Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the commencement of 10 graduates on July 1. SOA is a collaboration between the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO), New York Philharmonic, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music. It provides a new approach in China to train fresh graduates from music conservatories to become professional orchestra musicians through a two-year program and international partnership.

Five Shanghai Orchestra Academy students spent more than eightaction-packed days in New York City earlier this month participating in both musical and cultural exchange. In addition to performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade in four concerts with the New York Philharmonic as part of its annual Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, the students – called Zarin Mehta Fellows – enjoyed tours of the New York Philharmonic Archives, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and important cultural sites including the 9/11 Memorial and Freedom Tower, Statue of Liberty, and Brooklyn Bridge.