The China Traditional Orchestra Zhejiang is a part of the Zhejiang Song and Dance Theatre, a professional performance group active in a wide range of artistic forms.
The Zhejiang Song and Dance Theatre contains four professional performance groups: a traditional orchestra, a symphony orchestra, a dance group, and a choir. In total, the Theatre has more than 300 members. It is based in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province, a modern city of ten million people and an important cultural centre. The Theatre has played an important part in the continuing development of Chinese music, particularly in orchestral arrangements of traditional music.

Established in 1957, the China Traditional Orchestra Zhejiang enjoys a great reputation at home and abroad, and is known for making use of Zhejiang characteristics in its performances. In its first 40 years, it counted among its members many famous artists, such as Zhao Songting (flute), Song Jingting (xiao), QIan Xiaomao (percussion), Huang Huinan (percussion), and Shen Fengquan (erhu). Since the late 1980s, it has been a magnet for graduates of Chinese musical academies.

The orchestra has dedicated itself to researching and developing traditional Chinese music. The orchestra has composed many different pieces, from orchestral works with traditional Zhejiang characteristics (The General’s Winning Command; Bamboo Music), to pieces for flute, erhu, banhu, and other instruments (3, 5, 7; River Village Song; Shaoxing Taipan Air).

The orchestra has also composed many innovative pieces by combining modern techniques with Chinese traditions (Picture of Ancient Hunting, Plum Blossom Lure, Harmony). These works have been well received by Chinese and Western experts, and have been awarded prizes in national and international competitions. They are frequently broadcast on China Central Television (CCTV) and local TV channels.

The China Traditional Orchestra Zhejiang has frequently given special performances for government officials and honored guests, and has represented both China and Zhejiang province at concerts in the United States, Germany, Finland, France, Japan, and Malaysia. In addition to performing, the orchestra has in the past been invited to give master classes around the world.

Zhang Guoyong began his study of conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, under the direction of famous conductor Professor Huang Xiaotong. After graduation in 1983, he remained at the conservatory as a lecturer until 1993, when he was sponsored by the Chinese government for four years of study at the Moscow State Conservatory. While there, he studied under world famous conductor G. Rozhdestvensky.

During his study in Moscow, Zhang conducted and recorded with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra of the Cultural Ministry, The Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Varonesh Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, he obtained a PhD with distinction in music. His graduation concert was highly acclaimed by both the audience and his colleagues. Following the concert, Maestro G. Rozhdestvensky excitedly told critics and reporters, “I have awarded Zhang Guoyong the highest mark in the history of the conducting department at the Moscow Conservatory. He will be able to find his place in any orchestra in the world! ”

Zhang now serves as a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, is President and Artistic Director of the Shanghai Opera House, Resident Conductor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Editor-in-Chief of China’s Opera Magazine. In his multiple roles he has cooperated with many orchestras and well-known musicians both at home and abroad.

In addition to the symphonic repertoire, he has conducted a series of operas, including Rigoletto, Madame Butterfly, Carmen, La Bohème, and Othello; ballets such as Swan Lake, Giselle, and The Nutcracker; cantatas such as Requiem, Song of the Forest, Stabat Mater, Carmina Burana, and the Yellow River Cantata, and other works.

In recent years, Zhang has been invited to conduct concerts in the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and other areas around the world.

Lin Yousheng is a winner of the Chinese State Council’s Grant Program for Talented Individuals. He graduated with honors from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Currently, he is one of the top national conductors at the Shanghai Opera House, and a part-time professor at Shanghai Tongji University and Shantou University in Guangdong. He has been honored at various music festivals such as the Shanghai Art Festival and Shanghai Spring Music Festival. In 2000, he was named Best Conductor at the 9th International Orchestral Music Festival in Poland. In America, England, Hong Kong, etc, his name has been included on lists of the world’s most famous people.  

He has conducted for the Saarbrücken Staatsoper and China’s National Symphony Orchestra. In China, he has conducted many famous operas such as Turandot, Così Fan Tutte, and La Belle Hélène. He has also visited many countries including Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Austria, Thailand, and Japan.