SCHOLARSHIP RESULTS HAVE BEEN POSTED!
Adjudicators
International Music
Dr. Feihong Nan
​Guzheng
Dr. Feihong Nan is the founder of the Canadian division of Yuan Yin Group. She has led over 300 performers annually while organizing workshops and concerts to support her community. Directing initiatives such as the ‘Youth Leader for Music and Health Program’, Dr. Nan is recognized for her contributions to Chinese music. Dr. Nan has recorded for Grammy-nominated albums and received awards including the Heritage Legacy Award and the Senator Victor Oh Legacy Award.
Li Wang
​Guzheng
Li Wang, a guzheng artist and educator, holds a bachelor’s degree in guzheng performance from the School of Yangtze University, and is a member of the Hubei Provincial Musicians Association. After immigrating to Canada in 2006, she founded the Li Wang Guzheng Studio in Montreal, where she has developed a highly professional and systematic teaching approach. Her students have earned top results in Central Conservatory of Music exams, and her studio received the collective category award at the 2022 Global Chinese Youth Instrumental Music Performance, earning her multiple “Excellent Instructor” titles.
Lina Cao
​Guzheng
Toronto-based Lina Cao is an internationally acclaimed guzheng virtuoso celebrated for her artistry and innovative fusion of Eastern and Western music. Trained under renowned masters and a graduate of the Nanjing University of the Arts and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, she has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, Roy Thomson Hall, and Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts.
Ms. Cao has collaborated with major orchestras and composers worldwide, premiering works that expand the expressive range of the guzheng. Her many honors include China’s Golden Bell Award, the Wenhua Award, and a Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination in Canada.
As founder and music director of the Toronto Guzheng Ensemble and the first guzheng instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University, Lina is a passionate advocate for cross-cultural collaboration and continues to elevate the guzheng on the global stage.
Xuan Liu
Yang qin
​Liu Xuan, a Master’s graduate from Nanjing University of the Arts, is a distinguished yangqin performer and educator with a strong foundation in piano, music theory, and Chinese aesthetics. After over a decade performing with the Nanjing National Orchestra and founding her own ensemble in 2005, she immigrated to Canada and established Xuan Music Studio to teach and promote cross-cultural collaboration. A prominent cultural organizer, she helped launch Montreal’s first Arts and Culture Festival and earned acclaim for her 2024 gala performance of Dragon Soul Rhythm.
​Yan Zhang
Yang qin
​Ms. Zhang Yan, a graduate of the Hubei Institute of Arts, began studying yangqin at age five and later performed professionally with the People’s Art Theatre, gaining exceptional technical and stage experience. Now based in Canada, she founded the Sino-Canadian Youth Folk Orchestra, serving as its Artistic Director and establishing it as the Central Conservatory of Music’s official overseas examination center. A highly respected educator, Ms. Zhang has guided countless award-winning students and continues to inspire young musicians through her dedication to Chinese traditional music and cultural exchange.
