based in London, she is in high demand as a guzheng player both in China and abroad.

	Wan Ying Wan Ying is a composer/arranger and plays ruan lutes, gehu (bass fiddle) and various percussion instruments. Born in Beijing, he graduated in composition from the Shoobi Music Academy in Tokyo. Since settling in the UK in mid 1990s, he has worked in Chinese music both in the UK and in Europe as a music arranger, ruan and gehu player and percussionist.
	Wang Xiao Wang Xiao began learning to play the erhu when she was six years old and graduated from the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. In 1999 she joined the Headquarters Arts Troupe of the Henan Provincial People’s Armed Police as its erhu soloist. In 2001 she took part in the Luoyang Casio Young Instrumentalists Competition, where she won a Silver Prize, and in the same month a Gold Prize as an erhu soloist in the Henan Provincial “Hundred Fountains Cup” Young Instrumentalists Competition. In the same year she represented the People’s Armed Police as erhu soloist in the Henan Provincial Arts Festival, and was well received. Before going abroad she was erhu and banhu soloist with the Luoyang Symphony Orchestra. She has given many performances since arriving in the UK.
	Xiao Ran Xiao Ran is an accomplished guzheng (21-stringed zither) player currently studying in London. Born in Xian, Northwest China, she attained the 9th grade certificate in guzheng in 1998, the highest level set by the Chinese Musicians Association. She also studied composition in the junior school of the Xi’an Conservatory of Music in 2001-3. Since coming to England in 2004, she has performed widely with the UK Chinese Ensemble.
	Xiao Ying Guzheng virtuoso Xiao Ying graduated at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and now lives in  the UK.

Zhao Zhangren Zhao Zhangren was born in Beijing, and started to learn the yangqin at the age of nine. He trained with several well-known yangqin masters before studying at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He worked as a yangqin player and percussionist for the China Film Orchestra in Beijing  for more than 18 years before moving to the UK.

Zhou Jinyan Zhou Jinyan was born in Beijing started learning the yangqin at the age of five. She graduated from the China Conservatory of Music and is now an experienced professional performer and teacher.

Zhu Xiaomeng Guzheng player Zhu Xiaomeng was born in Shanghai and graduated at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She played the guzheng with the Shanghai Film Orchestra before moving to the UK.

Copyright the UK Chinese Ensemble 1998–2008. All rights reserved.