Lifetime Achievement

David Cerone , Mus.D, Violin, served as President of The Cleveland Institute of Music from 1985 to 2008. Born in Syracuse, New York, he began violin studies with his father, then went to Detroit at the age of eleven to study with Mischa Mischakoff, famed concertmaster of the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. His studies were completed as a scholarship student at the Juilliard School of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music with the renowned pedagogue Ivan Galamian. He made his New York recital debut in Town Hall in 1967.

Dr. Cerone served on the faculty of the Oberlin CollegeConservatory of Music for nine years, and for ten years was Chairman of the String Depart ment at The Cleveland Institute of Music, holding the distinguished Kulas Professorship in Violin. In 1975, he joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and commuted to that city from Cleveland. He founded the prestigious Cleveland Chamber Music Seminar in 1974 and served as its Director until 1981, when he moved to Philadelphia to accept the position of Chairman of the Violin Department at Curtis, succeeding the late Ivan Galamian. In 1985, Dr. Cerone, with his wife, violinist Linda Sharon Cerone, Artistic Director of the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory String Department, founded the nationally ENCORE School for Strings in Hudson, Ohio.

He was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University, in 2009. Dr. Cerone received the 2011 Cleveland Arts Prize, Lifetime Achievement Award in Music.

Christoph Poppen is one of the leading conductors in Germany.2007 until 2011 he was Music Director of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern. For his artistic achievements he was honoured with the Saarland Arts Award.

Christoph Poppen is a frequent guest conductor with orchestras all over the world such as Bamberger Symphoniker, DSO Berlin, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Detroit and Indianapolis Symphonies, Camerata Salzburg, NSO Taiwan, NTSO Taichung, the Macao Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and many others. He returned to the Wiener Symphoniker to conduct their traditional New Year’s Eve Concert in 2013 and he is Principal Guest Conductor of Kölner Kammerorchester. From 1995 to 2006, Christoph Poppen was Artistic Director of the Munich Chamber Orchestra.

As an opera conductor, he conducted recently Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide at Staatsoper Stuttgart, Entführung aus dem Serail at the Aalto Theatre in Essen, Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in Frankfurt as well as Strauss’ Arabella and Verdi’s Falstaff in Innsbruck.

As a violinist, Christoph Poppen has been the laureate of many national and international violin competitions. As first violinist of the Cherubini Quartett he played about 2000 concerts all over the world. His extensive discography covers a large range of repertoire for several labels.
Christoph Poppen was professor for violin at the School of Music in Detmold, Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, where he was President from 1996 through 2000 and is now teaching at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. From 2001 through 2005, He was Artistic Director of the ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

Zhiwen Situ, A famous Chinese cellist and educator, Zhiwen Situ graduated from the Shanghai National Music Institute and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Shevtzoff and Rostropovich. Within half a century since 1950, she has worked with the famous China Symphony Orchestra to perform excellent symphonic classic debut works, including Dvorak’s Cello Concerto. She has also worked in Karajan and Seiji Ozawa with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Situ is the first president and current honorary president of the Cello Society of China. She is the founder of the “Women’s Philharmonic Orchestra” and China’s first cello Competition. She teaches world wide with her “Practical Guide of cello”. She was selected for the United Kingdom and the United States “Who’s Who”. Situ is also a researcher at the British International Biographical Centre.

Wang Hui Ran was born in 1936 in Zhejiang, Zhenhai, Shanghai, China. He is regarded as National First Class Composer and enjoy the special allowance from the government.He has been the Artistic Director and conductor of Jinan Army Qianwei Song and Dance Ensemble. He was also the First Artistic Director of Zhuhai Girls Chinese Chamber Music. He was the executive director of China Nationalities Orchestra Society, Honour Chairman of Liuqin Professional Committee. He is now the member of Chinese and GuangDong Musician Association, the consultant of Zhuhai Federation of Literary and Arts Circle, Honour Chairman of Zhuhai Music Association, council member of the China Pipa Study Society, Professor of ShangDong Jinan University and the consultant of New Tune Music Association. He has been the adjudicator of several competitions and conductor around the world.

Wang is a great composer, educator, performer and conductor. He has devote his whole life to the Chinese Music.Many of his students has now become professionals. Wang has also made great contributions in improving the making of Liuqin in such a way that this instrument, which was used mainly for accompanying local opera or other instruments, has also appeared in solo genres. He composed many pieces for Liuqin and was regarded as ” Father of Liuqin “. He was awarded the ” National Music Honorary Award” by China Nationalities Orchestra Society.