Professor Ian Bofinger has had a diverse career in music, combining his background in performance (violoncello solo, chamber music and orchestral), management and blended learning education design.

Ian commenced his professional career as a Lecturer in ‘Cello at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Griffith University) in 1998, whilst working with the Queensland Symphony and Queensland Philharmonic Orchestras.

In 1991, Ian moved to the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music where he ultimately became Deputy Director (2002-2005) and foundation ‘cellist of the Lyrebird Trio. During this time he completed his Doctoral Studies where he co-founded (with Greg Whateley) Australia’s first ‘Virtual Conservatorium’.

In 2005, Ian relocated to Sydney to take up the position of Deputy Dean and Head, Academic Studies and Information Services at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM). The original requirements of this position at AIM were to update three of the weakest and maligned areas at the Institute – Academic Studies, Information Technology and the Library.

The opportunity to step outside of the music discipline came in early 2009 when Ian became Manager, TEL (Technology Enhanced Learning) at the University of Western Sydney College.

Later in 2009, Ian returned to the Australian Institute of Music to take up his current position as Executive Dean. In the 6 years from 2009 – 2015, Ian has been instrumental in the rapid growth and development of AIM to become the largest music school in the southern hemisphere. In this time, AIM more than doubled its campus size, income and student numbers. Ian also designed and implemented a second major campus of AIM, which was operational in the CBD of Melbourne at the beginning of 2014.

Ian is currently the Executive Dean at the Australian Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA)

The multi-talented Igor Budinstein counts among his professional accomplishments conducting, viola and violin performance, both as a soloist and within orchestras and chamber groups, as well as lecturing and music pedagogy.  He is the chief conductor of the chamber orchestra “Berliner Cappella” and the principal violist of the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester (German Symphony Orchestra) in Berlin. 

At the young age of 24, he took on the role of principal violist of the German Symphony Orchestra but felt that his musical horizons were not yet fully realized and so continued his studies on the viola with world-renowned violist Bruno Giuranna at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin, on the violin with Young Uck Kim at the College of Music in Detmold and with Christiane Edinger at the Hochschule fur Musik in Lubeck, and in conducting with Christian Ehwald, at the Hanns Eisler Music College in Berlin.   At the same time, he became very active as a conductor, soloist and chamber musician.  He was in high demand with leading orchestras as a solo violist.  As such he led the viola sections of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (German Opera Berlin) the Bayrische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera), the Orchester des Hessischen Rundfunks (Radio-Orchestra of Hessen), the Bamberger Symphoniker (Symphonic Orchestra of Bamberg), the Dresdner and Berliner Staatskapelle (State Orchestras of Dresden and Berlin), and the Hamburger Staatsoper (Hamburg State Opera).

For more than 10 years he has been conducting the Chamber Orchestra “Berliner Cappella”.  He has also been engaged as guest conductor with some of Germany’s most renowned orchestras, including Konzerthausorchester Berlin (the Concert House Orchestra of Berlin) the Düsseldorfer and Hamburger Symphoniker (the Symphonic Orchestras of Düsseldorf and Hamburg), the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock (North German Philharmonia Rostock), and others.  In addition, he has also conducted a wide range of orchestras outside of Germany, including as associate conductor (with Kent Nagano) at the Los Angeles Opera, and as a conductor with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra in China, the Suwon Symphony Orchestra in Korea, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra in Canada, the Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes in Mexico, and the National Orchestra of Belgium.

As a solo violist, he has concertized with a variety of chamber music groups and orchestras, playing at the world’s most renowned music centres and at leading festivals in Europe, Asia, North America and South America.

For the past 5 years, Igor Budinstein has regularly lectured on music appreciation in Germany, as well as in Norway, the USA, Singapore and on Mediterranean cruises.

For many years now Igor Budinstein has been in great demand as a mentor in the Academy Program of the German Symphony Orchestra of Berlin and has also given international master classes in Russia, Ukraine, Germany and Singapore.

