This week, the New York Philharmonic is hosting five Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) students selected by audition for the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program — a week-long immersion in the life of an orchestral musician. The students, known as Zarin Mehta Fellows, are taking lessons with Philharmonic musicians, and rehearsing and performing alongside them in the Orchestra’s free Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer.
On June 11, the Fellows had their first rehearsal alongside the Philharmonic and, that night, enjoyed a welcome dinner at the home of Philharmonic Board Member Shirley Young (pictured above).
1. Philharmonic flutist Yoobin Son (right) shares a laugh and words of wisdom with fellow flutist Fangyu Huang.
2. After rehearsal, Renchao Yu enjoys a lesson with Philharmonic Concertmaster Frank Huang.
3. The Fellows have the pleasure of a visit to the New York Philharmonic Archives, where Archivist / Historian Barbara Haws shares stories, history, and treasures.
4. An immersion with the New York Philharmonic necessitates a tour of the Big Apple, including a visit to the top of Rockefeller Center, where the Fellows point toward their home base: Lincoln Center.
5. The Fellows (bassoonist Sihong Zhao, clarinetist Yanru Chiu, flutist Fangyu Huang, violinist Renchao Yu, and violist Kuan Liu) perform with the Orchestra for 28,000 Philharmonic fans in Central Park, where they got to meet superstar violinist and Philharmonic Board Member Joshua Bell.
6. Bassoonist Sihong Zhao and Principal Bassoon Judith LeClair shoot the breeze before they together perform Rimsky-Korsakov's evocative Scheherazade.
7. Through the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program, the five lucky Shanghai Orchestra Academy students are living the dream, performing alongside orchestral giants, their mentors.
(Photos: Chris Lee except 3,4: Ken Yanagisawa)
