Left to right: Weigang Li, Angelo Xiang Yu, Honggang Li, Sihao He. Photos: Liwei Li (1-2), Ni Hong (3) and Todd Rosenberg (4)
February 13, 2023, TIANJIN, CHINA –– Tianjin Juilliard announced today that cellist Sihao He will be joining the Shanghai Quartet (SQ) in September 2024. He will succeed cellist Nicholas Tzavaras, who is stepping down at the end of the 2023-24 season, returning to North America to devote more time to his family. Sihao He will join other members of the Shanghai Quartet—violinist Weigang Li, violinist Angelo Xiang Yu, and violist Honggang Li—as a full-time faculty member at Tianjin Juilliard. Sihao He is an award-winning cellist who has appeared as soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. As a soloist, He has performed with many leading orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Münchener Kammerorchester, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Orquestra Sinfônica de Piracicaba in Brazil, and the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra in China. He is a member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program. He currently serves as a faculty member at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University and will stay on through April.
In announcing He’s appointment, Tianjin Juilliard Dean Katherine Chu said, “It is with excitement that we welcome cellist Sihao He to the faculty and our resident ensemble, the Shanghai Quartet. As musicians and educators, we constantly seek to refresh through new perspectives and discoveries. Sihao's appointment reflects this spirit of renewal as the baton of a great legacy is handed over to the next generation. We express our thanks to Nicholas Tzavaras for his invaluable contributions to the school. Nicholas began his tenure with us as cellist of the Shanghai Quartet, mentoring many students and inspiring us all with his music-making. As assistant dean of academic affairs, Nicholas implemented important curriculum initiatives and upheld academic standards, combining artistry with administrative aplomb and wisdom.”
The members of the quartet expressed their enthusiasm for their new colleague: “As we bid a grateful and fond farewell to Nicholas for his wonderful years in the quartet, we wish him our very best for his next chapter back in America, at the same time, we are very excited to welcome Sihao as our new colleague. Sihao is a sensitive musician who has a unique and profound sound, which touched us deeply. Our musical chemistry was instant from the very first moment. He is a consummate cellist with so much to offer and share with our quartet and we are thoroughly impressed by his exceptional skills as an educator as well. His well-punctuated and inspiring teaching style makes him a perfect fit for Tianjin Juilliard, aligning seamlessly with the identity of our quartet as both performers and educators."
Reflecting on his time with the quartet, Nicholas Tzavaras said, “I am honored to have considered the Shanghai Quartet my musical home for the past 24 years and feel privileged to have played a contributing role in its first four decades of performances. With Sihao joining the quartet, I am confident that his addition will be exceptional in every respect and eagerly anticipate hearing them in performance next fall. While bidding farewell to Tianjin Juilliard, I will undoubtedly miss its remarkable collaborative spirit, welcoming community, and the truly spectacular facility it provided. The profound impact of the past four years at Tianjin Juilliard on my career is undeniable, and I look forward to maintaining a close connection with their extraordinary faculty, staff, and students for many years to come.”
On joining the Shanghai Quartet, He remarked, “As a Shanghainese native, it is an honor to return home to join the prestigious Shanghai Quartet as the newest member and the faculty of Tianjin Juilliard. I have always admired the Shanghai Quartet for being a trailblazer in chamber music in China for over 40 years. Returning to my roots after nearly a decade of studying and performing in the United States, I have come full circle. I am looking forward to my role as both performer and teacher at Tianjin Juilliard, in nurturing and raising the next generation of young musicians.”
The Shanghai Quartet was appointed as the school’s resident quartet in 2020 and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. A new CD from the Universal label will be released in April in celebration of Shanghai Quartet’s 40th anniversary. The album includes quartets by Barber, Dvorak, Penderecki, and Zhou Long. It was recorded at the Tianjin Juilliard Concert Hall. More information on their tour schedule can be found here.
About Sihao He
Cellist Sihao He first came into international prominence in 2008 as a 14-year-old cellist winning first prize at the International Antonio Janigro Cello Competition in Croatia. Later that same year, he won the National Cello Competition in China. He is also the Grand Prize winner of the prestigious 3rd Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition in Japan, a laureate of the Queen Elizabeth International Cello Competition International and Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. In 2019, he won 3rd prize in Munich’s ARD International Music Competition.
He has appeared in numerous concerts both as a soloist with leading orchestras and in recitals. After winning the Grand Prize at the 3rd Gaspar Cassado Competition, he performed a recital tour in Japan and China. As a soloist, He has performed with many leading orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Münchener Kammerorchester, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Orquestra Sinfônica de Piracicaba in Brazil, and the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra in China.