Gao Jiasi is under the tutelage of Professor Li Lansong, the deputy director of the Central Conservatory of Music, and the chairman of the China Conservatory of Music. Gao Jiasi was admitted by the National University of Singapore Conservatory of Music and the Oberlin School of Music in the United States with full scholarship. She is the chief of the Bassoon Department of the Mexican Philharmonic Orchestra. Jiasi is currently a Bassoon tutor of the Orchestra Department of Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music, a director of the Guangdong Provincial Wind Music Society, a director of the China University Management Association, a judge of the South China Wind Music Competition, a judge of the Asian Wind Music Competition, and one of the founders of the Xinghai Woodwind Quintet.

Guo Yongsheng, a Chinese-American, is currently a foreign cello professor at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. Graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in 1988 and received a full scholarship to the United States with honours, continued his studies at Michigan State University and University of Southern California, USA, and received a PhD degree in cello. In China, the renowned cellist Professor Chen Jiuhe, Professor Wang Xiang, the American master of the American world who came to China to lecture, Aldo Parisot and the French master of the world, Maurice Gendron, received their careful guidance. Foreign teachers from the world-renowned Professor Owen Carmen, Professor Eleonore Schoenfeld and Professor Ronald Leonard. He was sent to the Grand Lansing Symphony Orchestra in the United States as The Cello Associate Chief, as well as the Flint Symphony Orchestra, the Midland Symphony Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles United Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra as the Cello Chief.

Dr Guo has been engaged in music education and playing in the United States for many years and is a member of the American Association of Music Teachers and the Musicians Association. Conservatory of Music, Royal College of Music, Birmingham Conservatory. Most of them won prizes in different music competitions, and now they are more likely to work in symphony orchestras and music education. In recent years, Dr Guo Yongsheng has performed in many cities in China and given masterclasses to professional students, such as Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Northwest National University, Sichuan Normal University and so on. Participate in many international music festivals and music summer camps. Invited to the 8th Aegean Cup and 3rd China International Cello Competition in August 2019, he has worked successfully with the Riverside Symphony Orchestra, the Redland Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Barbra Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, often with the world’s top musicians.

Dr Guo Yongsheng’s performance is enthusiastic, skilful, from his performance of the melody flowing full of passion and desire, wonderful sound and dramatic playing style, more full of his song-like beautiful tone so that the audience’s spiritual enjoyment to a high point. In Los Angeles, the World Daily, and radio interviews were praised as a cellist who had done well in education and playing.

Lu is Associate professor of violin and Master Degree lecture of Xinghai Conservatory of Music. She gained her doctor of violin performance at Urals Mussorgsky State Conservatoire. She is one of the outstanding young teacher training project of Guangdong, executive director of Guangdong Violin Society.

At the age of 14, Lu went to Russia to study. Urals Mussorgsky State Conservatoire graduated with a doctor in violin performance. She won the special prize in Ukraine “International Youth Violin Competition”. And she performed many times at home country and abroad. She has taught at Xinghai Conservatory of Music since 2007. Represented the Conservatory in participating in performances hosted by China national leaders.

While studying abroad, she has signed with the Russian Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Orchestra as a violin soloist and has performed with the orchestra to tour many times. Lu was commended as an outstanding student in the Chinese consulate in Russia. She was on the Russian version of the magazine  “People’s Pictorial” and exclusively interviewed by Novosibirsk TV station.

During the teaching, Lu still kept practicing and performing, and conducted solo concerts in Xinghai Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Center, Shenzhen Concert Hall, Guangzhou Opera House, Poly Wenzhou Theatre, etc. At the same time, she performed as soloist with Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra, Xinjiang Philharmonic, Starry Orchestra, Xinghai Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra. At the same time, she has conducted many masterclasses and lectures in many places across the country. The University of Shannon-Dore invited her to conduct masterclasses, which has been widely praised. Lu has published papers such as “How to Solve the Tension During Stage Performance” and “The Sound and Tone of Violin”.

