Zhang, Jingli
Her first percussion recital was held in 1990 when she was 16years old which left a profound impression on Mr. Zhao Feng ,the chairman of CCOM , a well-known music educator in China, who fired off an inscription on her performance:
“Rituals and music originate from hearts of human beings. Hearts are touched by surrounding things. Insincere music could not be touching and trials to reach the acme of perfection are beauty itself.”
As a professional percussionist for more than a decade, Jingli has toured over thirty countries and regions around the world and has been working with numerous orchestras, like Canada Philharmonic Orchestra (Vancouver), Baden Baden Philharmonic Orchestra of Germany, Nipponic Symphony Orchestra of Japan, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Central Opera House Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra, Hebei Symphony Orchestra, Kunming Symphony Orchestra, Hefei Opera & Dance Drama Theater, Symphony Orchestra of Lanzhou Opera & Dance Drama Theatre, Shandong Symphony Orchestra, Xi’an Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Harbin Opera House Symphony Orchestra, Chinese Orchestra of Tianjin Opera and Dance House, Huaxia Traditional Music Orchestra of China Conservatory, Beijing Wind Orchestra, Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra, etc.
1991: During her study in the Central Conservatory of Music Middle School, Jingli successfully held her first percussion recital.
1997: Jingli participated in the First Sino-Japanese Friendship Contemporary Music Festival. Maki Ishii, the distinguished Japanese composer, praised Jingli’s performance of his new work as “a more profound interpretation of the music with fervency and subtle skills.”
1998: Jingli held her percussion recital in Beijing Concert Hall. Music critics praised her performance as "distinctive in style, enjoyable for both highbrows and lowbrows alike, young, elegant and impressive". In the same year, she was invited to play in the Leigh Stevens Percussion Music Festival in the U.S. and won the honor of “outstanding percussionist from Asia”.
1999: Jingli successfully held her percussion recital in Vancouver, Canada, which was praised by the local media as “perfect integration of dynamism and rhythm; distillation combined with skills and music.”
2000: Being invited by Shandong Opera House Symphony Orchestra, Jingli performed marimba concerto "Butterfly Lovers" with the orchestra. In the same year, Jingli was invited by Harbin Opera House and played marimba concerto adapted from Kovalevsky’s violin concerto. Jingli was also invited by Hefei TV for the new year concert--“Spring of the Green City” and performed marimba concerto by Saros, a Brazilian composer, with the Hefei Symphony Orchestra. It was the first time for the local to enjoy the music of such style and aroused strong repercussions. Being invited by Shandong Opera and Dance House Symphony Orchestra, Jingli performed percussion concerto with the orchestra and received high praise from folks in her hometown.
2001: Jingli was invited by Kunming Symphony Orchestra, playing the marimba concerto conducted by Mr. Yang Li. In the same year, she was invited by Nanxinya Culture and Arts Exchange Center to perform marimba concerto with conductor Wang Yongji and Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra on the sixth day of the Chinese lunar year at the big Symphony Concert-- “Century Echoes”.
2002: Jingli was invited by Hebei Symphony Orchestra and played marimba concerto conducted by Mr. Xu Xin at the Lantern Festival Concert. In November, She was invited again by Shandong Opera and Dance House Symphony Orchestra to play percussion concerto.
2003: Jingli was invited to attend the Second International Percussion Arts Festival held in Warsaw, Poland for extensive communication with world percussion experts on behalf of China.
2004: Jingli participated in the Second Sino-Japanese Friendship Contemporary Music Festival and successfully held percussion concerts with SHIRAKAWA Symphony Orchestra and NIPPONOCA Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and Beijing respectively, playing composer Tang Jianping's percussion concerto “Cang & Cai” conducted by Mr. Tetusji Honna, the music director of NIPPONOCA symphony orchestra. Audiences praised Jingli’s performance as “God-given art appreciation and ravishment”. In the same year, Jingli led Jianli Percussion Ensemble to attend Beijing Contemporary Music Festival and held percussion concerts. This vibrant percussion ensemble unfolded the percussion works from eight distinguished composers of today’s China to the audience. The show was of a very lively atmosphere and has aroused strong repercussions in the sector.
2006: Jingli performed percussion concerto “The Sun” composed by Mr. Guan Naizhong at Sydney Opera House in Australia with Tianjin Symphony Orchestra. In the same year, she played the same work with Huaxia Traditional Chinese Orchestra of China Conservatory in Beijing Music Hall. Both performances were of great success.
