Primavera Ensemble

中文履历

Carol Yiying Zhou（周怡颖）是 Primavera Ensemble 创始人、二胡演奏者及音乐教育者，同时也是 Holistic Healing Center 创始人。

她5岁开始学习二胡，坚持至今三十余年，先后师从白虎文、田淑芬、张文龙老师，10岁通过二胡十级考试。自幼接受系统的民族音乐训练，并拥有丰富的乐团合奏与独奏舞台经验。

2010年，她参加西安交通大学全国艺术特长生考试，在二胡专业及综合评定中均获得第一名。大学期间就读于澳门科技大学，并获得校董奖学金，曾任澳门科技大学民乐队副队长。本科四年间，她多次代表学校参与大型演出、文化活动及公益演出，在持续的舞台实践中积累了丰富的合奏、组织与演出经验。

2017年起，她加入西雅图国乐团（Seattle Chinese Orchestra），现任乐团二胡副首席。她同时创立西雅图国乐团女子乐坊，并担任团队负责人，参与策划、排练及多种形式的民族音乐与跨文化舞台演出。

除二胡之外，她自2017年起开始系统学习中国鼓，师从西雅图国乐团赵步云女士，并持续参与中国鼓的演奏与教学。现教授二胡及中国鼓，并担任西雅图中文学校鼓乐教师。

三十余年的音乐学习与舞台经历，使她越来越相信：音乐不仅是一项演奏技能，更是一种表达情绪、连接人与人，并陪伴个体成长的语言。她尤其关注中国传统器乐在当代音乐中的可能性，希望通过二胡、中国鼓以及跨文化音乐合作，让传统音乐以更加自然、开放和富有生命力的方式进入现代生活。

作为 Primavera Ensemble 的创始人，她希望以中国民族音乐为根基，融合二胡、古筝、琵琶、扬琴、打击乐以及更多世界音乐与当代音乐元素，在尊重传统的同时创造新的声音。她也持续探索音乐、艺术与身心疗愈之间的连接，希望让音乐不仅存在于舞台，也能够进入教育、社区与整体疗愈的空间。

English biography

Carol Yiying Zhou is the founder of Primavera Ensemble, an erhu musician and music educator, and the founder of Holistic Healing Center.

She began studying the erhu at the age of five and has continued her musical journey for more than three decades. Her principal teachers have included Bai Huwen, Tian Shufen, and Zhang Wenlong. At the age of ten, she completed the highest level of the standardized erhu grading examination. Trained systematically in Chinese traditional music from an early age, she developed extensive experience in both ensemble performance and solo performance.

In 2010, Carol participated in the National Arts Talent Examination at Xi’an Jiaotong University, ranking first in both the erhu specialty examination and the overall evaluation. She later attended Macau University of Science and Technology, where she received a University Council Scholarship and served as Vice Captain of the university’s Chinese Music Ensemble. Throughout her four undergraduate years, she represented the university in numerous major performances, cultural events, and community benefit programs, gaining extensive experience in ensemble performance, artistic collaboration, and musical organization.

Carol joined the Seattle Chinese Orchestra in 2017 and currently serves as Associate Principal Erhu. She also founded the orchestra’s Women’s Ensemble and serves as its ensemble leader, coordinating rehearsals and participating in a wide range of Chinese traditional, contemporary, and cross-cultural performances.

In addition to the erhu, Carol began formal study of Chinese drumming in 2017 under Buyun Zhao of the Seattle Chinese Orchestra. She continues to perform and teach Chinese percussion alongside the erhu and currently teaches Chinese drumming at Seattle Chinese School.

More than thirty years of musical training and performance have shaped Carol’s belief that music is more than a performing skill—it is a language for expressing emotion, connecting people, and accompanying us through different stages of life. She is particularly interested in expanding the possibilities of traditional Chinese instruments within contemporary musical settings and in bringing the erhu and Chinese percussion into new cross-cultural contexts.

