Biography

Yuanchun Yu is a young pipa performer and faculty member at the Central Conservatory of Music, and the first-ever doctoral degree holder in pipa performance. She previously served as a pipa soloist with the China National Traditional Orchestra and has been an invited artist by UNESCO. Beginning her pipa studies at an early age, she studied under Professors Xianshun Zhou, Guanghua Li, and Wei Fan, and received guidance from masters such as Shicheng Lin and Dehai Liu. She is a gold and silver medalist of major competitions including the Golden Bell Award, the Wenhua Award, and the Taipei Concerto Competition. In 2012, she won the overall championship of the televised national “CCTV Chinese Instrumental Music Competition.” In 2016, she was selected by the China National Traditional Orchestra as one of the Ministry of Culture’s first group of Outstanding Young Talents. In 2021, she was elected as a council member of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society.

In recent years, Yuanchun Yu has been invited to perform as a soloist or lead performer in over 30 countries and regions, gracing world-renowned stages such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Berlin Philharmonie. In 2016, she was invited by the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing to present her solo recital “The Martial and the Literary: Yuanchun Yu Pipa Recital”, which marked the start of a nationwide concert tour. In the past two years, in her efforts to promote traditional pipa culture, she has launched several themed concert series, including Neo-Classicism: Song of the Pipa, The Martial and the Literary, The Four Seasons of Humanity, and Beyond the Ancient Tunes, with nearly 100 performances held across China.

Yu’s playing style bridges multiple aesthetics, balancing the traditional schools and classical repertoire of the pipa with a forward-looking approach to contemporary works. Her commissions and premieres include concertos such as The Martial and the Literary, Silent Strings (by Jing Sun), The Ladder to Heaven (by Maishuo Luo), The Battle of Chu and Han (arranged by Ying Jiang), and solo pieces such as Guan Di Yunzhang (by Wang Amao), Guessing Tune, C’est si bon (by David Qu), and crossover instrumental pieces like Eternal Victory. She has also composed and arranged original works such as Scattering Sand, The An Lushan Rebellion, and Far Sight.

Her publications include the solo album Yuan.Chun by People’s Music Publishing House. She has also released several acclaimed albums through Rhymoi Music, including the audiophile solo album Song of the Pipa, the open-air recording collection Unity of Heaven and Humanity, and The Moon Over Dunhuang, a project of improvised interpretations of ancient Dunhuang manuscripts. These works have garnered praise from both the music world and the general public, establishing Yuanchun Yu as one of the most prominent young pipa performers on the contemporary Chinese and international music scenes.