
Launched and organized by China NCPA, the NCPA Young Composers Programme seeks and selects orchestral pieces by young Chinese composers both at home and abroad. Outstanding works chosen from the contest will be performed by professional orchestras, and winners will receive commission contracts from the NCPA . The NCPA Young Composers Programme is committed to three main purposes:
Firstly to advance and prosper the musical composition in China today; to encourage and support emerging young Chinese composers to compose new pieces, show their talents and realize their artistic dreams; and thereafter to bring promising young composers to the fore.
Secondly to enhance the influence and improve the reputation of new Chinese musical compositions, to regularize their performances, and thereafter to promote promising new works.
Thirdly to explore the aesthetic principles of contemporary musical composition in China, to encourage young composers to carry out bold experimentation and active innovation so as to leave Chinese imprints on the map of contemporary musical composition.
Practice makes perfection in any discipline, especially in the arts. For any aspiring composer, in
addition to continuous studies and carrying out compositional work, it is absolutely crucial to hear
their works realized in live performances, in order to really perceive their own music as how it was
intended to sound. Without this experience of hearing oneself, even great talents cannot easily
accomplish what they aspire to. This is the universal problem-one of luxury-faced by all young
composers, because with assembling a full-sized symphony orchestra to rehearse and perform any newly
composed work for its creator to hear it, the costs involved can be prohibitive. And very few
organizations are resourceful, or willing, enough to invest in unknown composers in this way. In
such a world, young composers in China would have faced a very bleak future indeed, with
opportunities to hear their music properly performed almost non-existent.
I would therefore like to express my most heart-felt gratitude towards NCPA for launching the Young Composer Programme with such dedication. This is not something that would immediately produce any material returns, but absolutely vital to the longevity of music itself. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all the performers and audience members, who have extended their invaluable support to these young composers. I do hope that the programme will continue and flourish in years to come. It is exciting that the Programme has obtained more and more attention from international professional music institutes from its establishment. As a result, the finalists can not only acquire NCPA's commission, but also have the access to performing or composing in other countries.
The NCPA Young Composer Programme is perceived as an infrastructure project for orchestral composition in China. Its mission is not merely to produce several outstanding pieces of music. More importantly, it gives young composers opportunities to listen to their own works during the selection and performance process. Through this project, these young musicians will gain experience, be inspired, learn to persevere, and build their future career from this point on. We do not expect any of these works to represent perfection, but we do ask that you treat these young people like your own children, giving them support, affection, understanding, and criticism where it is due, for they are the future of music for China.
NCPA Young Composer Programme has a history of eight years. According to some students, it has gradually become a symbol of Chinese young composers' career and a dream inside their hearts. It is indeed NCPA's initial expectation when launched at the beginning. Let's join hands to achieve the dream of the young composers and make joint efforts to prosper the Programme.
| 2011.01 | The first session of the NCPA Young Composer Programme was officially launched. |
| 2011.12 | The first NCPA Young Composer Programme Final Evaluation Concert was held at NCPA Concert Hall, and 6 works stood out from the 75 collected works. |
| 2012.04 | The second session of the NCPA Young Composer Programme was officially launched. The number of the adjudicators increased from 7 to 10. |
| 2012.06 | The first prize winner of the 2011 NCPA Young Composer Programme DU Wei’s Niaoqingsi, the Awakening of a Dream was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra at NCPA Concert Hall under the baton of maestro Charles Dutoit. |
| 2013.01 | The NCPA Young Composer Programme was officially announced the partnership with Radio France. |
| 2013.03 | Special Concert for International Women’s Day 2013: NCPA Young Composer Programme Commissioned Works’ Concert 2011 was held in NCPA Concert Hall. |
| 2013.05 | The NCPA Young Composer Programme was officially announced the partnership with Vale of Glamorgan Festival. The first prize winner of the 2011 NCPA Young Composer Programme DU Wei’s Niaoqingsi, the Awakening of a Dream was performed by the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig at Gewandhaus Concert Hall in Germany by conductor Kristjan J?rvi. |
| 2013.07 | The second NCPA Young Composer Programme Public Concert Performances started, and it is the first time that 12 works had been selected into the public concert compared of only 8 works before. |
| 2013.12 | The second NCPA Young Composer Programme Final Evaluation Concert has been held at NCPA Concert Hall, 6 works stood out from the 61 collected works. |
| 2014.02 | The third session of the NCPA Young Composer Programme was officially launched. |
| 2014.07 | The first prize winner of the 2nd NCPA Young Composer Programme XIAO Ying’s The Cloud on the Wishful Side was performed by BBC National Orchestra of Wales at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay by the young conductor Ducan Ward. |
| 2015.02 | The third NCPA Young Composer Programme Public Concert Performances started. 12 works was selected to give public performance in 10 concerts individually. |
