Professor Yu Qiwei is a gaohu virtuoso from China with National Class One Musician accreditation. He is Head of Chinese Music at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, a music instructor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Vice President of the Professional Committee for Huqin Artists under the China Nationalities Orchestra Society. He trained in Music at the Academy for People’s Arts of Guangdong, graduating in 1975 with a major in gaohu. Before that, he trained in Cantonese music, gaohu performance and Cantonese sung music accompaniment under Fang Yiqin, Guan Jinpo and Guan Jiefeng. Later he furthered his training under Liu Tianyi, Zhu Hai, Huang Rijin, Zhang Shao and Wang Yiqin. He was formerly the Company Director of the Guangzhou National Orchestra; Associate Company Director, Concertmaster and Artistic Adviser of the Guangdong National Orchestra; supervisor on the Master in Musicology / Chinese Instrumental Music programmes of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, China Conservatory of Music and Central Conservatory of Music; and Visiting Professor of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. He was also Editor-in-Chief of An Encyclopedia of Chinese Music – Book of Gaohu. He is concurrently Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Musicians’ Association, a member of the Literary and Artistical Critic Association of Guangdong Province, and a member of the Editorial Committee of An Anthology of Chinese Folk Instrumental Music – Guangdong Volume. He was named Artist of the Year – Music in the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards 2015.
Yu has given lectures and performing tours in many countries and regions in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The institutes he visited included the Central Conservatory of Music, China Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and more. The orchestras he has performed with included China National Traditional Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Taipei Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, The Macao Chinese Orchestra, etc.
As a composer, Yu has many significant works to his credit, including A Sunny Spring in Southern Guangdong for gaohu solo, which won a Silver Award at the ‘Gold Huqin’ All China Competition for Short Compositions in 2013, Southern Skies on a Bright Day, Drifting Clouds for yangqin solo, An Inebriated Tune for erxian solo, and the gaohu concerto A Poem on Strings (written in collaboration with Li Zhuxin, and won a Class Two Award at the First Competition for New Works in Cantonese Music 1987), and Village Children for gaohu solo (written in collaboration with Li Zhuxin, and won a Champion Award at the First Competition for New Works in Cantonese Music 1995). Yu’s publications include a collection of critiques, The Art of Cantonese Music, and the teaching aid, An Anthology of Masterpieces of Gaohu in Cantonese Music: Compiled and Annotated by Yu Qiwei with Demonstration Performances). His discography covers over 60 genres released under various record labels.
