at 19:30 on the evening of july 1, the “scales of time” concert of overseas young artists from the yehudi menuhin school qingdao will resound at the qingdao concert hall. eight alumni of menuhin qingdao – from the world’s leading music institutions including the juilliard school and the manhattan school of music in the united states, the royal birmingham conservatoire in the uk, the royal academy of music in aarhus, denmark, and the yong siew toh conservatory of music in singapore – will travel from overseas to share the stage with the class of 2026 graduates and current students. some have already stepped onto the world’s most prestigious concert stages; some are about to embark on new journeys; others are still in practice rooms, refining every note for their next performance.
though they set off in different directions, they return to bloom together on the same stage.
over the past few years, they have been scattered across different time zones around the globe. one won first prize in a competition; another gained admission to their dream school with a double major; countless nights were spent in practice rooms abroad – yet all their stories began at menuhin qingdao.
li hao, a 2024 graduate, entered the yong siew toh conservatory of music in singapore on a full scholarship and this year won first place in the 18–23 age category at the hong kong international young musicians competition. liao enhui, from the same cohort, is studying at the royal academy of music in aarhus, denmark, under professor martin lysholm jepsen, continually exploring the nuances of sound and expression in piano performance. wang weikuan, a 2025 graduate, was admitted to juilliard last year as a double major in violin and viola, and this spring, as the only first-year student, advanced to the finals of the viola concerto competition. also from the class of 2025, li minglun is studying at juilliard under grammy award-winner sharon isbin; jing haoran is at the manhattan school of music, studying with a founding member of the emerson string quartet; han jing is pursuing a double major in violin performance and music business at the raffles college of music in singapore; wang qianwen, with her solid professional foundation and mature performing ability, entered the royal birmingham conservatoire; and yong yifan was admitted to the nanyang academy of fine arts in singapore, where she studies under zhao yingxue, principal bassoon and contrabassoon of the singapore symphony orchestra. eight alumni, four countries, three graduating cohorts – each growing along their own path, yet gathered together for this single concert.
standing alongside them are wang zikang, a 2026 graduate who will soon enter the new england conservatory; luo zhiyuan, who holds multiple offers from top schools; and current students niu haozheng and several bassoon majors who have repeatedly achieved outstanding results in international competitions. seniors and juniors stand shoulder to shoulder – on this night, the stage becomes the most compelling portrait of a school: those who have gone out yearn to return, and those who remain see their future ahead.
the programme for this concert ranges from vitali’s chaconne to franck’s sonata in a major, from the second movement of rodrigo’s concierto de aranjuez to piazzolla’s history of tango, as well as shostakovich’s five pieces for two violins and piano and mendelssohn’s string quartet no. 2 in a minor. ten works spanning three centuries, interweaving solos, duos, and quintets. the concert is held at the qingdao concert hall – a building first constructed in 1934, facing the zhanqiao pier across the street, and a witness to the voices of countless musicians over the past century. from the menuhin hall to a city-level concert hall, this is not merely a change of venue, but a transition of identity: from students in practice rooms to young artists performing before the public. this time, it is the turn of the young musicians who once left this city to cross time zones and bring their music back home.
