Robert Blocker, the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music at Yale University, is internationally regarded as an accomplished pianist, a leader in arts advocacy, and an extraordinary contributor to music education. Dean Blocker holds dual appointments as Professor of Piano and as an affiliate Professor with Yale University’s School of Management. In 2006, Blocker was named honorary Professor of Piano at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

Mr. Blocker concertizes throughout the world. His performances have won him critical acclaim: as noted in a Los Angeles Times review, he is a pianist of “…great skill and accomplishment, a measurable virtuoso bent and considerable musical sensitivity.” A Steinway Artist, Dean Blocker appears regularly on national radio and television as an artist and commentator and is active as a consultant to several major educational institutions and government agencies. In 2004, Yale University Press published The Robert Shaw Reader, a collection of Shaw’s writings edited by Blocker and now in its third printing.

Maestro YU Long is currently Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival. He was also appointed the Principle Guest Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. YU Long has appeared with a prestigious list of leading orchestras and many opera companies around the world. During Chinese Spring Festival of 2012, YU Long led the New York Philharmonic in the First Chinese New Year Concert at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall.

YU Long was born in Shanghai in 1964 into a family of musicians. Musical education in his early childhood came from his grandfather Ding Shande, a composer of great renown. He later studied at the Shanghai Conservatory and then studied at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. In 1998, he led the creation of the Beijing Music Festival and was its Founding Artistic Director. In 2000, he co-founded the China Philharmonic Orchestra and has served as its Artistic Director and Chief Conductor ever since.