Maestro Daniel Harding rehearses Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben with the young musicians at the Xinghai Concert Hall for the 2026 YMCG touring concerts. [Photo by Wang Bin/Li Lewei/For China Daily]
A typical week for musician Zhang Jin centers around rehearsing, but it also includes cycling, baking, and walking her Abyssinian cat. Joining the Tide Philharmonic Orchestra in Zhejiang province's riverside town of Yanguan, the double bass player just passed a stringent trial period and became an official member of the orchestra in July.
The 28-year-old is also a three-time alum of Youth Music Culture Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (YMCG), one of Asia's most reputable orchestral programs celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2027. Applications for musicians aged 18 to 30 for the upcoming edition in January opened on Aug 20.
"I've learned to appreciate every little moment along the journey," says Zhang, after attending three YMCG editions.
In January 2020, she auditioned for the program on a whim. Back then, she was still studying at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. "Yo-Yo Ma played my bass," she beams, recalling sharing the stage with Ma and other members from a variety of countries and regions. During the COVID lockdown, Ma gathered these musicians online to perform J. S. Bach's Air in D, the second movement in Orchestral Suite No 3 in D Major. Zhang recorded the bass section from her home.
Double bassist Zhang Jin salutes her classmates who play her the birthday song on stage at the Hong Kong Cultural Center Concert Hall. [Photo by Wang Bin/Li Lewei/For China Daily]
Choosing classics
The brains behind YMCG's artistic committee are chairman Yu Long, former artistic director Yo-Yo Ma and former music director Michael Stern. YMCG's first edition took place at the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra complex in 2017. Star conductor Daniel Harding has been its music director since 2024. Year after year, top musicians from world-class orchestras and ensembles have become faculty members.
Martin Zalodek, a violinist with the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic, has traveled from Vienna to Guangzhou for three years upon Harding's invitation. "As someone who lives the professional musician's dream, we support young musicians so that they trust their ears and hearts," he says. Impressed by the youth's progress, the Austrian artist awarded a lucky musician a sought-after concert ticket when his orchestra toured China in 2025.
"Orchestra is like a little community. They will understand not just music, but also how to collaborate in the context of the orchestra," says Lorenzo Antonio Iosco, the clarinet faculty member with rich experience in conducting. Both Iosco, associate principal bass clarinet at the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and his colleague, principal bassoon Benjamin Moermond, have joined the YMCG faculty.
Jonathan Reith, principal trombone from the Orchestre de Paris, was thrilled to see progress from young trombonist Zhang Liangzi, who returned to the program after a year away. "I see something more natural and comfortable in her personality. If you open your mind a bit more, your playing is more open as well," says Reith, who occasionally takes his students out for hotpot. The French musician and Hannes Laubin, the trumpet faculty member from Germany, teach at the world-famous Verbier Festival Academy in July and YMCG in January.
"These are my two favorite festivals," says Reith.
"The young musicians are closer than they think to playing for top-level orchestras," says Yu Long, spurring on cadets at the program.
"They come with great gifts, but some things are missing. I don't know if that comes from training or from being young. Still, we're here to share experiences," says Harding, who is now the music director of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Beginning September 2027, he will also join the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra as music director.
"Playing in orchestras is beautiful and complicated, which has parallels throughout society," says the conductor and licensed pilot.
Faculty members Hannes Laubin (left) and Jonathan Reith instruct the brass section. [Photo by Wang Bin/Li Lewei/For China Daily]
By choosing a repertoire from the classical canon for the program, Yu and Harding have advanced the professional careers of musicians like Zhang Jin. Training musicians with a time-honored repertoire plays a key role in programs like YMCG and professional orchestras.
For YMCG's 10th anniversary in 2027, the two maestros have chosen Gustav Mahler's vast and majestic Symphony No 2 in C minor, "Resurrection". Although prominent vocalists and the chorus have yet to be announced, music pundits anticipate a full Mahler symphonic cycle performed by YMCG cadets in the coming years.
Previously, YMCG has included symphonic works from J. S. Bach, Antonin Dvorak, Richard Strauss, and Mahler. It performed Mahler's Symphony No 1 in D Major in 2025. Zhang Jin's orchestra played the same work by the Austrian composer on the opening night of Yanguan's all-wood opera house in May. The newly founded ensemble has also performed five of Beethoven's nine symphonies and collaborated with superstar Lang Lang to perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1.
