Liu Sha
After graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM), Liu Sha studied opera and symphonic conducting with Alexander Polishchuk (formerly assistant to Ilya Musin) at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory (2011–2014). He has attended master classes with artists such as Seiji Ozawa, Mstislav Rostropovich, Jorma Panula, Colin Meters and Gustav Meier.
Now, as Resident Conductor of the China National Traditional Orchestra (CNTO), he is recognised as a leading figure in the new generation of traditional orchestral conductors. He has performed with the CNTO in Russia, South Korea, Austria, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the United States. He has conducted nearly a thousand premieres of works for traditional instrumental ensembles commissioned from the youngest generation of Chinese composers. He is also a highly regarded conductor of Russian and Eastern European symphonic repertoire.
Liu Sha has conducted at several state visits and diplomatic meetings, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) Summit (2014), the Chinese New Year Concert in Hawaii (2013), the Pan-Pacific Asian Arts Festival in San Francisco (Stanford), the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and Carnegie Hall in New York (2015).
In recent years, Liu Sha has gained a reputation as a “conductor who bridges East and West” through his commitment to popularising the ethnic strand of orchestral music. His conducting artistry is attracting widespread attention on Chinese and Asian music stages. In 2016, he became the youngest conductor to be selected among the “Top Ten Conductors of Traditional Orchestras in China”.
[2024]