Yanqi Gao, age 17, started playing the cello at age 7, studied with Rachel Xu in Sunnyvale, where he has been a member of many ensembles, including a cello octet with Professor Benny Yibing Chu, and received the Diamond Award at the US International Music Competition in 2016. For the past 5 years, Yanqi has been studying with Eric Sung at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Pre-college Division, under whom he has claimed 1st place in the U.S. Open Music Competition, honorable mention at KAMSA competition, and invited many times to perform at the Junior Bach Festival. Yanqi has been a member of the California Youth Symphony for six years and attended the CASMEC All-State orchestra this past February.
You can find Yanqi’s 2024 Spring Music Competition cello performance here.