For the 2026 YMCG, Yu and Harding chose Strauss' Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), written by the composer in his 30s. Strauss told author Romain Rolland that "no program notes are needed; it suffices to understand it as a hero's struggle against his enemies". From the E-flat arpeggio on the double bass strings and horns to the glissandi on two harps, an artist's arduous life was depicted by its complex musical form.
During the 2026 YMCG rehearsals, the vibes were rigorous and humorous. Many of the 15 faculty members sat among the young cadets, with the orchestral scores on their laps or pocket scores in their hands. Rick Stotijn, the towering bass faculty from Amsterdam, instructed section members to provide more momentum for the orchestra, and the eight bassists marked their scores. Helmut Zehetner, a seasoned violinist from the Vienna Philharmonic, and Dutch violist Catherine Ribes from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra approached the string sections, emphasizing the rhythmic structure of this particular work.
After days of rehearsal, the young musicians interpreted the monumental work with bravura on a series of touring concerts around the Greater Bay Area. They further enchanted the audience with Mahler's Blumine and Ruckert-Lieder, featuring star mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and maestro Harding on the podium. During curtain calls at the Hong Kong Cultural Center Concert Hall, Harding walked up to each section and shook as many hands as he could. Cargill, Harding and Yu were swarmed by overjoyed cadets asking for selfies backstage.
"When Ein Heldenleben reached its climax on the E-flat note, there was real synergy," says Zhang Jin. The Hong Kong concert became even more memorable for the bassist when her classmates gathered on stage to play the birthday song.
At the waterfront, Zhang Jin shared birthday cakes with her colleagues, including Wang Yi, a graduate from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music who now plays in the Chengdu Symphony Orchestra; Zhang Jiawei, who studies in Cologne and regularly performs major opera programs with the regional orchestra for Monchengladbach and Krefeld; and Lu Tianchen, a Xinghai Conservatory of Music graduate who shares videos of rehearsals and his electric bass gigs with his band.
Faculty member Martin Zalodek mentors the first violin musicians. [Photo by Wang Bin/Li Lewei/For China Daily]
Forging friendship
Off stage, the young musicians were like any other digital natives. They discussed section assignments in group chats, laughed at cringe social moments, and debated the best French fries. Many formed friendships; some, romance. Several cadets received scholarships from music foundations, while others once again made music together in July during the Asian Youth Orchestra touring concerts.
Some of Zhang Jin's former classmates have joined famed orchestras elsewhere. Gabriel Polinsky, a 2020 alumnus, became the associate principal bass in the Philadelphia Orchestra. The American bassist once joked with Zhang Jin about the hours he spent preparing for the YMCG audition, but then went on to win the 2023 ARD Music Competition in Germany, a dream come true for music students. Tolkynuly Talgar, a YMCG cellist from Kazakhstan, now plays in the same orchestra as Zhang Jin.
Chen Jiayi, a violinist from Dongguan, Guangdong province, and concertmaster of the 2017 YMCG, started her tenure as concertmaster of the acclaimed Sinfonia Lahti in Finland in August. Alumnus Liu Ming is concertmaster of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, where Yu Long serves as its music director.
"I will definitely apply for YMCG in 2027. It's like a warm family where I have met many like-minded friends," says Karen Xue Yun En, the youngest musician in the previous edition. Her cello teacher, Calvin Wong, played alongside her in the cello section. Xue revealed her goal of working behind the scenes as a sound engineer. She might choose a university rather than a conservatory, inspired by her idol Yo-Yo Ma.
"For the musical community to thrive, we need not only people who learn instruments and become musicians, but also who go on to do other jobs, and have the love and knowledge for music," says Harding.
For the ongoing auditions, the maestro would prefer his job to be "even more difficult". "I'd love it if the word spread more and more, and we ended up with a pile of applications so big that we are terrified to go through it," he says.
And the word seems to have spread. Gregoire Girardeau, a French tuba player from the Geneva University of Music, auditioned for the program after hearing about it from YMCG alumnus, trombonist Victor Alvarez Alegria. The Spanish musician is now principal trombone of the renowned Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
After completing his first YMCG, Girardeau shared his excitement on Instagram, posting pictures and expressing gratitude. Before long, Harding commented "Bravo" on his account, adding an exclamation mark.
The author is a freelance writer for China Daily.
Faculty member Rick Stotijn takes a group photo with eight members of the double bass section at the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra rehearsal hall. [Photo by Luo Yugang/For China Daily]