In recent years, Lu as Professor Zakhar Bron ’s assistant in China, followed the master to further study the essence of the Russian violin teaching method and was sent by the school to Switzerland continue following Prof. Bron for further study.

Amber Quartet Founder, First Violin

Ning Fangliang is an outstanding violinist and chamber musician in China today, active in the international stage, currently teaching in the Central Conservatory of Music.

Ning Fangliang, as the founder and first violin of the Amber Quartet, has achieved a historic breakthrough in Chinese classical music: in 2013, the Amber Quartet won the highest prize and two individual prizes in the Melbourne Asia Pacific International Chamber Music Competition, becoming the first Chinese quartet to win the highest prize in the International Chamber Music Competition, achieving a breakthrough of zero in the international professional competition of Chinese chamber music. Conductor Lorin Maazle praised the Amber Quartet as “they’re a great quartet!” And the chamber music master, G?nter Pichler, said, “They will be the leaders of the world quartet.” “

In addition, Ning Fangliang also won a series of honours, including the Chinese music “Golden Bell Award”, CCTV Violin Competition Gold Award. She has also served as the chief of the “Chinese Youth Symphony Orchestra”, the “China Youth Symphony Orchestra” chief and the guest chief of the Japanese “Ozawa Zhenger Music Festival”, which Ozawa has called “excellent chief of musical talent”. Ning Fangliang has also received a number of honours, including the China National Scholarship, the Central Conservatory of Music Scholarship, the Wanderer Musicians Fund, the Hong Kong “Wu Fengzhou” Scholarship, the Albenniz Scholarship in Spain, etc. In 2010, Ning Fangliang was awarded the title of “Beijing Four Middle School” resident artist, and in 2015 was awarded the highest honour certificate by the Central Conservatory of Music in recognition of her international honour for the Academy and the country.

Ning Fangliang received interviews with a series of domestic and foreign authoritative media including “The Strad”, Abc Radio Australia, China Daily, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV and other authoritative media, and maintained close cooperation with the world’s leading musicians, such as Ozawa, Charles Neidich, David Shifrin, Paul Meyer, Phlippe Berrod, Hu Kun and others.

Ning Fangliang graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music and the Madrid International Chamber Music Academy, and Professor Lin Yaoji, Professor Xue Wei, and the world-renowned Abanberger quartet Professor G?nter Pichler. Ning Fangliang uses the violin for the China Foundation, and the box is sponsored by the French company Bam.

Qi Wang, a viola teacher of chamber music in Orchestral Instruments Department of Central Conservatory of Music, a member of Amber Quartet, a viola doctor in Berlin University of Arts, an intern in Berlin Philharmonic and an external violist employed by Kuala Lumpur Philharmonic, Malaysia.

Qi Wang graduated from Central Conservatory of Music in 2007, was admitted in Berlin University of Arts and obtained DAAD full scholarship in the same year, studying under a professor in Berlin University of Arts named Mr Ulrich Knoerzer, who playing as Viola Principal in Berlin Philharmonic now. He obtained the doctorate in September 2011.

In 2009, Qi Wang was enrolled in Berlin Philharmonic and acted as an intern. In 2011, he was employed by Kuala Lumpur Philharmonic, Malaysia.

In 2012, Qi Wang came back home and taught in Central Conservatory of Music, as well as joined Amber Quartet in the same year

Wang Peng is Associate Professor of Violin, in the School of Music, Yunnan University of Art. He is the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, Yunnan University of Science and Technology, and the Chairman of the String Music Society of the Yunnan Youth Music and Art Association, and the Judge of Yunnan Provincial Department of Education’s “Three-in-one Competition for Primary and Secondary School Students”. He is also has been hired by Yunnan University, Specialized experts of Normal University and Yunnan Wenhua College; violin specialist of Yunnan Higher Vocational Education. He is a member of Chinese Musicians Association, senior judge of Yunnan Provincial Examination Committee; honoured violinist of Yunnan Symphony Orchestra.

