Pavlo Baishev
Bass Trombone
A distinguished and experienced player, Pavlo Baishev is the former assistant principal trombone of the National Opera of Ukraine, a position he held for 16 years. He also performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Kyiv Classic Orchestra, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Choir, as well as the Kyiv Virtuosi chamber orchestra. Winner of the Grand Prix of the International Competition of Young Performers (Kyiv, 2002), and second place winner of the Ukrainian National Competition for Brass and Percussion (2004), he studied at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and postgraduate (equivalent to a U.S. doctorate) degrees.
Eric Robins
Trumpet
Eric Robins holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree from New England Conservatory. He has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others, and is former principal trumpet of the Daegu Symphony Orchestra (South Korea). His fellowships include the Mabel Louise Riley Scholarship (New England Conservatory), National Orchestral Institute, Round Top International Music Festival, and Bar Harbor Brass. He was recently featured as the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recording of the Haydn Trumpet Concerto.
Vladimir Zemtsov
Trumpet
Vladimir Zemtsov’s glowing, powerful tone has led his brass section across Europe in the performance of classics such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and many others while serving as principal trumpet of the Russian State Ballet of Siberia. He previously held positions with orchestras in Moscow and other cities. He earned a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance at Russia’s Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Music and Theatre.
Aleksandr Antonov
Trumpet
Aleksandr Antonov holds a specialist (master’s) degree with honors in concert performance from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. International prizewinner of several competitions, as well as former principal trumpet of both the Taurida State Symphony Orchestra and the Saint Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, he has performed extensively around the world.
Gabriela Gonzalez-Briceno
Bassoon
Gabriela Gonzalez-Briceno grew up with Venezuela’s “El Sistema,” the famous orchestra program that develops musical talent. She graduated from the Simon Bolivar Conservatory of Music in Caracas and completed her master’s degree in music at the State University of New York at Purchase. Winner of the 2015 Concerto Competition with Purchase Symphony Orchestra, she has played as principal bassoonist with the Miami Symphony Orchestra and Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, among others. She has also performed at the Berliner Philharmonie, the Wiener Konzerthaus, and the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg under some of the world’s most renowned conductors. Her solo and chamber work has been featured in concerts and recordings internationally.
Maksym Bilash
Flute
Maksym Bilash holds a master’s degree from The National Tchaikovsky Music Academy of Ukraine. Winner of numerous international competitions in his native Russia, he was the principal flutist for the National Opera of Ukraine before joining Shen Yun Performing Arts. He was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recent recording of the Mozart Flute Concerto in D Major.
Chia-Jung Lee
Flute
Winner of the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, second prize winner of the National Young Artist Competition at Mid-South Flute Festival, and first prize winner of the Kaohsiung City Music Competition (Taiwan), Chia-Jung Lee was a recipient of the Certificate of Recognition of Outstanding Doctoral Recital from the University of Texas Butler School of Music. She holds a doctoral degree in flute performance from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree from Sun Yat-Sen University (Taiwan).
Yevgeniy Reznik
Clarinet
Yevgeniy Reznik holds a doctorate in clarinet performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was recognized with an Outstanding Doctoral Recital. He won the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Woodwind Division Competition, State Competition, and Collegiate Competition. He attended as a fellow the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival – Yale Summer School of Music, and Y. Mravinsky International Music Festival in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He ranked as top clarinetist and alternate to overall winner in the 2005 MTNA Young Artist Woodwind Division Competition in the state of Michigan. A native of Ukraine, he came to the United States at age 17 to attend Interlochen Arts Academy on a full scholarship.
Alistair Crawford
Trombone
Alistair Crawford has performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, and the Melbourne Opera Orchestra, among others. He earned a bachelor of music with honors at the University of Melbourne and a graduate diploma of professional music practice at the University of Tasmania. He received the Lady Turner Award for the most promising musician while studying at the University of Melbourne, and pursued later studies at the Australian National Academy of Music.
Linda Wang
Erhu
Linda Wang is a soloist with Shen Yun International Company. Raised in a musical family, she started learning both the erhu and violin at age 7, and has studied under several renowned erhuists. She attended San Francisco High School of the Arts in California before moving to New York. There, she studied at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and earned her Bachelor of Music, graduating cum laude from Fei Tian College, where she also earned her Master of Music in Erhu Performance. One of Shen Yun’s musical prodigies, she won Gold Medal at the 2023 Fei Tian Music Competition.
Yu-Chien Yuan
Cello
A Shen Yun soloist, Yu-Chien Yuan began cello studies at a young age, winning many awards as a child. She graduated with high honors from Fei Tian Academy of the Arts in New York before earning a Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, and a Master of Music in Cello Performance from Fei Tian College. She is the winner of the 2021 Fei Tian Music Competition Gold Medal, and was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recent recording of the Dvořák Cello Concerto in B Minor.