As the founder of Primavera Ensemble, Carol envisions an ensemble rooted in Chinese traditional music while open to contemporary expression, improvisation, and global musical influences. By bringing together the erhu, guzheng, pipa, yangqin, percussion, and other musical voices, she hopes to preserve the emotional depth of traditional music while creating new sounds that feel alive and relevant today.

Her work also explores the connection between music, creativity, emotional well-being, and holistic healing, with the belief that music can exist not only on the concert stage, but also within education, community, and healing-centered spaces.

中文履历

左欣平，古筝专业硕士，毕业于首都师范大学音乐学院。现为中国音乐家协会古筝分会会员、湖南省民族管弦乐学会理事。她拥有扎实的专业训练与丰富的舞台经验，曾多次举办个人古筝独奏音乐会，并拥有十余年古筝教学经验，多次荣获“优秀指导教师”奖。

她曾多次登上国家大剧院、中央电视台、国图音乐厅等重要舞台，并曾赴新加坡南洋艺术学院、美国伊斯曼音乐学院、密歇根大学音乐学院，以及台湾文化大学、台湾教育大学等院校进行交流与演出，积累了丰富的跨文化艺术交流经验。

在音乐教育与舞蹈艺术合作领域，左欣平亦拥有深厚经验。她曾担任北京舞蹈学院教育学院及北京舞蹈学院附中古典舞音乐艺术指导，并曾任北京市西城区志成小学“城宫计划”艺术团古筝指导教师。

作为 Primavera Ensemble 的主要成员，她以深厚的中国传统音乐素养、细腻而富有表现力的古筝演奏，为乐团的音乐带来丰富的东方色彩与层次，并与团队共同探索传统民族器乐在当代融合音乐与跨文化舞台中的更多可能。

English biography

Xinping Zuo holds a Master’s degree in Guzheng Performance from the College of Music at Capital Normal University. She is a member of the Guzheng Society of the Chinese Musicians Association and serves as a council member of the Hunan Provincial Chinese Orchestra Society.

An accomplished performer and educator, Xinping has presented multiple solo guzheng recitals and has more than ten years of teaching experience. She has received numerous awards recognizing her excellence as an instructor and mentor.

Her performance experience includes appearances at many prominent venues and platforms in China, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts, China Central Television, and the National Library Arts Center. She has also participated in international academic and artistic exchanges and performances at institutions including Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, the Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, Chinese Culture University in Taiwan, and National Taiwan University of Education.

Xinping has extensive experience in interdisciplinary collaboration between music and dance. She previously served as a music accompanist and artistic coach for classical Chinese dance at the School of Education and the affiliated secondary school of Beijing Dance Academy. She also worked as a guzheng instructor for the arts ensemble of Zhicheng Primary School in Beijing’s Xicheng District.

As a principal member of Primavera Ensemble, Xinping brings a strong foundation in Chinese traditional music, refined musicianship, and expressive artistry to the ensemble. Her guzheng playing adds depth and distinctive Eastern color to the group’s sound while contributing to Primavera Ensemble’s exploration of traditional Chinese instruments in contemporary, cross-cultural, and fusion settings.

中文履历

霍亚楠自3岁开始接受音乐启蒙，5岁学习琵琶，10岁通过琵琶十级考级。她自幼接受系统的中国民族音乐训练，拥有扎实的演奏基础和丰富的舞台经验。

大学期间，她曾担任南开大学民乐团指挥及弹拨乐首席，多次参与大型舞台演出，并随团赴海外进行演出及文化交流。在长期的乐团实践中，她积累了丰富的合奏、舞台协作与音乐组织经验，对中国民族音乐的传统表达与现代舞台呈现均有深入理解。

现任西雅图国乐团副首席，活跃于西雅图地区的民族音乐演出、文化交流与艺术教育活动。她长期专注于琵琶演奏与教学，希望通过系统的专业训练和丰富的舞台实践，帮助学生建立扎实的演奏基础，同时培养音乐表现力、舞台自信以及对中国民族音乐的理解与热爱。

作为 Primavera Ensemble 的主要成员，Yanan 将琵琶鲜明的节奏感、丰富的音色与极具表现力的音乐语言带入乐团。她与团队共同探索中国传统器乐在当代音乐、跨文化合作与融合创作中的更多可能，让琵琶这一古老乐器在现代舞台上展现新的生命力。

English biography

Yanan Huo began her musical education at the age of three and started studying the pipa at five. By the age of ten, she had completed the highest level of the standardized pipa grading examination. Trained systematically in Chinese traditional music from an early age, she has developed a strong technical foundation and extensive stage experience.