Yi Wu is an international piano virtuoso. He has garnered critical acclaim with his spectacular appearances as a recitalist and as a featured soloist with major orchestras throughout Asia, Europe and North and South America. Currently, Mr Wu resides in Dallas, Texas where he has recently been appointed as a director of the international music program at Zhen Music and Arts. During the past two decades, Mr Wu has taught many piano masterclasses from China to Russia, and from Canada to Germany. His creative style of teaching has changed many young pianists’ views on life and music. Early in his career as a concert pianist, Mr Wu successfully competed in a number of international piano competitions. He was a first prize winner at the inaugural Esther Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, Canada in 1992. As a result, he was on Columbia Artist Management pianists roster.  He has appeared on many concert stages around the world, such as those in Munich, Hamburg, Los Angeles , London, New York and Shanghai. Mr Wu is a Steinway artist.

Yang Yichen, a teacher at the Central Conservatory of Music, was born in Beijing and is from Taiwan, where his grandfather was also a famous composer. Yang Yichen has achieved remarkable achievements in the field of classical music in China as a cellist and chamber musician. In 2005 he launched amber quartet Amber Quartet.

In 2011, the Amber Quartet won the Gold Award in the Chamber Music Competition of the Central Conservatory of Music and the Silver Award of the Golden Bell Award for Chinese Music (Chamber Music). In 2013, the Amber Quartet won the “Highest Prize in the Competition” and two individual awards in the Melbourne Asia Pacific International Chamber Music Competition, achieving the Chinese Quartet’s “Zero Breakthrough” in the International Chamber Music Competition.

Yang Yichen and the Amber Quartet performed in concert halls in dozens of countries around the world, receiving interviews with dozens of domestic and foreign media, including the world’s leading music magazine ” The Strad”, China Daily, Xinhua News Agency, Music Weekly, Beijing News and other domestic and foreign media. Today, the Amber Quartet, as a representative group in the field of Chinese chamber music, has been invited to hold special concerts at several world-renowned music festivals, such as the “Bonn Beethoven Festival” and the Canadian “MISQA” String Quartet Festival, which has gained high recognition from the world music scene and is known as “one of the leading international chamber music players” (Alban Berg Quartet, G?nter Pichler)

Yang Has won several honours: He has won gold and silver awards in the 6th Chinese Cello Competition, the Central Conservatory of Music Cello Competition and the Central Conservatory of Music Concerto Open; Yang Yichen served as the chief cello of the Chinese Youth Symphony Orchestra and the chief cello of the famous chamber orchestra of the Central Conservatory of Music. In 2010, Yang Yichen was awarded the title of “Beijing Four Middle School” resident artist was selected as having “talent” program in 2014, and received the highest honour certificate from the Central Conservatory of Music in 2015. In 2019, he was selected as a young talent project of the National Endowment for the Arts.

As a teacher, Yang Yichen’s students have won the highest prize in the Singapore International Chamber Music Competition, the Hong Kong International String Competition and the Morning Side Cup cello competition. At the same time, Yang Yichen served as the headteacher of the Central Conservatory of Music. He has won the Central Conservatory of Music outstanding class director medal, led the class won the “Advanced Class Body in Beijing” honorary title. Since 2016, Yang Yichen has served as a judge of the Central Conservatory of Music and a number of domestic music competitions.

Yang Yichen is committed to the promotion and popularization of classical music in China. As the concert presenter, he innovatively combines the stage with the podium and presents the spiritual core of classical music to the public. The live video of the 2019 concert series “Listening string quartet and the history of classical music”, delivered by Yang Yichen, was included in the National Library of China and was selected as the “Learning Power” platform of the Ministry of Central Propaganda.