Southern Cross Soloists featuring George Gao and Li Wei Qin

The Southern Cross Soloists in collaboration with erhu master George Gao and cello soloist Li Wei Qin will be holding two open rehearsals at The University of Queensland's School of Music in preparation for their concert at QPAC. 

One of Australia’s most formidable chamber music ensembles, Southern Cross Soloists has reimagined the live classical music experience since their establishment in Brisbane in 1995. The ensemble has helped set the benchmark for Australian chamber music and created a connected, enthusiastic and ever-growing audience, whom they continue to delight with their constantly evolving programs. Southern Cross Soloists has an unparalleled reputation for artistic excellence, and as trailblazers in the Australian classical music scene.

As Company in Residence at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), the ensemble enjoys a busy schedule of regional and national performances and is regularly joined by visiting international artists. Southern Cross Soloists present an annual program of stellar events, including their subscription concert series at QPAC and the Bangalow Music Festival.


George Gao - Erhu

Hailed as one of the most exciting, innovative and respected erhu masters today, the Gemini Award nominated erhu master George Gao began studying the erhu at the age of six, a few years later, he won First Prize at the Shanghai Junior Instrumental Soloist Competition and a Silver Medal at the China National Junior Instrumental Soloist Contest in 1982. In 1985, he swept the three highest prizes of the Beijing China National Invitational erhu Competition. In 1999, He won a Recognition Award for his appearance at the 13th World Festival for Young Students in Pyongyang, North Korea.

George Gao studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

After winning the first prize in the Beijing National Erhu Competition, George Gao launched on a truly international performing career. He toured the US, Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China extensively and featured as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Taiwan National Chinese Orchestra, National Arts Center Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and I Musici etc. George Gao has also performed many recitals, including appearances at the Glenn Gould Studio, the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), City Hall Concert Hall (Hong Kong), and the National Concert Hall (Taipei). Billions of people around the world have watched him on CCTV, China's most watched TV station.


Li-Wei Qin - Cello

An exclusive Universal Music China Artist, Li-Wei Qin has appeared all over the world as a soloist and as a chamber musician. After achieving great success at the 11th Tchaikovsky International Competition where he was awarded the Silver Medal, Li-Wei has since won the First Prize in the prestigious 2001 Naumburg Competition in New York. “A superbly stylish, raptly intuitive performer” Gramophone Magazine, January 2015) was the description of the cellist’s Elgar and Walton concerti recording with the London Philharmonic.

Highlights in the 2017/18 season includes debut with the London Symphony, Russian Philharmonic, Czech Chamber and Brussels Chamber Orchestras. Return visits to the China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.

Two times soloist at the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Li-Wei has enjoyed successful artistic collaborations with many of the world’s great orchestras including all the BBC symphony orchestras, the Los Angeles philharmonic, London Philharmonic, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the NDR-Sinfonierorchester Hamburg, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Basel Symphony, the Prague symphony, the Osaka Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, the Sydney Symphony and Melbourne Symphony among many others. Leading conductors with whom he has worked include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Marek Janowski, Jaap Van Zweden, Jiri Belohlavek, Jan Pascal Totelier, Hans Graf, Yu Long, the late Machello Viotti and the late Lord Menuhin. Li-Wei has also appeared with chamber orchestras such as the Kremerata Baltika, Sinfonia Vasovia, the Munich, the Zurich, the Australian Chamber Orchestras.

In recital and chamber music, Li-Wei is a regular guest at the Wigmore Hall and for the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, New York. He has appeared at the BBC Proms, the Rheinghau, the City of London, the Schlewigs-Holstein and the Mecklenburg Festivals. Li-Wei has collaborated with musicians such as Daniel Hope, Nabuko Imai, Misha Maisky, David Finckel, Wu Han, Vladimir Mendelssohn and Peter Frankel, among many others.


Kristian Chong - Piano

One of Australia's leading pianists, Kristian Chong has performed throughout Australia and the UK, and in China, France, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA, and Zimbabwe. His wide-ranging performance schedule finds him equally at home as concerto soloist, chamber musician and recitalist.

As concerto soloist he has appeared with the Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland, Sydney and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, and orchestras in the UK, New Zealand and China with conductors such as Werner Andreas Albert, Andrey Boreyko, Nicholas Braithwaite, Jessica Cottis, Fabian Russell, Roy Goodman, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Nicholas Milton, Benjamin Northey, Tuomas Hannikainen, Marcus Stenz, Arvo Volmer and Marco Zuccarini. Highlights have included Rachmaninoff 3rd with the Sydney Symphony, the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in Beijing and Canberra, and Britten with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Recent concerto highlights include Shostakovich 2nd, Chopin 2nd, Rachmaninoff 3rd, Beethoven's Emperor in Melbourne, Ravel's Left Hand concerto in Melbourne (Australian Youth Orchestra) and Dunedin (Dunedin Symphony Orchestra) and Saint-Saëns 2nd concerto with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.