Press Release - April 15, 2011
Acclaimed Pianist Cong Fan
Fan burst upon the American musical scene in 2002 when, as a 27-year old piano student at Temple University, she won the prestigious Frinna Awerbach International Piano Competition of the Piano Teachers Congress in New York, and performed a demanding concert at Carnegie Hall.
Born in China, she began study of the violin at age six, switching to piano two years later. She studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and then at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, receiving her bachelor’s degree in piano performance there.
She made her orchestral debut at age 16 with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and subsequently appeared as soloist with several leading orchestras in China, including the National Symphony Orchestra, State Symphony Orchestra of the Central Ballet, China Broadcasting Philharmonic, and others.
After coming to the United States, Fan received her master’s and doctoral degree in piano performance from Temple University, where she currently teachers.
She has participated in music festivals abroad. She has been the winner in China of Best Performance of the Year, performed at the famous New Year’s Eve concert in Beijing in 2005, and produced two albums in China in 2008. She also had the honor of participating in the opening day ceremonies at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.
PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) is the presenting sponsor for this concert. The support is part of PNC Arts Alive, a five-year, $5 million investment from The PNC Foundation, to help area residents gain access to the arts, and help arts organizations expand and engage audiences.
Gaylin, now in his 14th season as Music Director of the Bay-Atlantic Symphony, is also the Principal Conductor of the Cape May Music Festival. He has been the Music Director of the Johns Hopkins Symphony Orchestra since 1993 and, since 2007, the Principal Guest Conductor of the National Film and Radio Philharmonic in Beijing, China.
A sought-after guest conductor, he has led orchestras including the Sibiu Philharmonic of Romania—where he served as Principal Guest Conductor, Shanghai (China) Conservatory Orchestra, Bucharest (Romania) Radio Orchestra, Academia del Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona, Spain), Lodz and Pomorska (Poland) Philharmonics, Gnessin Institute Orchestra and Moscow Chamber Symphony (Russia), Orquesta Sinfonica de Guanajuato (Mexico), Orvieto Festival Orchestra (Italy), and the Naples Philharmonic (Florida). He also maintains a close association with Baltimore’s Opera Vivente and Johns Hopkins University, where he has served as Music Director of the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra since 1993.
In much demand throughout Europe, he has appeared with such orchestras as the Academia del Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona, Spain, for repeat engagements, as well as the Bucharest (Romania) Radio Orchestra, Lodz (Poland) Philharmonic, and the Moscow (Russia) Chamber Symphony.
In addition to his work with the Bay-Atlantic Symphony, Gaylin’s schedule included recording sessions last year in the Xinjiang Province of northwest China and performances last July with a pan-European Youth Orchestra as principal conductor for Spain’s Cervera Music Festival. Last December, he conducted the St. Petersburg Symphony in Russia