I-Chen Huang
Cello
A graduate of L’École Normale de Musique de Paris, I-Chen Huang holds a bachelor’s degree in cello performance, a master’s certificate in cello education, and master’s degrees in cello performance and chamber music. She continued her studies at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris, where she also received a master’s certificate in music education. She won second prize at the UFAM international competition for chamber music in 2007, second place in the Kaohsiung City piano competition (Taiwan), and first place in the Taiwan National Music Composition Competition.
Debbie Jin
Concertmaster
Debbie Jin is a Shen Yun soloist and concertmaster with Shen Yun New York Company. Born in Sydney, Australia, she studied piano and violin starting at a young age, quickly developing a beautiful tone on the violin and remarkable virtuosity for her age. She resides in New York, where she is pursuing violin studies on a scholarship at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts. She won Gold Medal at the 2021 Fei Tian Music Competition, was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s performance of The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto at Lincoln Center in New York, and is one of the company’s outstanding young musical talents.
Davin Ma
Violin
In addition to violin, Davin Ma has also achieved high levels of proficiency in piano and clarinet. He studied violin at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and graduated with high honors before pursuing advanced studies at Fei Tian College, both in New York. Prior to joining Shen Yun, he performed extensively with the acclaimed Toronto-based Kindred Spirits Orchestra. He was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recent recording of Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy.
Catherine Zhang
Concertmaster
Catherine Zhang is a Shen Yun soloist and concertmaster with Shen Yun Global Company. She first learned violin from her father before studying with renowned teachers in Australia and the United States. She has won four full scholarships to top music schools in Australia and the U.S., and is the second-place winner in the Ryde Eisteddfod Open Age Solo Bach Competition and the Open Age Concerto Competition. She has been featured in television advertisements, and was a frequent performer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Rising Star Program Concerts. She graduated with high honors from Fei Tian Academy of the Arts before pursuing advanced studies at Fei Tian College, both in New York. In 2021, she won Gold Medal at the Fei Tian Music Competition and was featured as the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.
Freda Wang
Concertmaster
Freda Wang is a Shen Yun soloist and concertmaster with Shen Yun New Era Company. She grew up outside Washington, D.C. in a musical family—her older sister, Linda, is an accomplished erhu player with Shen Yun. Freda had been a concertmaster in youth orchestras before accepting a scholarship from Fei Tian Academy of the Arts in New York. Upon graduating with high honors, she pursued advanced studies in violin at Fei Tian College. She won Gold Medal at the 2021 and 2022 Fei Tian Music Competitions, was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recording of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, and is one of the company’s outstanding young musical talents.
Lillian Li
Concertmaster
Lillian Li is concertmaster with Shen Yun New World Company. Prior to joining Shen Yun, she served as concertmaster with the College Park Youth Orchestra (2011–2014) in Maryland, received a scholarship to the National Philharmonic Orchestra Summer String Institute, and won awards at over 30 piano and violin competitions. She graduated with honors from Fei Tian Academy of the Arts before pursuing advanced studies at Fei Tian College, both in New York. A Gold Medal winner of the 2021 Fei Tian Music Competition, she was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole.
Kate Li
Violin
Kate Li began learning the violin at the age of 4, studying with professors from the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, both in England. At the age of 8, she was admitted to Chetham’s School of Music and awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship by the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain. She was then accepted into the Yehudi Menuhin School and studied there before enrolling at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts in New York. In 2023, she won Gold Medal at the Fei Tian Music Competition.
Kristy Kou
Concertmaster
Kristy Kou is concertmaster with Shen Yun North America Company. She started learning music at the age of 5 and earned distinctions at multiple violin competitions. She studied with renowned violin teachers and then earned her bachelor’s degree, graduating magna cum laude, from Fei Tian College in New York, where she is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Violin Performance. She has performed at the Casalmaggiore Music Festival in Italy and Musiktage am Rhein in Germany.
Louie Tsai
Violin
Louie Tsai started studying violin at a young age and has won multiple competitions in California and New York. He continued his studies at the New York-based Fei Tian Academy of the Arts, graduating with honors, before pursuing advanced studies at Fei Tian College. He was recently featured as the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Bruch’s Violin Concerto.
Daniel Cao
Violin
Daniel Cao studied at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts, graduating with honors, before pursuing advanced studies at Fei Tian College, both in New York. He is the Gold Medal winner of the 2022 Fei Tian Music Competition. He was featured as the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Saint-Saëns’s Third Violin Concerto.
Rachel Chen
Viola
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Rachel Chen grew up in Chicago, Illinois, where she began studying violin at age 6 and won multiple youth competitions in both violin and flute before becoming a violist. She graduated with honors from the New York-based Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and earned both her Bachelor of Music (magna cum laude) and Master of Music in Viola Performance from Fei Tian College. She was the soloist in Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s recent recording of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. In 2023, she won Gold Medal at the Fei Tian Music Competition.
