NEW JERSEY PHILHARMONIC CHORUS (NJPC) BRINGING MUSIC TO
COMMUNITIES
NEW JERSEY PHILHARMONIC CHORUS (NJPC) BRINGING MUSIC TO
COMMUNITIES
Our History
The New Jersey Philharmonic Chorus, founded in 2018 by Soprano Sally Hu, is a non-profit organization composed of over 100 passionate vocalists. the chorus aims to serve local communities while embracing nourishment through music and making friends through singing. it is committed to performing choral works from various musical periods with different styles and languages. In the five years since its establishment, the chorus has held many concerts resulting in many invitations to music performances where they received wide acclaim from audiences and music professionals. The chorus also actively participates and hosts various community activities which are greatly appreciated by audiences. Under the professional guidance and training of conductor Dr. Sheng-Hwa Yu and director Ms. Sally Hu, the chorus is continuously presenting concerts with variations in musical styles and flavors.
The Founder
Sally received her B.A. in Vocal Music and Performance from the renowned Nanjing Arts Institute in China. After graduation, she won a soprano position with the acclaimed Frontline Song and Dance Ensemble which selects one person each year from a large number of vocal artists nationally. She established herself on the stage performing in China in the early 1990's and came to the United States via an EB-lA visa granted only for extraordinary ability professionals in the arts. In 1998, she was recognized by the New York City Council for her great dedication to community service and distinguished contribution to culture and heritage through her successful vocal profession.
Sally has led and joined many musical initiatives in the United States and Canada through vocal performances. In 2018, she founded the New Jersey Philharmonic Chorus. Under her guidance and direction, the chorus has grown from several vocal enthusiasts to a professional chorus with a repertoire of music in different languages. With Sally's commitment to culture, the chorus has performed for many audiences in New Jersey, New York and Canada.
Artistic Director & Conductor
Dr. Sheng-Hwa Yu is a long-time conductor and music educator based in the New Jersey area. A choral musician by training, Dr. Yu has a particular interest in baroque and early sacred music, and, in his conducting practice, emphasizes both interpretive understanding and ensemble characteristics.
A native of Taiwan, Yu began his choral music career with the Taipei Philharmonic Foundation and as a co-manager for the Taipei International Choral Festival. He subsequently completed his M.M. and Ph.D. at Temple University in choral conducting and music education in 1999, under the direction of Alan Harler. His doctoral thesis, which studied the impact of conductor leadership styles on choral group outcomes, was nominated for the Council for Research in Music Education Outstanding Dissertation Award. Yu was a co-conductor of Moran Requiem: Chant du Cygne on a CD recorded by Argo/London Records and a guest conductor of the Mendelssohn Club, a storied Philadelphia music institution founded in 1874. For his performance work, Yu was the first recipient of the Dr. Elaine Brown Tribute Award for Excellent Conductors.
He currently serves as artistic director and conductor of the New Jersey Philharmonic Chorus and Artistic Director for the Chin Yun Chorus (2018 -). Prior to his work with NJPC, Dr. Yu was music director for the Yue Yue Ensemble from 2010 to 2020 and previously served as Repertoire & Standards Chair for the American Choral Directors Association-PA. Yu has a long-standing intellectual interest in the history and interpretation of early sacred music, having composed antiphonies commissioned by a French monastery and given lectures for the Maryknoll Chinese Seminary Project. Until his recent retirement, Dr. Yu taught at local K-12 public and private schools in the Tri-state area for three decades, where his commitment to teaching was twice recognized with the NJ Governor’s Teacher Recognition Award
Pianist
Dr. Bing Bing Chang has performed extensively as soloist, chamber musician, piano accompanist and orchestral keyboardist in the United States and Europe. Her performance venues include Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Center, Nicholas Music Center in New Jersey and The Boston Museum of Fine Arts. She also participated in festival performances in Prague, Moscow, Paris and Dolomiti.
Born in Tianjin, China, Bing Bing started her musical training in Hong Kong. She earned a B.A. (Hon) with a Scholastic Award at Hong Kong Baptist University and received a Fellowship Performer's Diploma (F.T.C.L.) at Trinity College of Music, London. She pursued graduate studies and earned a Master of Musical Arts in piano performance with Pi Kappa Lambda National Honor at the Boston Conservatory of Music as well as a Doctoral of Musical Arts at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Besides owning a private studio, Dr. Chang has been affiliated with the Westminster Conservatory of Music in Princeton since 2002. She is also certified as a permanent N.C.T.M teacher from the Music Teachers National Association and is a board member of the New Jersey Music Teachers Association. Notably, she has frequently been invited to judge national and international competitions, auditions, festivals as well as to present master classes and lectures.
Former Conductor (March 2023 - December 2023)
Yalan Zeng is an Associate Professor of Choral Conducting at the School of Music, Minzu University of China. She also serves as a supervisor in master's degree programs and the resident conductor of the Music school's choir.
Ms. Zeng has led choruses to perform in The National Center for the Performing Arts of China, Beijing Concert Hall, Central Conservatory of Music Opera Hall, National Library of China Concert Hall, as well as the I(aufman Music Center in New York.
As a project leader, Ms. Zeng has undertaken many projects of the China National Art Fund and the Humanities and Social Sciences Project of the Ministry of Education in China. In 2016, she was chosen to participate in Professor Hongnian Yang's program for talented youth conductors at the Central Conservatory of Music. She has also published many academic articles in national Chinese core journals.
Ms. Zeng holds a Master's degree in Choral Conducting and a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance.
Former Conductor (May 2018 - March 2023)
Qiao Wan Jun serves as the first conductor for NJPC. He is also Guest Professor of Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Adjunct Professor of Huaqiao University, Distinguished Professor of Nanhai Conservatory of Music, Artistic Director and Conductor of Philharmonic Choir of North America Choral Association, Artistic director of the Philadelphia Melody Choir, Conductor and Artistic Director of the Ottawa Starlight Choir, the Conductor of the South China Conservatory of Music, Conductor and Artistic Director of the Renmin University of China Hainan Alumni Choir.
He also serves as President of the Global Chinese Chorus Association, President of the North American Chorus Association, President of the North American Asian Performing Arts Association, President of the Boston Huaxing Performing Arts Troupe, Conductor of the North American Youth Symphony Orchestra, Haikou Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, Conductor and Artistic Director of Chinese National Orchestra, Member of Expert Art Committee of China International Choir Festival, Artistic Director of China International Youth Art Festival 2022, Judge of the First Asian Young Singers Competition, Judge of CCTV Young Singers Competition in North America and Judge of Carnival Choral Competition held by the China Choral Association in 2023.
