Learn from World-class musicians
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Interested in learning a Chinese musical instrument? Looking for professional guidance to advance your technique?
The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York (CMENY) now offers 60-minute private lessons in-person or online with the select senior musicians from the orchestra (instructors listed below). Lessons are offered in English or Mandarin, unless otherwise stated, and are scheduled based on your availability and that of the instructors. Prices per lesson range from $60-150 depending on the instructor. If you are ready to sign up, please fill out the form on the right. If you have any questions about CMENY's private lessons, please email [email protected]. In addition to private lessons, CMENY also offers other educational opportunities such as periodic Chinese music workshops and youth programs. Sign up for our mailing list to get the latest information! |
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Erhu Instructors
二胡教練
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Fei Fei Yang楊飛飛
Erhu/Banhu/Gaohu | 二胡/板胡/高胡 Fei Fei Yang is a virtuoso on the Erhu and Banhu and a vocalist. She is a dual Global Music Award Winner. She has performed in legendary settings such as the United Nations, Abu Dhabi Palace, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Barclays Center, CBS, WNBC, and others. She has performed for the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, the Rockefeller’s, Steve Forbes, China’s President and the First Lady. Her singles and albums include You Will Never Be Alone, Heroic China, Love Will Win Again, Tug of War, Dance of the Strings, Gu•Ran, and China Caribe. She studied banhu at the Shenyang Conservatory of Music and was recognized with the honor of Outstanding Graduate Student of all of Liaoning province’s colleges. In 2007, she became the first master's recipient for banhu in the Conservatory’s history. She was the first place winner of the AWZG Chinese Young Artists Talent Selection and the Best Creativity Award winner in CCTV's “Chinese New Year Gala” US Talent Hunt. Feifei holds additional master's degrees in education from Adelphi University and arts and cultural management from the Pratt Institute. She is also a member of the Chinese Musician’s Association and Liaoning Traditional Chinese Orchestral Music Association.
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Hina Zhang張日妮
Erhu | 二胡 Hina Zhang, born and raised in Japan, stared her professional erhu training at the age of 4. She has participated in many concerts, performed on television, collaborated with symphonic orchestras, and is known for playing violin music using the erhu. Since 2017, Zhang has been a Special Cultural Ambassador of Japan. She performed in the 2021 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at Davo, the 2023 China-Japan 50th Anniversary of Normalization, and the 2023 Bund Global Financial Summit in Shanghai. She graduated with a bachelor's of music in classical voice from the Manhattan School of Music and studied marketing and business administration at NYU. Over the years, she traveled back to China to receive professional erhu education from the Central Conservatory of Music Prep School and under the guidance of Fei Song.
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Chia-yu Joy Lu呂家玗
Erhu/Zhonghu | 二胡/中胡 Chia-Yu Joy Lu 呂家玗, a multifaceted and accomplished musician and scholar from Taiwan, is renowned for her expertise in erhu and zhonghu performance, as well as ensemble directing. With performances across the globe, including prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Yale University, Lu has dedicated over a decade to directing Chinese music ensembles. Before her US career, she led ensembles in Taiwan and has since directed the Wesleyan Chinese Music Ensemble for over ten years. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in establishing and leading the Smith College Chinese Music Ensemble and the New Haven Chinese Cultural Cooperative. Holding a PhD in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University, an MA in ethnomusicology from the University of Sheffield, UK, and a BFA in erhu performance and music education from National Taiwan Normal University, Lu’s research delves into music, gender, national politics, and ethnic identity in Taiwan and China. She has authored a music textbook, erhu music scores, and albums, and her passion extends to collaborative endeavors where she blends Chinese music with diverse traditions such as Javanese gamelan, jazz, klezmer, classical music, and Taiwanese Opera. Committed to promoting traditional Chinese and Taiwanese music, Lu eagerly explores various artistic disciplines to broaden her horizons.
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Danting Qiao喬丹婷
Erhu | 二胡 Danting Qiao is the former concertmaster of the Peking University Chinese Orchestra. She studied arts administration at Baruch College.
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Jing-Qiang Guo郭景強
Erhu | 二胡 Jing-qiang Guo is a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he studied erhu with Zhongle Wei, Xiutong Lu, and Junying Chen. He has been a member of the Shanghai Orchestra, the Shanghai Philharmonic, and the Shanghai Traditional Chinese Music Orchestra. His tours of Japan and Singapore have won him many well-respected acclaims. Mr. Guo has been an erhu soloist and previously served as the conductor for CMENY for many years.
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Dizi Instructors
笛子教練
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YuYuan Xu徐煜源
Bangdi/Qudi/Xindi/Xiao | 梆笛/曲笛/新笛/簫 Yuyuan Xu is a resident bamboo flute player at CMENY. He served in the Shanghai Beijing Opera Troupe for 27 years. Xu is also a resident artist and the flute instructor of the Kunqu Workshop and flute instructor at the New Jersey United Chinese School Music Ensemble. He is a graduate from the Department of Chinese Folk Music of the Shanghai Academy of Music, majoring in dizi (Chinese flute).
Lessons are only available in Mandarin. |
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Eric Liu劉笑然
Bangdi/Qudi/Xindi/Xiao | 梆笛/曲笛/新笛/簫 Eric Liu is a leader in the new generation of bamboo flutists. Since 2011, he has been active on the international stage and is committed to promoting Chinese national music overseas, mainly bamboo flute and xiao. Liu has collaborated with famous orchestras such as the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra and China National Song and Dance Ensemble. He has studied with folk bamboo flute players (Xiao Hequan) and professors at Minzu University of China (Wang Xi), China Conservatory of Music (Chen Yue), and Central Conservatory of Music (Yuan Feifan).
