ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
Symphonic architecture
Structure, color, and momentum brought into focus through orchestral performance.
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Photo credit: Jijun He
CONDUCTOR · COMPOSER · PIANIST · EDUCATOR
DR.QINQINGQIAN
Interpretive depth. Creative imagination. Cultural fluency.
Selected conductingARTISTIC VISION. STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP. LASTING IMPACT.
01 / ABOUT
Artistic range.
International vision.
Dr. Qian’s work spans conducting, composition, professional piano performance, and educational leadership across symphonic music, opera, and new work. Fluent in English and Mandarin, she approaches artistic programming and cultural exchange with an international perspective.
Her vision extends beyond the podium to an institution’s place on the world stage. Through distinctive programming, cross-cultural communication, and strategic partnerships, she works to expand its reach and cultivate new audiences for orchestral and operatic performance.
Professionally, she prefers “Dr. Qian”; her students call her “Dr. Q.”
Languages: English and Mandarin Chinese (native/bilingual); French, German, and Italian (working/intermediate proficiency).
At Willamette University, she served as Assistant Professor of Musical Practice and directed its orchestra and University Concert Band. The orchestra adopted the name Pacific Rim Symphony Orchestra (PRSO) in August 2025. Her leadership encompassed artistic programming, conducting instruction, chamber music, guest artist collaborations, and opera and musical theater productions. She coordinated instrumental faculty around recruitment and student development, organized Concerto–Aria Competitions and external adjudication, and connected orchestra, choir, opera, and theater projects across campus.
From 2018–2020, Dr. Qian served as Artistic Director and Conductor of Minhua Chorus in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, leading concerts and cultural events and developing interdisciplinary programs and community partnerships.
Her earlier conducting work involved the University of Minnesota Campus Orchestra and Opera Theater, Boston University Symphony Orchestra and Opera Institute, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Shanghai Opera House. She was one of four conductors selected for the 2011 Pacific Music Festival Conducting Academy, studying with Fabio Luisi.
Education & Professional Training
Degrees & Areas of Study
- DMA in Conducting — University of Minnesota
- MM in Instrumental Conducting — San Francisco Conservatory of Music
- MM in Orchestral Conducting — Shanghai Conservatory of Music
- Graduate study in Conducting — Boston University
- Double bachelor’s degrees — Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Focuses: Piano Performance; Audio Engineering, Recording Arts & Composition
Selected Masterclasses & Professional Training
Her professional development included orchestral, opera, choral, and band conducting study.
- In 2018, she participated in the Conductor’s Summit in River Falls, Wisconsin, with Eugene Corporon, Jack Stamp, and Kristin Tjornehoj.
- In October 2016, she participated in a conducting masterclass at the New York Conducting Institute and studied with Paul Nadler in New York City.
- In 2015, she participated in a conducting masterclass with Jack Stamp in Washington, D.C.
- Her other advanced conducting study included work with Marin Alsop, Michael Tilson Thomas, Colin Metters, Vance George, and John Nelson.
Awards & Leadership
Awards
Recognition in conducting and composition.
- 2025
- The American PrizeFinalist · Composition
- 2022
- The American Prize2nd Place · Opera & Musical Theater Conducting3rd Place · Orchestral Conducting
- 2013
- International Conducting Competition “Solon Michaelides”Finalist · Cyprus
Leadership
College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA), Western Region
- 2024–2025
- President
- 2023–2024
- President-Elect
- 2022–2023
- Vice President
02 / SELECTED CONDUCTING
Command of the score.
Life on the stage.
From symphonic architecture to operatic drama: performances and rehearsals shaped by a clear interpretive vision. Selected recordings are available upon request.
OPERA & MUSICAL THEATRE
Operatic drama
Musical direction that connects singers, orchestra, and the demands of the stage.
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Interpretation in practice
Rehearsal as the place where interpretive decisions become a shared musical language.
Request viewing access03 / COMPOSITIONS
Rooted in tradition.
Driven by invention.
Dr. Qian is affiliated with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) as a classical composer.
OPERA / CO-COMPOSER, CO-LIBRETTIST & CONDUCTOR
Opera: One-Log Bridge
For this bilingual opera project, Dr. Qian collaborated with Yan Pang as co-composer and co-librettist and directed the concert premiere at Willamette University on February 4–5, 2023. The work brought Chinese and Western performance traditions into dialogue.
View the OPERA America catalog entryPERCUSSION ENSEMBLE & VOICE
Echoes of Discord
Dr. Qian drew on Chinese opera and Western vocal expression in this work, which was premiered by the Willamette Percussion Ensemble. She performed the vocal part; the composition was named a finalist for The American Prize in 2025.
ORCHESTRAL ARRANGEMENT
Turandot Suite for Orchestra
An orchestral suite drawn from Puccini’s opera, developed as a doctoral project at the University of Minnesota.
04 / PIANO PERFORMANCE
Precision at the keyboard.
Perspective beyond it.
A professional pianist’s command of touch, color, and structure informs an artistic practice that extends from the keyboard to the podium.
Her work at the keyboard brings another dimension to her command of musical structure, color, and ensemble dialogue.
Dr. Qian’s artistic practice encompasses solo piano and performance with orchestra. Her piano training at Shanghai Conservatory of Music formed part of the foundation for her subsequent work in conducting and composition.
Selected piano performance recordings are available upon request for professional consideration.
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05 / EDUCATION
Develop artists.
Shape institutions.
Dr. Qian approaches education as artistic and institutional leadership: developing independent musicians, shaping distinctive programs, and connecting an institution’s artistic work with audiences at home and abroad.