| 2015.05 | The commissioned works by XIAO Ying and Ye Yanchen (the winners of 2nd NCPA Young Composer Programme) were premiered respectively during the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Cardiff. |
| 2015.12 | The NCPA Young Composer Programme has collected 203 works so far, and 185 young composers took part in this programme. |
| 2015.12 | The third NCPA Young Composer Programme Final Evaluation concert will be held at NCPA concert hall, and by far 6 works stand out from the 67 collected works. |
| 2016.05 | The Launch of the 4 th NCPA Young Composer Programme |
| 2016.10 | The Eight Immortals by SHANG Peilei, winner of the Musician's Favorite Prize of the 3 rd NCPA Young Composer Programme, was performed once again by China NCPA Orchestra in the "Chinese-style Symphonies" series concerts. |
| 2017.05 | In the exhibition and performance stage of the 4 th NCPA Young Composer Programme, China National Opera House Symphony Orchestra performed two of the shortlisted works, Forest Image by CAO Shengnan and Image and Sound of Tibet by WANG Amao in the Concert Hall of NCPA. |
| 2017.09 | Under its Chief Conductor and Artistic Director David Robertson, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performed Farewell My Friends and Darkness by ZHOU Juan, winner of the 2 nd NCPA Young Composer Programme, in the Concert Hall of NCPA. |
| 2017.10 | Winter Brings (written by LI Bo), one of the works for exhibition and performance in the 4 th event of the Programme, was performed in NCPA's "Chinese-style Symphonies" series concerts alongside works by renowned composers including DU Mingxin, ZHAO Jiping, ZHANG Qianyi, LEI Lei, and Sanbao. |
| 2017.11 | The exhibition and performance stage of the 4 th NCPA Young Composer Programme came to an end. Twelve shortlisted works had been performed in 10 formal concerts. |
| 2017.12 | The final evaluation and award concert of the 4 th NCPA Young Composer Programme was held in the Concert Hall of NCPA. Six outstanding works were selected from the 67 works received. In the end, ZHANG Zhiliang (with The Bronze Mask with Protruding Pupils), LI Bo (with Winter Brings), and MIAO Weiwei (with Three Poems) received commission contracts from NCPA. |
| 2017.12 | The NCPA Young Composer Program Seminar, attended by the young finalists and international judges Paul Hughes, Eric Montalbetti, Ana Sokolovi? and Raff Wilson, was held. |
| Composing the Future, to be continued... | |
Born in 1980, Wang Zhiyi is an emerging young composer from China. Being featured in many significant events, Wang's music works established his reputation in both academic and commercial music industries.
Shi Fuhong, teacher in the Composing Department of Central Conservatory of Music. She graduated from Toronto University in 2009, with a Doctor’s degree in composition. In 2000 and 2005 she graduated... ...
Liu Chang was admitted into the Composing Department of the Middle School attached to China Conservatory of Music in 2004, and admitted with distinction into the Composing Department of Central Conser... ...
Born in 1978, Du Wei studied piano and composition with her father since childhood. In 1996 she enrolled in the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she majored in composition with Shi Wanchun, Fa. ... ...
Xiao Ying began piano study at the age of 3. After graduation from the Middle School affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music, Xiao entered Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris in 2006, studying compos ... ...
Jin Qiuyue, Manchu, was born in Beijing in 1989. She learned piano, dance, singing from childhood in Beijing Children's Palace and BTV Art Ensemble "Seven color light", and later enrolled in Oriental Song and... ...
Born in 1986, Jiang Yu is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in music composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, where she studies with Chen Yi and Zhou Long. ... ...
Xiao Ying comes from a musical family. He graduated from The Middle School affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music in 2006. Xiao started to study with Mr. Michel Merlet and received the Diplome Supe... ...
Li Bo is an accomplished young composer who has gained extensive recognition for his work through success in several international competitions and music festivals. Born in Jilin, China in 1988, he studied piano ... ...
Liu Jian was born in Guangzhou in 1984, and started learning the piano and painting since she was very young. She got her Bachelor degree in Xinghai Conservatory of Music, studied The History of Western Mu... ...
A native of Sichuan, raised in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Zhou Juan graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music and University of Missouri – Kansas City. She joined the faculty of the Central C... ...
Cai Dongzhen is a Chinese composer with the Korean minority. He was born in 1981 in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin province.
Ye Yanchen was born on November 12, 1992 in Chongqing city of China.He was fascinated by serious music since his childhood. He went to Russia and then began to study music composition in 2008. Until n... ...
Li Mengneng was born in Hunan, and started learning the piano and accordion since he was young. In 2006, after graduated from ECNU, Li studied composition at the Central conservatory of Music ... ...
Peilei Shang started learning piano at the age of five. She entered to The Central Conservatory of Music in 2009, and studied composition under Prof. Guo wenjing and Prof. Jia Guoping. Now she is in Hochschule... ...
He Wei is a teacher of Art&Culture of Tianjin University of Sport.He graduated from the Shenyang Conservatory affiliate high school、Shenyang Conservatory of Music and China Conservatory.He followed Profes... ...
Lin Xipeng, born in Shenyang of China in 1984, started to learn music with his father when he was young. And then he learned piano from Youri Drozdov who is a Russian pianist. In 2004, he studied in the depa... ...
ZHANG zhiliang, a yong master of composition who teaches in the Si Chuan Conservatery of music. Zhang's works covers many subjects, so does the types of his works,including solo,chamber music,symphon... ...
