Milen Nachev
Conductor
Milen Nachev is a conductor well known for his strong musicality and extensive repertoire of symphonic works, operas, and ballets. A native of 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 music director and principal conductor of several major Eastern European orchestras, and his recordings have been regularly broadcast by the BBC and Radio France. Since joining Shen Yun in 2012, he has conducted over 500 performances worldwide, including at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Tokyo Opera City, and many other celebrated concert halls.
Vardan Hakobyan
Conductor
Vardan Hakobyan is the former conductor of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra and principal conductor of the Armenian Youth Chamber Orchestra. He studied conducting at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and earned his master’s degree in both double bass performance and conducting at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan (Armenia). Winner of the 2005 International Conductors Workshop and Competition in Macon, Georgia (U.S.A.), he was founder and artistic director of the Emin Khachaturian Competition for Young Performers and the Cadenza Soloists ensemble, both in Armenia.
Yuan Gao
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.
William Kuo
Conductor
Trained in Western and Chinese music, William Kuo has conducted music of a broad range of styles from the Western and Chinese traditions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in dizi (Chinese flute) performance and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting. As the founding conductor of the Taiwan Formosa Chamber Ensemble (Denton, Texas), he has conducted the U.S. premieres of many works by Taiwanese composers.
