Events

On January 19, 2019, Columbia Global Centers | Beijing invites you to the Columbia - Yale Beijing Alumni New Year Gala. The Gala is organized by Columbia Global Centers | Beijing, Columbia Alumni Association, Columbia Alumni Association of Beijing, and Yale Club of Beijing.

Artists

Chu Yi-Bing was the last student of Maurice Gendron, the great French master at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. In 1986, Chu was the prize winner of the 42nd Concours International d’Exécution Musicale in Geneva, becoming the first Chinese cellist ever to win a prize in an important international Cello competition. In 1987, Chu graduated from the Conservatory in Paris with a Premier Prix. From 1989 to 2004, Chu was principal cellist of the Basel Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland. He was also the guest principal cellist of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1999 to 2004. Chu Yi-Bing Cello Ensemble has played for several leaders of China and many other nations. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, Chu Yi-Bing planned and organized SuperCello, the first Full-Day Classic Music Festival in China.

Polish-born pianist and harpsichordist Magdalena Baczewska is a concert artist, educator, recording artist, producer, and administrator. Having performed as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, China National Symphony, and Macao Symphony, among others, she has also shared the stage with violinist Joshua Bell, and enjoys an extensive collaboration with the Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer Tan Dun. She has appeared in major concert halls around the world, and as a masterclass artist in the Beijing Central Conservatory; International Keyboard Institute and Festival (NYC); New York University; Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, among others. Baczewska holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Mannes College The New School for Music and her doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music. Baczewska is the Director of the Music Performance Program and Lecturer in Music at Columbia University, as well as Artistic Director of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in New York. Baczewska is a Yamaha Artist.

Yibiao Wang CC is a classical multi-instrumentalist. Mr. Wang began playing the flute and piano in 2005. He has made numerous international performances, including frequent performances at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. His past accolades include the Young Arts Finalist award (highest distinction) and first prize in the New York Flute Club Young Musicians’ Contest. Yibiao has also made numerous appearances on television shows on networks including PBS and BBC. Yibiao joined the National Youth Orchestra of the USA in 2015, performing alongside Charles Dutoit and Yundi Li on the orchestra’s sold-out tour in China. In addition to performing, Mr. Wang is an educator and arts manager. He previously served as Orchestra Mentor in the Juilliard Pre-College Division, and now serves as Orchestra Manager. Mr. Wang currently studies music and business management at Columbia University, and flute at the Juilliard School.

Jingyi Song BC is a student of pianist and harpsichordist Magdalena Baczewska and is currently a Mathematics-Computer Science major at Columbia. Jingyi started playing the piano at age 4. She has performed extensively and has won top prizes at competitions in Singapore, Australia, and the U.S. Jingyi was a recipient of the prestigious full scholarship offered by Singapore Ministry of Education, and was accepted to the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and Melbourne University dual degree program after high school. She entered Melbourne University to study mathematics and computer science, and later transferred to Barnard College of Columbia University. In addition, she studies percussion with New York City Ballet Orchestra principal timpani Ian Sullivan. Jingyi plays piano and percussion with many ensembles in the Columbia Music Performance Program.

Graduating with a Master of Music and Artist diploma degree from Yale School of Music in 2015, Graduating with a Master of Music and Artist Diploma Degree from the Yale School of Music in 2015, Wenbin Jin received two of the most prestigious school awards: the Elizabeth Parisot Prize for Best Pianist and the Yale School of Music Alumni Association Prize for the most outstanding graduating student. Since 2016, he has been serving as Associate Director of the Performing Arts Center at Beijing Keystone Academy. He has won many major top prizes, including the China Shanghai International Piano Competition and the China Golden Bell National Piano Competition. Wenbin Jin has performed in prestigious venues, such as the Lincoln Center, the JFK Center for the Performing Arts, and the Chinese National Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to solo activity, Mr. Jin is also well-known as a collaborative pianist and chamber musician.

A keen chamber musician, Shawn was a founding member of the Kalmia String Quartet, which performed and recorded numerous works by American composer Joseph Summer, and can be heard on Parma and Albany Records. As a solo artist, Shawn makes regular appearances at the Geneva Music Festival and the Bard Music Festival, concerts and music festivals in China, Korea and Thailand, and other engagements throughout the world. As an admissions officer for Bard College, Shawn has had firsthand experience of the challenges associated with providing access to quality education, musical and otherwise. A graduate of Bard College and Yale University, Shawn holds degrees in both music and Asian Studies, and speaks Mandarin and Korean.

Hailed by the Weekly Music magazine for his “Impeccably logical but also vivid, emotional playing”, Mo Mo has already established himself as one of the leading cellists of his generation. In recent years, he has collaborated with China National Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra and Greater Boston Asian American Youth Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Tan Dun, Maestro Lihua Tan and Maestro Yi Zhang. He has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Beijing Concert Hall, National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing, Jordan Hall in Boston and the Fontainebleau Palace in Paris. Mo Mo is a prize winner at international competitions such as the 2016 Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China, and the 2017 Koussevitzky Young Artist Award in New York. He is also a recipient of the Aldo Parisot Prize from Yale University, where he studied with Mr. Aldo Parisot.

Bo Li has received his Master of Music Degree at Yale University, School of Music, and MBA at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has been served as Co-Principal Viola at Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for many years, where he had great opportunities to work with world-renowned musicians, such as Yo-Yo Ma. Gil Shaham, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Maxim Vengrov. He gave the China premiere of the complete viola version of the Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites in 2005, which was positively received by local media and audience. He has also a prize winner of several International Music Competitions, and has been interviewed by domestic and international media and magazines.