At Willamette University, Dr. Qian worked with musicians of varied backgrounds and experience levels, helping them develop independence, confidence, and a shared understanding of the music. She taught conducting, chamber music, music history, music technology, and interdisciplinary courses.
Her program planning connected ensemble rehearsals with studio instruction, sectional coaching, guest artists, and community performance. She coordinated recruiting efforts and annual Concerto–Aria Competitions, bringing professional musicians into students’ artistic development. Through faculty coordination and interdisciplinary productions, she brought together colleagues whose work extended beyond a single ensemble or department.
She repeatedly brought Willamette orchestra students to the Oregon Coast Youth Symphony Festival in Newport as part of her recruitment and outreach work. Guest appearances in 2022 and 2024 connected the university ensemble with high school orchestras from across Oregon.
06 / SELECTED COVERAGE
Projects in the spotlight.
2026
Pacific Rim Symphony Orchestra
The university orchestra’s evolving identity and concert programming.
2025
Beethoven: orchestra & chorus
A collaboration across university ensembles and the Willamette Master Chorus.
2024 · 2022
Chamber music & community partnerships
Newport concerts, youth-orchestra collaborations, and the Schnell Vigueur Ensemble.
OREGON COAST TODAY · 2024ReadOREGON COAST TODAY · 2024ReadOREGON COAST TODAY · 2022Read
Oregon Coast Youth Symphony Festival
A festival preview featured the Willamette University Chamber Orchestra as a special guest and announced its performance of the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth.
Chamber music beyond campus
A Newport concert preview reported that Dr. Qian founded the flexible-instrumentation Schnell Vigueur Ensemble.
University and high school orchestras in Newport
Coverage listed Willamette as the special guest orchestra for the festival’s opening concert at Newport Performing Arts Center.
2023 · 2022
Opera: One-Log Bridge
The collaborative opera: workshop performances, audience conversations, catalog recognition, and TEDx.
AMERICAN COMPOSERS FORUM · MAY 11, 2023PosterOPERA AMERICA · 2023ReadPRESS PLAY SALEM · FEBRUARY 2023ReadWILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY · 2023PosterPOINT PARK UNIVERSITY · 2022Read
One-Log Bridge: workshop performance & creative-team Q&A
American Composers Forum invited audiences to the University of Minnesota workshop performance of One-Log Bridge at Ted Mann Concert Hall, conducted by Dr. Qian. The performance explored immigration and belonging through Chinese and Western operatic traditions and was followed by a Q&A with the creative team.
One-Log Bridge: composer and librettist credits
The New Work Catalog credited Yan Pang and Dr. Qian as composers and librettists and documented the Willamette concert premiere.
One-Log Bridge: premiere & pre-concert talks
Coverage of the February 4–5 Willamette performances named Dr. Qian as librettist and director and announced pre-concert talks before both performances. The opera brought Chinese folk and operatic traditions into dialogue with Western opera through its exploration of immigration and belonging.
One-Log Bridge: the creative conversation
February 4, 2023 · Hudson Concert Hall, Willamette University. The event listing names Dr. Qian and Yan Pang in a preshow discussion of opera creation, collaboration, and staging.
One-Log Bridge at TEDx Point Park
In her 2022 TEDx talk, Yan Pang presented the collaborative opera-theater project One-Log Bridge. Point Park’s event page explicitly credits Dr. Qian’s Chinese-opera contribution alongside Western opera and hip-hop dance collaborators.
2018–2020 / MINHUA CHORUS
Choral leadership & cultural programming
Minhua Chorus artistic leadership, 2018–2020, and community-centered musical projects.
CONCERT POSTER · OCTOBER 27, 2018PosterEVENT POSTER · AAPI HERITAGE MONTHPoster
The Grace of Southern Landscape
Minhua Chorus’s concert at The O’Shaughnessy combined choral music with guest artists and collaborating ensembles. The poster names Dr. Qian as Artistic Director and Conductor.
Nostalgia: Songs and Stories
Minnesota Center for Community Services presented this online event combining choral music and personal stories. Dr. Qian is credited as conductor alongside voice coach and pianist Jian Gao.
Institutional & Organization Posts
Willamette University
College Colloquium · Fall 2023
Details
Dr. Qian’s Willamette University class explored musical observation through listening, writing, and discussion. Featured by the university on January 23, 2024.
Bon Appétit at Willamette University
Feast of the Senses · 2023
Details
Dr. Qian’s College Colloquium class paired music with food, sensory experience, and reflective writing in collaboration with Bon Appétit at Willamette University. September 2023.
American Composers Forum
Opera: One-Log Bridge
Details
May 11, 2023 · Ted Mann Concert Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Workshop performance conducted by Dr. Qian, with an invitation from American Composers Forum and a creative-team discussion after the performance.
Willamette University
One-Log Bridge: the creative conversation
Details
February 4, 2023 · Hudson Concert Hall, Willamette University. The event listing names Dr. Qian and Yan Pang in a preshow discussion of opera creation, collaboration, and staging.
Minhua Chorus
The Grace of Southern Landscape
Details
October 27, 2018 · The O’Shaughnessy, St. Catherine University, St. Paul. Minhua Chorus’s interdisciplinary concert poster names Dr. Qian as Artistic Director and Conductor.
Minnesota Center for Community Services
Nostalgia: Songs and Stories
Details
An online AAPI Heritage Month event presented by Minnesota Center for Community Services. The poster credits Dr. Qian as conductor and Jian Gao as voice coach and pianist.
07 / NEWS & ENGAGEMENTS
Next engagements.
Appointments, concerts, guest engagements, and new artistic ventures.
TBD
08 / CONTACT
Artistic ambition.
Shared purpose.
For conducting engagements, artist representation, academic appointments, and collaborations with a shared artistic vision.