2026 Musical Artists
Composers
Christopher Vu (b. 1995) is a Boston-based composer and pianist whose work spans concert music, theatre, and interdisciplinary performance. Drawing on a background that bridges composition, improvisation, and collaboration, his music often explores narrative and visual imagination across acoustic and electroacoustic settings. He is co-artistic director of Pinwheel, a collective dedicated to original multidisciplinary productions.
His work has been commissioned and performed by organizations including, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, Lincoln Center Education, the Boston Percussion Group, SOLI Chamber Ensemble, and [sunflower]. As a performer, Vu appears widely as a pianist and keyboardist across contemporary classical, jazz, and popular music. He has performed as a featured soloist with the Boston Pops; as a founding member of the nationally touring band Juice; and as a jazz pianist in settings ranging from Disneyland engagements with Johnny G & the Dynamites to traditional ensembles such as Colescott & His Red Hots. His theatrical work includes performances in productions such as the Boston She Party and collaborations with the Rubin Brothers Theater Show, as well as work with artists including Ben Stevens and Mahya Hamedi.
Julian Gau is a conductor and composer based in Boston. He studied music and mathematics at Brown University and orchestral conducting at the Boston Conservatory. As a conductor, he serves as music director of the Horizon Ensemble, which bridges compositions by friends with music of history, the Providence Medical Orchestra, and the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York. He is also the assistant conductor of the New England Philharmonic, and he is active as a conductor of opera and musical theatre.
From a young age, living within his Taiwanese heritage and American environment, Julian trained in both Western & Chinese classical music, and he continues to perform and conduct in both styles. These two traditions manifest deeply in his compositions, jointly coloring the score to Lon Po Po. He believes deeply in the power of music as a narrative force, leading to connections and empathy between people. At other times, he acts as pianist, cellist, arranger, arts administrator, or occasional critic. In addition to music, Julian enjoys stories, noodles, and friends. His favorite Asian folk stories are about the Monkey King.
Musicians
Grace Kelsangmetog Cai was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts, Grace Kelsangmetog Cai is of Tibetan and Chinese heritage and is the principal yangqin player of the Boston Chinese Musicians Association. In 2023, she won First Prize in the Traditional Instrument Division at the Boston International Music Competition and was recognized among the Top 20 Young Musical Talents in Massachusetts through the Fidelity Investments Young Artists Competition twice.
Grace is also a former Team USA Theater on Ice figure skater, and a three-time World Champion. She is currently studying Neuroscience and Mathematics at Wellesley College.
Shion Suzuki is an accomplished Japanese flutist known for her expressive artistry and refined technique, with a growing international presence in both performance and education.
A graduate of Tokyo College of Music, she began her musical journey at the age of three, studying piano with her mother. She took up the flute at the age of ten and later joined the Chiba Prefecture Youth Orchestra. Her passion for performance has led her to participate in international festivals such as the Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy, the Texas Music Festival, and Flauti al Castello in Italy.
She has studied in master classes with celebrated flutists including Vincent Lucas, Paul Edmund-Davies, Dieter Flury, Hansgeorg Schmeiser, Lorna McGhee, Aralee Dorough, and Sergio Pallottelli, and has shared the stage with Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway.
Shion’s achievements include prizes at the All Japan Student Music Competition and the Kanagawa Music Competition. In 2024, she was a semifinalist at the Padova International Music Competition (Soloist and Orchestra Division) and won first prize in the New York Classical Competition (Master-B Flute Category).
After earning a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee under Professor Ann Bobo, she completed a Professional Studies Certificate in the Contemporary Classical Music Program with Professor Sarah Brady. Now based in Boston, she is active as both a performer and an educator.
Following her graduation, Shion made her debut at the 2025 International Computer Music Conference, marking a significant step in her exploration of contemporary and electroacoustic music.
She currently leads the Flute Quartet SORA in Japan, whose performance videos have gained popularity on YouTube for their musicality and fresh approach to flute ensemble repertoire. Most recently, she was invited to Ecuador to give a master class, further expanding her global artistic reach.
Born into a Shanghai family, He Tao began learning erhu from her father as a child. She studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (elementary through university), also learning piano, cello, gaohu, guzheng, and conducting. She has played with the China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and now resides in Boston.
Her style crosses from traditional to jazz and pop. In 1999, she signed with Expect Music in Singapore, performing for Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and joining a jazz tour. In 2016, she was an erhu soloist in the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Madame White Snake at the Boston Opera House. In 2022, she served as erhu principal in Painted Skin at Lincoln Center, and also premiered the violin showpiece Second Rondo on erhu.
She has collaborated with the Toronto Chinese Orchestra and Taiwan’s Hsinchu Youth Chinese Orchestra, and will be guest principal for the New York Chinese Orchestra’s 65th anniversary (2025–2026). Her students have been accepted into prestigious universities including Harvard and Boston University, and she remains active in Boston’s cultural scene.