Yelian He
Yelian He 何烨联 | |
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![]() Yelian on stage performing Sollima's "Violoncelles, Vibrez!" in 2014 at St. John's Smith Square, London | |
Background information | |
Born | Shanghai, China | 21 September 1984
Genres | Classical |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument | Cello |
Website | heplayscello |
Yelian He | |||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 何燁聯 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 何烨联 | ||||||
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Yelian He (born 21 September 1984 (Chinese: 何烨联 | Mandarin: hé yè lián)) is an Australian/Chinese classical concert cellist. Born in Shanghai and raised in Melbourne, Yelian began studying the Cello at the age of 5, almost two years after he commenced studies on the Piano with his father. Hailed as a “consummate master of the bow” by The Strad magazine in his Wigmore Hall debut,[1] He is the winner of the 2009 Royal Over-Seas League String Competition in London as well as the Grand Prize and Audience Prize at the 2014 Australian Cello Awards competition in Sydney.
Early life
Yelian He was born in Shanghai, China. He emigrated to Australia in 1992 with his family where he furthered his studies at Scotch College, Melbourne on a full 6 year scholarship. Yelian graduated with a B.Mus from University of Melbourne Faculty of VCA and MCM on an Otti Veit Scholarship, and subsequently relocated to Manchester to study with Karine Georgian at the Royal Northern College of Music where he graduated with a master's degree in Music.
Career
In 2009 Yelian won the string section in the Royal Over-Seas League 57th Annual Music Competition, and was the Grand Prize winner in the 2014 inaugural Australian Cello Awards, winning a host of awards in Sydney's Verbrugghen Hall.[2][3][4] Yelian’s longest running project is the cello/piano duo “Y-Squared” which was founded in 2008 with his pianist and partner Yasmin Rowe. Met during their studies at the RNCM, Y-Squared stands for the discipline to explore the depth of communication between 2 artists on stage as well as performing both the great classics and extended repertoire written for their instruments.
Awards
Some of Yelian's awards include:
- Tunnell Trust Award
- Tait Memorial Trust Award
- Kirckman Concert Society Award
- Australian Music Foundation Award
- City Music Foundation Artist[5]
In 2011 Yelian was presented to Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II at a reception for outstanding Australians in the UK and again in 2013 in a private performance for the Queen and her Commonwealth guests at Buckingham Palace.
Recitals
Yelian has performed in recent years at venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, St John's, Smith Square, Bridgewater Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, City Recital Hall as well festivals like Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Adelaide International Cello Festival, Woodend Arts Festival in Australia and Brighton Festival in UK.
Concerto engagements with international orchestras include:
Festivals
Highlights include
- Brighton Festival[11][12]
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe[13][14]
- Deal Festival
- Adelaide International Cello Festival[15]
- Woodend Winter Arts Festival
Chamber music
He performs in a "yet to be named" trio with Yasmin Rowe and Wilma Smith, the ex-concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. They most recently completed a month long tour of Victoria performing works by Brahms, Mendelssohn and Haydn.
Personal life
His nickname is the “Kung Fu Cellist” and studies the Chinese martial art Wing Chun with his Sifu (师傅, a traditional Chinese title for teacher or master) in Manchester. He is a part of the Tse Qigong Centre and studies under the Ip Chun lineage (who is the eldest son of the legendary Ip Man, most popularly known from the film series Ip Man (film series) and teacher of Bruce Lee.
He is also a fan of action, horror and comedy films.
References
- ^ https://www.scribd.com/document/283178489/The-Strad-2014
- ^ http://www.celloawards.org/the-competition/winner
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/yelian-hits-perfect-note-to-end-cello-challenge-20140330-35rue.html
- ^ http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Article/381236,yelian-he-wins-the-australian-cello-awards.aspx
- ^ http://www.citymusicfoundation.org/artists/y-squared/
- ^ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/arts/its-young-talent-time-as-sydney-symphony-orchestra-unveils-its-program-for-2015/news-story/725a495f83edddfae3791fba1af4f68a
- ^ http://www.sydneysymphony.com/production-pages/2015/concert-season/father-and-sons.aspx
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/200691790083960/photos/pb.200691790083960.-2207520000.1463824792./461354947350975/?type=3&theater
- ^ http://www.waso.com.au/tickets/season2011/commonwealth_gala_concert
- ^ https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/Barnett/2011/10/Gala-concert-celebrates-Commonwealth-talent-.aspx
- ^ http://brightonfestival.org/event/8470/ysquared/
- ^ http://thelatest.co.uk/brighton/2016/05/26/y-squared-yelian-cello-yasmin-rowe-piano/
- ^ http://www.david-kettle.co.uk/uploads/3/0/6/5/3065440/edinburgh_festivals_review_nov_2011.pdf
- ^ https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/228849-rachmaninov-after-lunch/
- ^ http://www.adelaidecellofestival.com.au/2014/concerts_and_recitals_past