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Sheng Instructors
笙教練
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TSUJUI Carrie CHIN金祖瑞
Sheng/Alto Sheng | 笙/中音台笙 Tsujui Carrie Chin is a graduate of the National Taiwan Academy of Arts (now known as the National Taiwan University of Arts) majoring in sheng performance. From 1989 to 1993 she was a first-generation member of the Kaohsiung City Chinese Orchestra (KCCO), the first professional Chinese orchestra in southern Taiwan, with which she performed in more than 100 concerts and recorded 3 albums. KCCO participated in the Asian Games Arts Festival in Beijing in 1990, the first Taiwanese Chinese Orchestra to officially visit mainland China. Since 2003, Carrie has been with CMENY and has performed with them at several prestigious venues including the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
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Guzheng Instructors
古箏教練
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Wei Sun孫微
Guzheng | 古箏 Wei Sun is an award-winning artist and the principal guzheng player at CMENY. She is a national certified senior teacher of guzheng and a member of the Chinese National Instrumental Association and International Guzheng Association. Wei's innovative use of the seven-tone guzheng allows her to break the usual pentatonic limitations of traditional Chinese instruments. She came to the US as a guzheng performer and guzheng teacher at the CBA Cultural and Art Center in 2016. Sun has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the United Nations, Pace University, Columbia University, Merkin Hall, Flushing Townhall, and Queens College Art Center, to name a few. She has also performed as part of the Broadway musical show "Noble Family". She studied music at the Communication University of China.
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Pipa Instructors
琵琶教練
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Yubo Zhang張宇博
Pipa | 琵琶 Yubo Zhang is a classically trained pipa player with over a decade's experience performing on tour, in concerts, and on the radio nationally and internationally. In addition to her stellar solo and orchestral performances, she is highly skilled in music composition, arrangement, and teaching. She was previously a pipa teacher at the Beijing Star Line Art School and led many students to successfully participate in competitions and performances. Zhang is a graduate of Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Liu De Hai pipa seminar, and is certified as a performance grade (grade 10) pipa player.
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Yangqin Instructors
揚琴教練
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William PengCheng Yuan袁鵬程
Percussion/Yangqin | 打擊樂/揚琴 William Pengcheng Yuan is the principal percussionist of the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. He has performed at many acclaimed venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall and is a highly respected yangqin (Chinese hammer dulcimer) and percussion teacher in the New York and New Jersey areas for over 20 years. Yuan is a graduate of the Tianjin Conservatory of Music, majoring in yangqin.
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Zhi ping Yang鄔志萍
Yangqin | 揚琴 Zhi Ping Yang has been playing the yangqin since childhood. In the early 1990s, she joined CMENY and has performed with them in many settings, including at various universities, out-of-state venues (in Connecticut, Virginia, New Jersey), and concert halls in New York City (such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, McGinn Theater). She also works with the orchestra to foster appreciation of Chinese culture and to cultivate new successors of heritage Chinese music.
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Percussion Instructors
打擊樂教練
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William PengCheng Yuan袁鵬程
Percussion/Yangqin | 打擊樂/揚琴 William Pengcheng Yuan is the principal percussionist of the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. He has performed at many acclaimed venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall and is a highly respected yangqin (Chinese hammer dulcimer) and percussion teacher in the New York and New Jersey areas for over 20 years. Yuan is a graduate of the Tianjin Conservatory of Music, majoring in yangqin.
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Cello Instructors
大提琴教練
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Qing ping Xiao蕭慶平
Cello | 大提琴 Qing Ping Xiao graduated from the High School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In the decades since coming to the United States, she has performed with the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York and has applied her talents to sharing and promoting Chinese and ethnic musical traditions from around the world.
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Jivan Ramesh林子云
Cello | 大提琴 Jivan Xander Ramesh (林子云) is a New York composer and cellist. He plays in many musical styles, including Chinese, Classical, Fiddle, and Jazz. Jivan also composes for Western and Chinese instruments. He was named a “Composer to Watch” by BMI. He has won numerous awards and scholarships for cello and composition. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Juilliard School, the Metropolitan Opera, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other prestigious venues, and was recently invited to perform at the United Nations in front of an audience of world leaders. He is the star of numerous documentaries and has made frequent radio and TV appearances. He is also a sought-after backing musician for internationally acclaimed artists. Jivan teaches cello, composition with Western and Chinese instruments, music theory, and translating between Western and Chinese notation. He has taught at the Opportunity Music Project, the China Institute, and teaches privately. Jivan received his BS with Honors in Music and Biochemistry at Stony Brook University and is a graduate of Juilliard Pre-College. He is currently studying for his Juris Doctorate at the George Washington University.
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Music theory instructors
音乐理论老师
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Jivan Ramesh林子云
Jivan Xander Ramesh (林子云) is a New York composer and cellist. He plays in many musical styles, including Chinese, Classical, Fiddle, and Jazz. Jivan also composes for Western and Chinese instruments. He was named a “Composer to Watch” by BMI. He has won numerous awards and scholarships for cello and composition. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Juilliard School, the Metropolitan Opera, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other prestigious venues, and was recently invited to perform at the United Nations in front of an audience of world leaders. He is the star of numerous documentaries and has made frequent radio and TV appearances. He is also a sought-after backing musician for internationally acclaimed artists. Jivan teaches cello, composition with Western and Chinese instruments, music theory, and translating between Western and Chinese notation. He has taught at the Opportunity Music Project, the China Institute, and teaches privately. He is one of the youngest recipients of a perfect score in the AP Music Theory exam, earning the score at 9. Jivan received his BS with Honors in Music and Biochemistry at Stony Brook University and is a graduate of Juilliard Pre-College. He is currently studying for his Juris Doctorate at the George Washington University.
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