Juror's Award for Conducting at the 2008 China Gold Record Awards - Multi Arts Category

"Musical precision and charm just defined the conductor of the orchestra, Yan Huichang"
Vancouver Sun

"The group's charismatic conductor, Yan Huichang, directed the afternoon with sophisticated elan."
Bruce Hodges,
MusicWeb International

Yo-Yo Ma's multi-faceted career is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, coming together with colleagues for chamber music or exploring cultures and musical forms outside the Western classical tradition, Ma strives to find connections that stimulate the imagination. Yo-Yo Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras throughout the world and his recital and chamber music activities. He draws inspiration from a wide circle of collaborators, with each collaboration being fueled by the artists' interactions. One of Ma's goals is the exploration of music as a means of communication, and as a vehicle for the migration of ideas, across a range of cultures throughout the world. Expanding upon this interest, in 1998, Ma established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of the cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient trade route that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. By examining the flow of ideas throughout this vast area, the Project seeks to illuminate the heritages of the Silk Road countries and identify the voices that represent these traditions today. Ma is an exclusive Sony Classical artist, and his discography of over 75 albums (including more than 15 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. Across this full range of releases Ma remains one of the best-selling recording artists in the classical field. Ma is strongly committed to educational programmes that not only bring young audiences into contact with music but also allow them to participate in its creation. While touring, he takes time whenever possible to conduct master classes as well as more informal programmes for students-musicians and non-musicians alike.

Wu Tong is a National Class One Performer of the Central National Song and Dance Troupe. He first learned to play the sheng and the suona at the age of five under his father, and entered the primary school affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music in 1983. He graduated from the Conservatory proper in 1994, where he trained in Chinese music under Yang Shoucheng and Cao Jianguo. In 2000, Wu met Yo-Yo Ma in the United States, and soon became a member of Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. The collaboration with different artists provided him the opportunity to learn extensively the music of different nationalities, and to introduce Chinese music to the audience of the East and the West. Wu has also developed a looping technology for a new electronic sheng, thereby giving the traditional wind instrument of China a new lease of life. His most recent score is for Wong Kar-wai's film, Ashes of Time Redux, in which he both wrote and arranged the music.

After graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music in 1994, Li Hui joined the faculty as an Associate Professor and a supervisor on the Master's degree programme. As a performer, Li demonstrates virtuoso competence and depth, with an insightful interpretation of each piece of music. She has therefore built up a wide-ranging repertoire that showcases her diversity of style, whether impassioned, soul-searching, elegant or lucid. Li has won many major Chinese music competitions in China and abroad. She is an active figure on the music stage, having appeared in the Lincoln Center Festival in the United States and the Singapore Arts Festival. Interviews of Li have appeared in The New York Times, www.philly.com (online edition of The Philadelphia Daily News), www.zaobao.com.sg of Singapore, and People's Music magazine of China, with favourable media reviews.

Liu Lin is a celebrated guitarist on China's pop music scene. His music is known for its intensity and power to inspire. He was the spokesperson for the guitar brand, Fender, in 2002, the musical instruments manufacturer, Line 6, in 2005, and the spokesperson in China for the U.S. brand, D’addario, in 2007. Between 1980 and now, Liu has played the guitar for thousands of recordings, which include albums by pop singers and artistes, and soundtracks for television series and film scores. He has played the guitar for recordings and pop concerts by Jackie Chan, Faye Wong, Na Ying, Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung. His discography also includes his own solo releases. He joined Yo- Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble in April 2004, with which he went on tour to North America, Europe and Asia. Collaborations include performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Sun Yongzhi was trained by the dizi maestro Zhao Songting and is currently Section Leader (Wind) and Dizi Principal of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Before joining the HKCO in 1997, he was Head of the Centre of Wind Music Teaching and Research of the Xi'an Conservatory of Music in. Apart from teaching, he was also an active performer, having played many film and television scores and cut many recordings. He was also a winner of many prizes in competitions, and has performed in more than twenty countries and regions around the world. Sun is currently a member of the Chinese Musicians' Association (Shaanxi Chapter) and the China Nationalities Orchestra Society, Visiting Professor and supervisor on the postgraduate programme of the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, and Instructor and supervisor of postgraduate studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Choo Boon-chong was born in Singapore and joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1979, where he is currently Assistant Dizi Principal. He is also the chairman of Hong Kong Bamboo Flute Society and a member of the Chinese Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. He has been an adjudicator for the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival for many years. Choo's forte is in the bangdi, demonstrating excellent fingering and breathing techniques and ease in the upper register. As a member of the HKCO, Choo has performed with the Orchestra in many parts of the world. He is often invited to perform as a guest soloist for other orchestral groups. In 2003, on behalf of the HKCO, he was invited to participate in the soundtrack recording of Columbia Pictures' Warriors of Heaven and Earth in India.