2009: With Beijing Wind Symphony, at National Grand Theater, Jingli played marimba concerto by American Composer Alfred who writes the work dedicated to marimba concerto and wind orchestra.
2010: Being invited by Beijing Contemporary Music Festival, Jingli played Percussion concerto by a Greek composer at the Music Hall of National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing with conductor Tan Lihua and Beijing Symphony Orchestra.
2011: Jingli was invited by Trio d'anche SUAVE, the woodwind trio, for disc recording in Germany and the disc has been released worldwide.
2012: In September, Jingli played Percussion Concerto by Chen Yi with Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra at the "Fancy of Blue Sky Symphony Orchestra Concert" held in Zhuhai successfully. In October, she played percussion concerto with Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra at Shenzhen Music Hall, Mr. Daniel Raiskin being the conductor. She also held the "Joy Concert"-- a rhythm feast at Zhongshan Music Hall.
2013: She held a Percussion concert in cooperation with Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra, Yang Li being the conductor. She also participated in the percussion concert of the national holiday music festival in Liuzhou Cultural Center, held the percussion concert in Beijing Tanglewood Music Valley, the percussion concerto in Harbin Music Hall and the concert "Percussion Beauty" at Jiangsu Zijin Theatre.
2014: In September, she played the Schwantner Percussion Concerto with Harbin Symphony Orchestra. In the same year, she held her personal percussion concert in Beijing Music Hall and Shanxi Theater and led Jianli Percussion Ensemble hold percussion concert in the music hall of Shanxi University. She also played the "American Fantasy", a famous piece of percussion duo and piano duo in the "Sound of the 20th Century" concert of the first Cooperative Piano Music Festival held in CCOM. Other performances include "Feel the Beat" percussion concert in Wuhan cooperating with the Symphony Orchestra of Hubei Opera and Dance Drama Theater, the concert in the Hainan Baoting Grand Theatre and the Grand Hall of the People of Haikou, the percussion concerto of the 2014 Music Season-- from Baroco Style to Romanticism Concert Series cooperating with Tianjin Symphony Orchestra at the Chinese Theatre in Tianjin. Under her lead, the Jianli Percussion Ensemble won the "Top 10 Performance Projects of the Year" award granted by China Alliance of Private Performing at the 2014 CIVA Performance Ceremony of China.
2015: On December 21, she performed in Bo'ao, Hainan Province. She also played at the Rock & Star Hall in Zhaoqing, Shenzhen Grand Theatre, Zhongshan Culture and Art Center, Nantong Gengsu Theatre in Jiangsu and Hangzhou Theatre in Zhejiang. She also performed at the percussion concert for the anniversary celebration of CCOM, held percussion concerts at the Great Wall Tanglewood Music Festival in Beijing and in Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall respectively.
2016: she held the Smart Percussion Symphony Concert at the Music Hall of Xi'an Conservatory of Music, the Hero Symphony Concert at Jiangsu Zijin Theatre, the Note of Drum Concert of Chinese and Foreign Musical Masterpieces in Baotou Grand Theatre and the percussion concert at Beijing Great Wall Music Festival. She also participated in the percussion concert of the closing ceremony of the Fourth China (Lanzhou) International Drum Culture and Art Week and the Fifth Lanzhou International Folk Art Week and held the percussion concert at the closing ceremony of the Youth Arts Festival held in Baotou.
Zhang Jingli founded Jianli Percussion Ensemble at the end of 1990. The members are all famous percussionists ,all members graduated from Central Conservatory of Music with high attainments in percussion. Most of them are trained abroad and obtained advanced degrees in music, and serve for Beijing top-notch ensembles or academies. These young percussionists are all of high professional competence, rich in performance experience with a wide range of repertoire. They are recognized and praised by the audience and is regarded as a unique ensemble by their domestic and foreign peers. The ensemble has performed around the country for hundreds of performances with warm welcome and applauses from the audience. In recent years, Jingli has extensively promoted the ensemble to cooperate with international peers at stage. These international communications and cooperation have greatly enhanced the relationship between percussion ensembles. Meanwhile, it also allows people around the world get to know the development of China's percussion, making great contribution to the percussion development and improving the position of percussion in field of music both in China and worldwide.