About

Qin Qian is an erhu master, educator, and author based in Philadelphia. Born in Guangxi, China, she graduated from the Guangxi Arts Institute at the age of 20. Her erhu teachers were Professor Huang Qidu (a second-generation disciple of Liu Tianhua, the “father of the erhu”), who graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, and the renowned erhu master Zhang Yuming.Qin Qian is renowned for her musical style that blends traditional and modern, classical and popular elements
of both Eastern and Western music.

In China, she is not only a musician but also an entertainment reporter, music editor, and music program host at Nanning Radio Station. In 2003 she became the first radio music program host in China to successfully hold an “Erhu and Monochord Concert,” accompanied by the Guangxi Symphony Orchestra.
The concert attracted nearly 2,000 live audience members and was broadcast live online globally, receiving widespread acclaim! She later became a distinguished cultural ambassador in the United States. She is renowned for her exquisite erhu playing skills and her cross-genre collaborations with jazz and classical ensembles.

In addition to performance,Qin Qian is an author. She has published two books in Chinese: “My Dreams Fly With Music” (2003), and “A Musical Journey in America” (2005). She was the featured performer and composer on an audio CD, “A Romantic Musical Journey” (2005). This is the first instrumental album
released by a Chinese radio host in China, showing Qin Qian’’s multi-talented life.

In 2005, Qin Qian moved to Philadelphia, where she performed diverse world music pieces on the erhu. She collaborated with musicians from various countries, playing differnt from Baroque and Middle Eastern music to classical and pop music, jazz, and American country music, as well as commissioned works. She introduced many Western audiences to the unique charm of traditional Chinese music! She has performed at venues such as The Curtis Institute of Music, the Kimmel Center, St.Joseph’s University, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz, the University of Delaware, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, the Port City Music Festival in Wilmington, NC, and more.

Qin Qian is a music educator. She twice received the Outstanding Teacher Award at the Princeton International Chinese Music Competition, Princeton University (2012,2014). Her students Arthur Zhong and Kelvin Wang won first prize in the competition. Kelvin Wang(13- years- old) won the gold award in 2017
Chinese TV (CCTV) show “Super Baby”, Also he played “Galloping Horses” to win Sinovision’s teen talent competition for 2018, in New York. 4 years later, Kelvin Wang won the first prize in the “New York Global Music Competition Adult Traditional Instrument Category” in 2022 and performed at the winner’s concert
at Carnegie Hall. In recognition of Qin Qian’s extraordinary dedication and achievements in the field of music education, the New York Global Music Competition Committee also issued a certificate of honor to
Qin Qian. She continues to teach students from Swarthmore College and from the Adult Day Care Center in Philadelphia. In 2025, she became a Teaching Artist for the World Music in the Schools K-12 residency program at the Perkins Center for the Arts in New Jersey.