Chen Leiji
Biography Chen Leiji
Chen Leiji
began studying guqin at the age of nine. He is the first guqin graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and the first student of guqin master Gong Yi. Chen Leiji also holds a graduate diploma in Orchestral Conducting from the Rheims Conservatory. His in-depth study of Chinese and Western musical traditions places him at a virtual point of confluence to establish a unity in the world even as we grow profoundly conscious of the treasures of its diversity. Chen has also contributed to creating several contemporary works, including Liu Yuan’s Youlan with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, and Luo Zhongrong’s Concerto for Guqin and Concerto for an Instrument of Silence with the Amsterdam Nieuw Ensemble.
Since his return to China, Chen has been teaching orchestral conducting at the Chinese Conservatory of Music and touring the world as a guqin soloist. He was chosen to play The Lost Sound of Antiquity, thought to be the most famous guqin piece, at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
