Jindong Cai is director of the US-China Music Institute, professor of music and arts at Bard College, and associate conductor of The Orchestra Now (TŌN). Previously, he was professor of performance at Stanford University. Over his career of more than 30 years in the U.S., he has become a leading conductor, scholar of Western classical music in China, and advocate for music from across Asia.

Born in Beijing, Cai studied violin and piano before earning graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory and Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He began his conducting career with the Cincinnati Symphony and has led major orchestras across North America and Asia, including China’s top ensembles.

At Bard, he founded the China Now Music Festival, presenting new works at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Stanford, and Bard’s Fisher Center.

With his wife, Sheila Melvin, Cai has coauthored many articles on the performing arts in China, as well as two books, Rhapsody in Red and Beethoven in China: How the Great Composer Became an Icon in the People’s Republic.

Hai-Ye Ni is principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and an acclaimed soloist and chamber musician. Praised by The Washington Post for her “soulfully expressive” playing, she has performed with leading orchestras including those of Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Finland.

Winner of the Naumburg International Cello Competition, Ni has also received an Avery Fisher Career Grant and top prizes at the International Paulo and Rostropovich Competitions. Formerly associate principal of the New York Philharmonic, she joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2006.

She has appeared at festivals such as Marlboro, La Jolla, Aspen, Kuhmo, and Spoleto, and collaborated with Lang Lang, Yefim Bronfman, and Cho-Liang Lin. Her recordings include Spirit of Chimes (Delos) and a Naxos solo debut named CD of the Week by Classic FM.

Born in Shanghai, she studied at Juilliard and with William Pleeth in London.

Born in Chongqing, China, Manli Deng earned her Bachelor’s degree from the Central Conservatory of Music under Professor Zhang Liping. At 22, she was invited to the U.S. by Maestro Louis Salemno and later joined Maryland Lyric Opera. She holds a Master of Music from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at Rutgers University. Since 2023, she has been a resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts.

Deng made her Lincoln Center debut in the 2022 China Now Music Festival in Ye Xiaogang’s The Great Wall. She has performed leading roles in La Bohème, Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, Anna Bolena, and Faust. A frequent competition prizewinner, she was a finalist in the 17th Tchaikovsky International Competition and a winner of the 2020 Met Opera National Council Auditions (Midwest Region).

Yue Wu holds a Master’s degree from the Mannes School of Music and a Bachelor’s from the Tianjin Conservatory of Music. From 2022 to 2025, he was a resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts.

In 2021, he was selected for Renée Fleming’s SongStudio project, performing at Carnegie Hall. He went on to train at the Music Academy of the West and was invited as a Fleming Artist at the Aspen Music Festival in 2023 and 2024, where he starred as Hosokawa in Bel Canto.

His repertoire includes The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Idomeneo, La Traviata, Anna Bolena, Gianni Schicchi, La Fanciulla del West, and Eugene Onegin. He has performed with Opera Philadelphia, Opera Santa Barbara, and the Kimmel Center.

Belinda Robinson is a news and features journalist with over 25 years of experience for publications in print and online in London and New York.

 Originally from London, England, Robinson has a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Westminster, London. She began her career working as an editor at Reuters in the UK. She joined China Daily newspaper in December 2018 as a news reporter while looking for a new challenge in her career.

After working on many newspapers that focused on the West, she was intrigued to learn more about the East. Working on the New York news desk of the publication, which has offices in the UK, US, China and Africa, she covers US news, politics and business. While her day-to-day work mainly focuses on news, politics, finance and trade, she excels in stories dedicated to the arts and Eastern music and culture. At China Daily Robinson has been fortunate enough to interview several talented Chinese artists for the newspaper, including the world-renowned pianist Lang Lang, Ye Xiaogang, Dean, School of Music, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) and Heidi Lee, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Ballet.