LBorn in 1986, an independent composer and liberal scholar, DUAN Lian finished his postgraduate study of composition in Wuhan Conservatory of Music in 2013. He advocates liberal ideals in his life. He is also good at seeing things through different perspectives; in his artistic creation, he once said, "creating art works is to pursue freedom, and to free our souls from shackles. I value liberty more than my life." He always pays tribute to freedom in his works.
Now an associate professor of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, MIAO Weiwei completed her Master of Music degree in Scoring for Film and Multi-media at New York University. After receiving her bachelor degree, Weiwei became a faculty member and continued her postgraduate study in composition theory at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. As a composer, her works include film scoring, animation music and concert music. Being awarded the orchestral composer residency in 2014 in New York University, she had an orchestral work Inksplash premiered at Symphony Space in New York in February 2015.Documentary movie Still Human and the short movie New York, I Love You she scored for have attended NYU and Lincoln Center film festival. Her art song The Road Not Taken was performed at St. Mark's Church in San Francisco in February, 2018.
Born in 1993 in Wuhu, Anhui, SHENG Meng started to learn violin and piano at a young age with his father. He is now pursuing Master of Music in Composition at Shanghai Conservatory of Music under the guidance of the composer Mr. CHEN Musheng. In October 2017, he went to Hochschulefür Musikund Theater Hamburg and studied with Professor CHEN Xiaoyong. He won the Recognition Award in the Third China-ASEAN Music Festival in 2014. His chamber music work Just Listen to the Wind Intoning for a Moment I won the Record Award at the 16th Kozani
LI Bo entered the Central Conservatory of Music with a direct entry scholarship from the Central government, studied under the tutelage of Prof. TANG Jianping and graduated with a Master of Music in Composition in 2016. He is currently a doctoral candidate at The University of Missouri-Kansas City and in 2016 was appointed as a committee member of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society.
ZHANG Zhiliang studied under Prof. HU Xiao and graduated from Sichuan Conservatory of Music with a master degree. ZHANG Zhiliang now serves as a teacher in the electronic music department of the conservatory.
Born in Shenyang in December 1984, LIN Xipeng started to learn music from his father at a young age, and studied the Piano Performance in 2000 with the well-known Russian pianist Youri Drozdov, the professor of Moscow Conservatory of Music. In 2004 he was enrolled in the Composition Department and Piano Department of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, studying composition with Professor CHEN Qiangbin, Professor ZHOU Xianglin and Professor YE Guohui. He also studied Composing Technique Theory with YANG Liqing (Orchestration), XU Mengdong (Polyphony and Fugue), JIA Daqun (Musical Form and Analysis), WEN Deqing (Contemporary Music Analysis and Composition), LU Pei (Musical Form and Analysis), CHEN Musheng (Twentieth-century Harmony). In addition, Professor SU Bin taught him Piano Performance. In 2012, he got the offer of the Graduate School of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, majoring in Composition under the tutelage of Professor YE Guohui. In 2015, he received a master degree at Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
2012-2013?NCPA?Young?Composer
?Programme?Award?Concert
2014-2015?NCPA?Young?Composer
?Programme?Award?Concert
Commissions of the First NCPA Young Composers Programme Premiere on International Women’s Day
Away From Home,Composer: Jin Qiuyue
Fragrance From The Heart,Composer: Liu Chang
The Last Gold of Expired Stars,Composer: Du Wei
From ”NCPA Young Composer Programme” to”the Symphone Spring of China”
Beside the Li River II,Composer: Liu Jian
Encirclement ,Composer:Li Bo
Morning of Bita Lake ,Composer:Ye Yanchen
Narat Rhapsody,Composer:Jia Yue
Niao Qing Si·The Interruption Of a Dream,Composer: Du Wei
Let Young Composers Stand on the Stage of NCPA
LI Bo: Winter Brings embodies My Longings for Home
DUAN Lian: Rediscovering the Lost Northern Wei Dynasty
ZHANG Zhiliang: The Mysterious Bronze Mask Inspires My Writing
The Young Composer Programme Provides a Platform for Young Composers to Fulfill Their Aspirations
The Young Composer Programme Provides a Bigger Stage for Young People
Young Composer LI Bo and Winter Brings
Rigorous and Scientific Judging Process of the Young Composer Programme
China NCPA Orchestra Delivers Outstanding Performance of New Works
Conductor and Musicians Vote to Their Favorite Works
Orchestra Overcomes Difficulties to Perform New Works
NCPA Contributes to the Young Composer Programme
Interpretation Cuckoo in the Greenwood by LIN Xipeng
A Cloud in the Sky – A Rich and Diversified Vision
Morning on the Bitahai Lake – To Express the Freedom of Soul Through the Simplest Musical Language
Made in China – Chinese Spirits Clad in Jazz
Ten Faces – Breaking Through the Plight
On the Lishui River II – A Metaphor of the Rim on the Convergence of East and West
Nalati Rhapsody(Composer:JIA Yue)
The Waking of Insect(Composer:CAI Dongzhen)




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