As one of the most distinguished Chinese conductors with an established international reputation, Maestro Long Yu is currently Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival and Music in the Summer Air, MISA. He is appointed the Principle Guest Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, which has been effective since Season 2015-2016.
A frequent collaborator with the most distinguished orchestras in the world, Long Yu has appeared with a prestigious list of leading orchestras and a lot of opera companies around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Hamburg State Opera, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. During Chinese Spring Festival of 2012, Long Yu led the New York Philharmonic in the First Chinese New Year Concert at Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center.
Long Yu was born in 1964 into a family of musicians in Shanghai. Musical education in his early childhood came from his grandfather Ding Shande, a composer of great renown, and he later studied at the Shanghai Conservatory with Professor Xiaotong Huang and then studied at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin with Prof. Robinstein. Outstanding music talents, excellent educational background and extensive social resources make Long Yu a preeminent conductor. Long Yu’s career has included both artistic and administrative appointments. In 1998, he led the creation of the Beijing Music Festival and was its Founding Artistic Director. In 2000, he co-founded China Philharmonic Orchestra and served as its Artistic Director and Chief Conductor ever since.
Long Yu received the 2002 Montblanc Arts Patronage Award from the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, and in 2003 came Le grade de chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (The Honor of Chevalier of French Art and Culture) from the Government of France. In 2005, Italian President honored Maestro Long Yu L’onorificenza di commendatore.
In November 2010, the Central Conservatory of Music has presented Maestro Long Yu with a certificate of the Honourable Academician from the Central Conservatory at a conference for 70th year anniversary of its founding, in recognition of his great contribution and devoted efforts to the development in classical music in China and cultural exchanges over the past decade. On December 2010, he was awarded People of the Year in Arts Field in China. In 2013, Long Yu was awarded the national level arts award “China Arts Award”.
In 2014, Long Yu received the France Knight of Legion of Honour. In 2015, Long Yu was named “Morally and Artistically Excellent Artist” by state authority. He was also awarded the Sanford Medal by Yale University’s College of Music, and the Global Citizen Awards by the Atlantic Council.
Long Yu is currently Vice-president of Chinese Musicians Association, member of the 11th and 12th the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
