Timpanist Fei Duan has long been committed to helping young musicians build rigorous rhythmic thinking, confident stage presence, and sustainable artistic vitality through high-standard professional performance and teaching. His professional expertise spans symphony orchestra performance, solo art, and percussion education.
Duan’s performance and teaching methodology places the balance between musician and instrument, as well as between individual parts and the overall sound, at its core. He pays close attention to students’ needs and technical challenges in solo performance, orchestral ensemble, and stage presentation. He excels at addressing core issues in timpani performance such as tone control, dynamic layering, and complex rhythmic coordination.
Duan’s professional practice expands the practical pathways of percussion performance. Drawing on his deep experience with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, he integrates the rigor of European classical music with the inclusiveness of multicultural perspectives into his teaching, helping students build stable and resilient inner strength when facing demanding repertoire and high-pressure performance environments, and master balanced and precise approaches. His performances have been featured in the arts and culture section of Singapore’s The Straits Times, and he was awarded first prize in the Central Conservatory of Music “Longyin Cup” National Instrument Competition.
Over a career spanning more than two decades across Europe and Asia, Duan has held core positions in world-renowned orchestras. He served as principal percussionist of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra for seven years, and was a member of the percussion section of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. As an active performer on the international stage, he has collaborated with maestros such as Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Muti, and Pierre Boulez, and has been invited as a featured soloist at major events including the 70th Anniversary National Day Celebration at the Tiananmen Square and CCTV’s Sing Through the Summer.
Duan was the first Chinese national to earn a master's degree in Percussion from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW). In addition to his master's degree, Duan holds a bachelor’s degree from the Central Conservatory of Music and received solid foundational training at its affiliated secondary school. He has served as guest percussionist with the China National Traditional Orchestra and the China National Symphony Orchestra, and has published professional music textbooks for the Chinese Art Vocational Education Society (snare drum / drum set).
Duan currently serves as associate principal timpanist (solo timpani) of the Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra. He also holds the positions of expert judge in Western Percussion for the Central Conservatory of Music National Youth Art Exhibition and Grading Office, and distinguished expert of the Music Professional Committee of the Chinese Art Vocational Education Society.
Duan joined Tianjin Juilliard’s Public Education as Music Development Program faculty in fall 2026.