Milen Nachev
Conductor
Milen Nachev is a conductor well known for his strong musicality, stylistic faithfulness, and extensive repertoire of symphonic works, operas, and ballets. Born in Bulgaria, he is a graduate of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, where he earned his master’s degree in symphony and opera conducting. He served as principal conductor and music director of several major Eastern European orchestras, and his recordings have been regularly broadcast by the BBC and Radio France. He is now in his ninth season with Shen Yun Performing Arts and has also conducted eight seasons with Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Tokyo Opera City, and many other celebrated concert halls worldwide.
Dmitrii Russu
Conductor
Before joining Shen Yun Performing Arts, Dmitrii Russu was assistant conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor of the Ulyanovsk State Academic Symphony Orchestra, and a guest conductor of orchestras throughout the Russian Federation. Holding a master’s degree in orchestral and choral conducting, as well as a doctorate, both from Saint Petersburg Conservatory, he is the first prize winner of the 2013 Ilya Musin National Conducting Competition of Russia. He has also conducted with Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, appearing at celebrated venues like Carnegie Hall and Boston Symphony Hall as well as touring internationally.
Chia-Chi Lin
Conductor
Chia-Chi Lin studied at Rice University and the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University. She is a former principal second violinist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and former first violinist in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1992–2008). In 2006, she joined Shen Yun Performing Arts, serving first as concertmaster and then as conductor. She is currently also Vice President of Fei Tian College in New York. This is her fifteenth season with Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Gao Yuan
Composer & Conductor
Composer, conductor, and pianist, Yuan Gao has written or arranged many notable Shen Yun Performing Arts pieces. He is steeped in both the Chinese classical and Western classical music traditions, giving him a rare sensibility very suitable for Shen Yun. Yuan Gao attended the Tianjin Conservatory of Music and was later a piano soloist with the Central (National) Ballet of China before relocating to Australia and then the United States.
Yun Chu
Conductor
Yun Chu is a multitalented musician with a background not only in conducting, but additionally in composition, piano, and viola. He earned his Bachelor of Music from Fei Tian College in New York. Previously a violist with the Shen Yun orchestra, he played in over 700 performances worldwide. Yun Chu now conducts and composes for Shen Yun, and has to his credit a number of original works for orchestra.
Ying Chen
Conductor
Since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006, Ying Chen has served as conductor, principal flutist, piccoloist, orchestra manager, and stage manager. She was born into a family of elite musicians in Beijing, and studied flute at the Music Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory. After graduating with the highest honors, she relocated to the United States, where she attended Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University on scholarship and studied with the principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She composed pieces for New Tang Dynasty Television’s Global Chinese New Year Gala and Holiday Wonders performances in 2004 and 2005.
David Gao
Conductor
Conductor David Gao received his training in both China and Australia, where he studied piano and conducting, respectively. In 2022 he made his Shen Yun debut by conducting the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra video recording of Mozart’s Horn Concerto. He holds a Bachelor of Music in piano from Harbin Normal University in China and a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from Excelsia College in Sydney.
