The Philadelphia Orchestra Ushers in the Year of the Dragon with Lunar New Year Celebration January 12, 2024

Featuring Long Yu, conductor and soloists Haochen Zhang, piano; David Kim, violin; and Don Liuzzi, percussion; Patrick Williams, flute; Yumi Kendall, cello; Yiwen Lu, jinghu; Yifei Fu, percussion; Xiaoxi Li, bamboo flute 

Long Yu to make conducting debut with Philadelphia Orchestra 

(Philadelphia, December 21, 2023)—In celebration of the Lunar New Year, conductor Long Yu will lead The Philadelphia Orchestra and an esteemed group of soloists in a special concert to usher in the Year of the Dragon on Friday, January 12, 2024, in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.  

The evening’s program, carefully curated to inspire a spirit of renewal and auspicious beginnings, will include Chen’s Er Huang with pianist Haochen Zhang; Sarasate’s Fantasy on Bizet’s Carmen, with Philadelphia Orchestra Concertmaster David Kim; “Deep Night” featuring Yiwen Lu on the jinghu, a Chinese bowed string instrument, and Yifei Fu, percussion; “Song to the Moon” from Dvořák’s opera Rusalka in an arrangement for Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Principal Cello Yumi Kendall; Li’s Spring Festival Overture featuring Philadelphia Orchestra Associate Principal Flute Patrick Williams and Xiaoxi Li, bamboo flute; and the traditional folksong Jasmine Flower in an arrangement featuring Yifei Fu and Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Timpani Don Liuzzi.  

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s annual Lunar New Year celebration pays tribute to Philadelphia’s diverse Asian American community and is part of the ensemble’s ongoing relationship with the people of China as well as its commitment to furthering people-to-people exchange through music. In 1973, under the direction of Eugene Ormandy, The Philadelphia Orchestra became the first American orchestra to perform in China. Since that first visit, the full Orchestra has returned 11 times, most recently in 2019. In November 2023, an ensemble of musicians from the Orchestra traveled to China for the official 50th Anniversary China Residency, a visit recognized by both President Biden and President Xi.  

Conductor Long Yu has devoted his career to steering China’s growing connection to classical music while familiarizing international audiences with the country’s most eminent musicians and composers. Yu currently holds the positions of artistic director of the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing, music director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and principal guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also co-director of Shanghai’s Music in the Summer Air festival and chair of the artistic committee of the Beijing Music Festival, an annual autumn event that he founded in 1998 and for which he served as artistic director until 2017. He is currently vice president of the China Musicians Association, chairman of its League of China Orchestras, and Chair of the Tianjin Juilliard Advisory Council.