The New York Philharmonic (NYP) has announced a four-year partnership with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The agreement, signed on 14 November, includes annual performance residencies by the NYP in Shanghai, and involvement in a specialised training programme for orchestra musicians.

According to a joint statement, the programme will begin in the autumn of 2014, when up to five NYP musicians will give three week-long training sessions each season to students at the Shanghai Conservatory. The orchestral residencies will begin in the summer of 2015, with musicians also taking one training session during each residency, as well as masterclasses and educational seminars. Students will be drawn from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, with up to 50 scholarships available for the two-year programme.

The announcement comes on the heels of a similar initiative by the Philadelphia Orchestra, which began a training partnership with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing in May 2012. Plans for the scheme also include workshops and masterclasses in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin.

Topics