Eric Finbarr Carey, praised for his “silken tenor” (Opera News), has appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons (Choral Fantasy), The Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall (Mozart Requiem, Bach Magnificat), The Gewandhaus Orchester (Pulcinella), Emmanuel Music (B Minor Mass), and Odyssey Opera in the world premiere of The Chronicle of Nine (“an oasis of lyricism” –Bachtrack). Operatic highlights include Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress and Florestan in Fidelio.

He has performed Monteverdi’s Vespers, Händel’s Dixit Dominus, and the world premiere of Andrew Faulkenberry’s The Crooked Cross. A dedicated recitalist, he has toured with pianist Bethany Pietroniro and collaborated with early music artists including theorbist Richard Stone.

Carey trained at Bard College, Boston University Opera Institute, Peabody Conservatory, and Johns Hopkins University, and held fellowships at Tanglewood, Britten-Pears, and Carnegie Hall’s Renée Fleming Song Studio. He is a prizewinner in several national competitions.

Xiangwei Yu is a graduate of the China National Opera Academy and a student of the renowned Peking Opera master Zhang Chunxiao. He is widely recognized for his refined vocal technique and expressive artistry. As the principal performer of the Hebei Peking Opera Troupe and a National Class-One Performer, Yu holds membership in the Chinese Theatre Association and is the recipient of several top honors, including the prestigious Chen Chang Geng Gold Award and the National Peking Opera Excellence Award.

Yu has shared the stage with many of China's most celebrated artists, including Yang Ronghuan, Mei Baojiu, Ma Changli, and Zhang Xuejin. For many years prior to his arrival in New York, he was the longtime stage partner of Li Shengsu, one of China’s leading female Peking Opera stars.

Nathaniel Sullivan is a musician, theatre artist, and writer known for his expressive artistry and musical precision. Described as an “alert and highly musical baritone” (Opera News) with “great eloquence” (ConcertoNet), he has appeared with Heartbeat Opera, Opera Parallèle, and at Tanglewood. Notable roles include Jokanaan in Salome, The King in Lessons in Love and Violence, and Jesus in the St. John Passion. Nathaniel earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and his Master of Music in Vocal Arts from the Bard College Conservatory of Music. A 2023 Astral Artists winner, he has also received awards from the Washington International Competition and NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing).

Dai Jian, born in China, is a choreographer, interdisciplinary artist, and educator known for integrating contemporary dance, classical dance, and martial arts. His work spans dance, theatre, installation, and performance art, combining experimental vision with live immediacy.

Trained in martial arts from age six and dance from thirteen, Dai won the 1998 China National Dance Competition Grand Prize. In 2005, he moved to New York, performing with Shen Wei Dance Arts and the Trisha Brown Dance Company, and assisting Shen Wei on the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Notable works include Blue Room (2014) and Silent Dialogue (2015, commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art).

In 2016, Dai and his wife Anne Valette-Dai founded MaiOui Danse Arts in Lyon, France, later establishing D5 Art Space and the D5 Live Arts Festival. He is Artistic Director of MaiOui Danse Arts and Visiting Professor at Beijing Normal University and Beijing Dance Academy.

Wang Kan is a Beijing-based contemporary dancer known for her dynamic style and global perspective. She holds dual degrees in modern dance from the Beijing Dance Academy and Unitec Institute of Technology, New Zealand. A member of the Beijing Modern Dance Company since 2021, Wang has toured nationally with works like The Great Wall, Blooming of Time, and First Love. She played a featured role in Oath (Midnight Rain at the Beijing Jixiang Grand Theater. Her recent performances include Whispers of Clouds (Aranya Theater Festival), Fragrance (Beijing Drama Carnival), Offering (Wuzhen Theatre Festival), and site-specific pieces aboard Adora Magic City cruise ship and in the Dunhuang Desert. Wang also leads community workshops, using movement to connect with nature, youth, and public spaces.

