Shen Cheng is currently a professor and a supervisor of doctoral degree candidates at the China Conservatory of Music. Other positions he holds include as Vice President of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society, Chairman of the Committee for the Popularization of Ethnic Music, a member of the Ethnic Music Committee of the Chinese Musicians’ Association, and Vice President of the China Education Federation of the Arts.
Shen began learning the banhu at the age of fourteen. In order to polish his techniques, he had visited all the banhu virtuosi in Shaanxi. He graduated from the Xi’an Conservatory of Music in 1986, and completed his Master’s degree at the China Conservatory of Music in 1990 (which made him the first holder of a Master’s degree in banhu in China). Shen trained in banhu, gaohu and jinghu under Liu Mingyuan, a virtuoso in string instruments, Gan Shangshi, a famous name in Cantonese music, and Zhang Suying, a jinghu virtuoso. He also pursued studies of the composition techniques in Chinese instrumental music under Huang Xiaofei.
His accolades include Outstanding Performer of Chinese Music in the ‘Xinyi Cup’ assessment in 2017, a Gold Award for banhu at the ‘Fulitong’ Cup Chinese Instrumental Music Solo Competition; a ‘Jo-mo Glang-ma’ Outstanding Performer Award presented by the Ministry of Culture in 1995, a Class Two Award at the first National Cantonese Music Competition in 1987; Outstanding Teacher in Beijing in 2009, the Au Weng-hei Music Education Award presented by the Ministry of Culture in 2001 and the title as ‘The Backbone of Outstanding Young Teachers in Beijing in 1997.
Shen has been on the adjudication panel of major music competitions in China and overseas. He is also frequently invited to give lectures in various parts of the world. He has visited over forty countries and regions, and has collaborated with orchestras in Chinese as well as Western music. He founded the China Junior Chinese Orchestra in 1997, while working as a driving force behind the composition of Chinese orchestral music. More recently, he is a member of the highly influential Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra and has participated in a series of research on Chinese folk music as well as in international joint venture projects for highly innovative work.
