Artists

Shen Yun is home to an impressive number of accomplished musicians. They hail from five continents, joined together by a wish to share the glory of the Western symphonic tradition and China’s cultural heritage with the world. All members of the Symphony Orchestra are also members of Shen Yun Performing Arts who accompany Shen Yun’s dance performances during its touring season.

Featured Artists

Milen Nachev

Conductor

Milen Nachev is a conductor well known for his strong musicality, stylistic faithfulness, and extensive repertoire of symphonic works, operas, and ballets. Born in Bulgaria, he is a graduate of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, where he earned his master’s degree in symphony and opera conducting. He served as principal conductor and music director of several major Eastern European orchestras, and his recordings have been regularly broadcast by the BBC and Radio France. He is now in his eleventh season with Shen Yun Performing Arts and has also conducted nine seasons with Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Tokyo Opera City, and many other celebrated concert halls worldwide.
Jing Xian

Composer

Jing Xian became a professional pipa (Chinese lute) player at the remarkable young age of 15. During her four years at the China Conservatory, she pursued studies in composition, music literature, and ethnomusicology. Many musical pieces written by her have won composition prizes. Later, Jing Xian was awarded a scholarship to Oxford University to pursue a master’s and a doctorate in ethnomusicology. She has also studied computer-based composition and music technology at Britain’s Reading University.
Linda Wang

Erhu

Linda Wang is a soloist with Shen Yun International Company. Raised in a musical family, she started learning both the erhu and violin at age 7, and has studied under several renowned erhuists. She attended San Francisco High School of the Arts in California before moving to New York. There she studied at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and earned her Bachelor of Music from Fei Tian College, where she is also currently pursuing a Master of Music in Erhu Performance. One of Shen Yun’s musical prodigies, she won Gold Medal at the 2023 Fei Tian Music Competition.
Xiaochun Qi

Erhu

Xiaochun Qi is a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 1991, she received the Performer’s Award at the 14th “Spring of Shanghai” International Erhu Competition. From 2004 to 2006 she performed in New Tang Dynasty Television’s annual Chinese New Year productions. Since joining Shen Yun Performing Arts in 2006, she has performed to tremendous acclaim while touring with the company.
Lillian Li

Lillian Li is concertmaster with Shen Yun New World Company. Prior to joining Shen Yun she served as concertmaster with the College Park Youth Orchestra (2011–2014) in Maryland, received a scholarship to the National Philharmonic Orchestra Summer String Institute, and won awards at over 30 piano and violin competitions. She graduated with honors from Fei Tian Academy of the Arts before pursuing advanced studies at Fei Tian College, both in New York. A Gold Medal winner of the 2021 Fei Tian Music Competition, she was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole.
Kate Li

Kate Li began learning the violin at the age of 4, studying with professors from the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, both in England. At the age of 8, she was admitted to Chetham’s School of Music and awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship by the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain. She was then accepted into the Yehudi Menuhin School and studied there before successfully auditioning into Fei Tian Academy of the Arts in New York.
Kristy Kou

Kristy Kou is concertmaster with Shen Yun North America Company. She started learning music at the age of 5 and earned distinctions at multiple violin competitions. She studied with renowned violin teachers and then earned her bachelor’s degree, graduating magna cum laude, from Fei Tian College in New York. She won Bronze Medal at the Fei Tian Music Competition in 2023, and has performed at the Casalmaggiore Music Festival in Italy and Musiktage am Rhein in Germany.
Louie Tsai

Louie Tsai started studying violin at a young age and has won multiple competitions in California and New York. He continued his studies at the New York-based Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and has toured with Shen Yun around the world.
Daniel Cao

Daniel Cao studied at the New York-based Fei Tian Academy of the Arts. He is a Gold Medal winner of the 2022 Fei Tian Music Competition.
Rachel Chen‭

Born in Ann Arbor, MI, Rachel Chen grew up in Chicago, IL, where she began studying violin at age 6 and won multiple youth competitions in both violin and flute before becoming a violist. She graduated with honors from the New York-based Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and earned both her Bachelor of Music (magna cum laude) and Master of Music in Viola Performance from Fei Tian College. She was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recent recording of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme.
Christopher Zhang

Christopher Zhang studied viola at the New York-based Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and won a Gold Medal at the 2022 Fei Tian Music Competition. He previously served as concertmaster of the Northern Academy of the Arts Orchestra, in New York.