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 a professor of performance at Stanford University. Born in Beijing, Cai received his early musical training in China, where he learned to play violin and piano. He came to the United States for his graduate studies at the New England Conservatory and the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. Cai started his conducting career with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and has worked with orchestras throughout North America and Asia. He is a three-time recipient of the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming for Contemporary Music. 

Over his 35-year career in the United States, Cai has established himself as an active and dynamic conductor, scholar of Western classical music in China, and leading advocate of music from across Asia. At Bard, Cai founded the annual China Now Music Festival, which has become a major platform in the West for new works by some of the most important Chinese composers of our time. 

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

Chinese mezzo-soprano Ziqi Wang is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Opera Performance at the University of Texas at Austin, studying under the tutelage of Leah Crocetto. She has been selected as a Young Artist with Hong Kong Grand Opera for their upcoming 2026-2027 season. Highly regarded for her rich, expressive voice and commanding stage presence, her upcoming engagements also feature two major role debuts: Romeo in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte.

Ziqi’s versatile repertoire highlights her exceptional dramatic and vocal range, particularly in celebrated trouser and leading roles. She has captivated audiences as Bradamante in Handel's Alcina, Prince Charming (Le Prince Charmant) in Massenet's Cendrillon, and the witty Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus. Her comedic and character flair is equally sharp, demonstrated through her performances as Zita in Gianni Schicchi, The Monitor (La Suora Zelatrice) in Suor Angelica, the tormented Alice in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Fidalma in Il matrimonio segreto.

An acclaimed competitor, Ziqi has earned numerous accolades on the global stage. Most recently, she achieved distinction as a Semifinalist in the 2026 Vienna International Vocal Competition. Her other recent achievements include an Encouragement Award at The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Puerto Rico District). She won 1st Prize in the Beethoven Young Musician Competition (2023), 4th Prize at the International Music Competition Vienna (2023), and 2nd Place in China’s National Vocal Music Leading Talent Training Program (2020). Her early promise was recognized at just 18 years old when she was awarded 3rd Prize in the Second China-Russia Yucai Cup.

Bass-baritone Yue Wu holds a master’s degree from Mannes School of Music and a bachelor's degree from the Tianjin Conservatory of Music. From 2022 to 2025, he served as a resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in the United States for three years.

In 2021, he was selected through a global audition SongStudio project led by Renée Fleming, and held a concert at Carnegie Hall. Later, He went to Music Academy of the West as young artist. In 2023 and 2024, Renée Fleming was invited and signed by the Aspen Music Festival in the United States to perform as a Fleming Artist. In 2023, he produced the modern opera "Bel Canto" at the Aspen Music Festival and played the male lead role of Hosokawa. During his stay in the United States, he starred in dozens of operas, covering a wide range of genres from classical to modern, such as "The Marriage of Figaro", “Don Giovanni", "Idomeneo", "La Fanciulla del West", "The Barber of Seville", "Anna Bolena", "Gianni Schicchi", "La Traviata", "Amico Fritz", "Onegin", and " Bel Canto". Hisperformances have been seen at the Opera Philadelphia, Opera Santa Barbara, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, and Carnegie Hall in New York. Upcoming performances include the modern opera "The Elevator" at the Opera Grand Rapids in 2026.