As a chamber musician, he has appeared at Music@Menlo, Bravo!Vail, Meadowmount School of Music and Rome Chamber Music Festival. As a member of the Galvin Cello Quartet, he won the 2022 Victor Elmaleh Competition and joined the Concert Artists Guild roster. Before coming to the US, his string quartet, Simply Quartet, won first prize at the Haydn Invitational Chamber Music Competition in Shanghai, China and was awarded “The Most Promising Young String Quartet” at the 4th Beijing International Chamber Music Competition. In March 2020, He was chosen to be a member of the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two).
Born in Shanghai, China, He holds a bachelor's degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University where he studied with Hans Jørgen Jensen and Julie Albers, and holds a master's degree from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. He is currently attending the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University for his D.M.A. degree under the tutelage of Hans Jørgen Jensen. He serves as a faculty member at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University.
About the Shanghai Quartet
Over the past forty years, the Shanghai Quartet has become one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, the Shanghai Quartet’s elegant style, impressive technique, and emotional breadth allows the group to move seamlessly between masterpieces of Western music, traditional Chinese folk music, and cutting-edge contemporary works.
Recent performance highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Freer Gallery (Washington, D.C.), and the Festival Pablo Casals in France, and Beethoven cycles for the Brevard Music Center, the Beethoven Festival in Poland, and throughout China. The quartet also frequently performs at Wigmore Hall, the Budapest Spring Festival, and Suntory Hall. Other highlights include the premiere of a new work by Marcos Balter for the quartet and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo for the Phillips Collection, return performances for Maverick Concerts and the Taos School of Music, and engagements in Los Angeles, Syracuse, Albuquerque, and Salt Lake City. In the past 2 years, they have performed over 30 concerts across 20 cities in China, in venues including the National Center of Performing Arts in Beijing, the Shanghai Symphony Hall, Xinghai Concert Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall, among others. Additionally, they have collaborated with major symphony orchestras in China, nurturing and enriching the country’s chamber music culture. The highlight of the 2023 Shanghai Quartet’s 40th anniversary celebration was their China premiere performance of John Adams’ Absolute Jest for String Quartet and Orchestra with the Shanghai Symphony.
Among innumerable collaborations with eminent artists, they have performed with the Tokyo, Juilliard, and Guarneri Quartets; cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrell; pianists Menahem Pressler, Peter Serkin, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Yuja Wang; pipa virtuoso Wu Man; and the vocal ensemble Chanticleer. The Shanghai Quartet appears regularly at many of North America’s most prominent chamber music festivals, including annual performances for Maverick Concerts, the Brevard Music Center, and Music Mountain.
The Shanghai Quartet has a long history of championing new music, with a special interest in works that juxtapose the traditions of Eastern and Western music. The quartet has commissioned works from the most important composers of our time, including William Bolcom, Sebastian Currier, David Del Tredici, Tan Dun, Vivian Fung, Lowell Lieberman, Zhou Long, Marc Neikrug, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bright Sheng, Chen Yi, and Du Yun. The quartet had a particularly close relationship with Krzysztof Penderecki; they premiered his third quartet – Leaves from an Unwritten Diary – at the composer’s 75th birthday concert and repeated it again at both his 80th and 85th birthday celebrations. Forthcoming and recent commissions include new works from Judith Weir, Tan Dun, and Wang Lei, in addition to a new work from Penderecki.
The Shanghai Quartet has an extensive discography of more than thirty recordings, ranging from Schumann and Dvořák piano quintets with Rudolf Buchbinder to Zhou Long’s Poems from Tang for string quartet and orchestra with the Singapore Symphony. The quartet has recorded the complete Beethoven string quartets. A new CD from the Universal label will be released in April in celebration of Shanghai Quartet’s 40th anniversary. The album includes quartets by Barber, Dvorak, Penderecki and Zhou Long and was recorded at the acoustically stunning concert hall of The Tianjin Juilliard School.
A diverse array of media projects run the gamut from a cameo appearance playing Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4 in Woody Allen’s film Melinda and Melinda to PBS television’s Great Performances series. Violinist Weigang Li appeared in the documentary From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. The Shanghai Quartet was the subject of a full-length documentary film, Behind the Strings, that was released recently.
The Shanghai Quartet was Quartet-in-Residence at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University for 19 years before the quartet joined The Tianjin Juilliard School in fall 2020 as resident faculty. The Quartet is also the Artist-in-Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and visiting guest professors of the Shanghai Conservatory and Central Conservatory in Beijing. They are proudly sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld Strings and BAM Cases.
Nicholas Tzavaras of the Shanghai Quartet. Photo: Twan Vision