Peng Mi is a contemporary dancer and choreographer based in Guangzhou. Born in Hunan, China, he graduated from Hunan Normal University and danced with the Guangdong Modern Dance Company from 2015 to 2020. His performances include Point One, Light of Change, and Sumeru, which toured Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Additionally, he appeared in Black (Brisbane), Days of Heaven (Beijing), and Beyond Calligraphy (USA). Since 2021, Peng has worked independently, developing his choreographic voice through works like Destination (Münster and Amsterdam), Hommage (Berlin, Groningen, Shanghai), and The Domestication: Taboo Love (Guangzhou, Macau). His work blends physical intensity, artistic depth, and cross-cultural collaboration.

Shiqi Zhong is an acclaimed percussionist and DMA candidate at New York University, recognized for his versatility across world, classical, contemporary, and popular music. A graduate of the China Conservatory of Music Affiliated Middle School, Juilliard Pre-College, Curtis Institute of Music, Yale School of Music, and NYU, he brings a deep academic foundation to his artistry. Zhong has performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, and Composer Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Leon Botstein, Xian Zhang, Vladimir Jurowski, and Osmo Vänskä. Dedicated to education, he serves as deputy editor of PAS China and a board member of the Asian Youth Musician Alliance, mentoring students who have gained admission to Curtis, Juilliard Pre-College, Manhattan School of Music, and San Francisco Conservatory. His teaching materials and innovative works for percussion reflect his mission to connect cultures and inspire the next generation of musicians.

Founded in 2015 by conductor and educator Leon Botstein, The Orchestra Now (TŌN) is a graduate program of Bard College that is training the next generation of music professionals to become creative ambassadors of classical music. It offers accomplished young musicians a full-tuition fellowship toward a master’s degree in Curatorial, Critical, and Performance Studies or an advanced certificate in Orchestra Studies. TŌN’s innovative curriculum combines rehearsal, performance, recording, and touring with seminars, masterclasses, professional development workshops, teaching, and more. The members of the orchestra are graduates of the world’s leading conservatories, and hail from countries across North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Many have gone on to have careers in the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Vancouver, and National symphony orchestras; Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia; the United States military bands; and many others.

TŌN performs dozens of concerts a year at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Fisher Center at Bard. Specializing in both familiar and rarely heard repertoire, the orchestra has given numerous New York, U.S., and world premieres, and has performed the work of living composers, including Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, Jonny Greenwood, and Tania León. In 2023, TŌN appeared with Bradley Cooper in the Academy Award-nominated film Maestro, and was featured on the Deutsche Grammophon soundtrack, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The orchestra has performed with many other distinguished guest conductors and soloists, including Leonard Slatkin, Gil Shaham, Neeme Järvi, Stephanie Blythe, Fabio Luisi, Vadim Repin, Joseph Young, Peter Serkin, Naomi Woo, Peter Moore, Tan Dun, and JoAnn Falletta.

TŌN has released several albums on the Hyperion, Sorel Classics, and AVIE labels. May 2024’s The Lost Generation includes world-premiere recordings of works by Hugo Kauder, Hans Erich Apostel, and Adolf Busch. Other highlights include rare recordings of Othmar Schoeck’s Lebendig begraben and Bristow’s Arcadian Symphony, and the soundtrack to the motion picture Forte. Recordings of TŌN’s live concerts from the Fisher Center can be heard regularly on Classical WMHT-FM and WWFM The Classical Network, and the orchestra has appeared over 100 times on Performance Today, broadcast nationwide. Learn more at ton.bard.edu

The Bard East-West Ensemble (BE/WE) is a bold and original group that fuses Chinese and Western musical traditions to create a new model of cross-cultural performance. Founded by conductor and educator Jindong Cai, the ensemble features a Western string quintet alongside seven traditional Chinese instruments, including dizi, erhu, pipa, ruan, suona, guzheng, and sheng, supported by Chinese and Western percussionists.

BE/WE has appeared at major U.S. venues including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The group has collaborated with acclaimed soloists such as Guo Yazhi, Wu Man, and Duo Chinoiserie.

Its repertoire includes original works and dynamic new arrangements by renowned composers like Zhou Long, Tan Dun, and Xinyan Li. Committed to cultural exchange, BE/WE seeks to foster US-China understanding through music—and in June 2025, completed its first tour of China with 11 performances across 8 cities.