During her time at Nankai University, Yanan served as conductor and principal of the plucked-string section of the university’s Chinese orchestra. She participated in numerous major performances and traveled internationally with the ensemble for concerts and cultural exchanges. These experiences gave her a strong background in ensemble performance, musical leadership, and collaborative musicianship.

She currently serves as Associate Principal of the Seattle Chinese Orchestra and is active in Chinese traditional music performances, cultural programs, and arts education throughout the Seattle area. In addition to performing, Yanan is deeply committed to pipa education. Through structured technical training and practical performance experience, she helps students build a solid musical foundation while developing expressive artistry, stage confidence, and a deeper appreciation for Chinese traditional music.

As a core member of Primavera Ensemble, Yanan brings the pipa’s distinctive rhythmic energy, rich tonal palette, and expressive character to the ensemble. Together with her fellow musicians, she explores new possibilities for traditional Chinese instruments through contemporary interpretation, cross-cultural collaboration, and musical fusion.

中文履历

高程锦是一位新加坡华人作曲家与扬琴演奏家，致力于连接中国传统音乐、当代音乐及多元音乐传统。作为扬琴演奏家，她尤其钟情于扬琴温润的共鸣、柔和的音色，以及其游走于传统与现代之间、富有层次与多维色彩的独特声音。

她的作品曾在悉尼歌剧院、林肯中心、史密森学会国家亚洲艺术博物馆、京都音乐厅及台北国家音乐厅等重要舞台呈现，并曾与新加坡交响乐团、新加坡华乐团、美国作曲家管弦乐团、茱莉亚管弦乐团及中央音乐学院等机构和乐团合作。

作为演奏家，高程锦亦曾与新加坡华乐团、Boston Modern Orchestra Project、北美中国音乐家协会及纽约华人音乐团等团体合作演出，在传统民族音乐与当代音乐语境之间持续探索新的表达方式。

她毕业于茱莉亚学院作曲专业，获作曲学士及硕士学位，目前为纽约大学作曲专业博士候选人，并任华盛顿大学音乐学院客座讲师。

作为 Primavera Ensemble 的主要成员，高程锦不仅带来扬琴丰富细腻的音色，也以作曲家的视角参与乐团对声音、结构与跨文化音乐语言的探索。她的加入进一步拓展了 Primavera Ensemble 在传统器乐、当代创作与国际音乐语境之间的艺术可能。

English biography

Cheng Jin Koh is a Singaporean Chinese composer and yangqin performer whose work bridges Chinese traditional music, contemporary music, and diverse musical traditions. As a yangqin musician, she is especially drawn to the instrument’s warm resonance, gentle tone, and multidimensional sound colors that exist at the intersection of old and new.

Her compositions have been presented at major venues including the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Kyoto Concert Hall, and National Concert Hall Taipei. Her collaborators have included the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, and the Central Conservatory of Music.

As a performer, Koh has appeared with organizations including the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Chinese Musicians Association of North America, and Chinese Music Ensemble of New York, continually exploring new expressive possibilities between traditional Chinese music and contemporary musical practice.

She holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Composition from The Juilliard School. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Composition at New York University and a guest lecturer at the University of Washington School of Music.

As a core member of Primavera Ensemble, Koh contributes not only the rich and nuanced voice of the yangqin, but also the perspective of a composer. Her work within the ensemble expands Primavera’s exploration of sound, structure, contemporary creation, and cross-cultural musical language.