Honoring Long Yu and Starr International Foundation
[VT I Washington, D.C. December 17, 2025] The New York Philharmonic has announced its Lunar New Year Concert and Gala, to be held on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at the Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, welcoming the Year of the Horse with a program celebrating cultural heritage, renewal, and musical exchange across borders.
The evening will honor conductor Long Yu — Artistic Director of the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra — as well as the Starr International Foundation, the presenting sponsor of the Philharmonic’s annual Lunar New Year Gala since 2014 and a key supporter of the New York Philharmonic–Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Partnership since its founding.
In addition to being one of the evening’s honorees, Long Yu will conduct the concert. He previously led the Philharmonic’s first Lunar New Year Gala concert in 2012 and is a longtime artistic partner of the Orchestra.
Program Highlights
The concert opens with two orchestral works: Li Huanzhi’s Spring Festival Overture and the U.S. premiere of selections from Elliot Leung’s Chinese Kitchen.
The program then brings together acclaimed vocal and instrumental soloists in a blend of Eastern and Western repertoire:
- Baritone Changyong Liao performs Lu Zaiyi’s Prelude to the Water Melody and an aria from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville
- Soprano Kathleen Kim (in her New York Philharmonic debut) sings New Arirang, Phil Young’s orchestration of the traditional Korean folk song, and an aria from The Barber of Seville
- Liao and Kim join together in a duet from Lehár’s The Merry Widow
- The program concludes with morin khuur soloist Hasibagen (NY Phil debut), performing Rhapsody for Morin Khuur and Orchestra: Longing, arranged by Zou Ye
Lunar New Year Concert and Gala
Gala Events
Gala festivities will include:
- 5:30 p.m. — Cocktail reception on the Leon and Norma Hess Grand Promenade
- 7:00 p.m. — Concert performance
- A seated dinner with the artists immediately following the concert, also on the Hess Grand Promenade
Attire for the evening is heritage formal or black tie. Gala Co-Chairs are Angela Chen; Misook Doolittle; Kay and Jackson Tai; Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang; and Ling Tian and Diana Wang.
For additional information
Tickets to New York Philharmonic performances are available at nyphil.org, by phone at (212) 875-5656, or in person at the Welcome Center at David Geffen Hall.
For additional information about the Gala, visit nyphil.org/lny-gala, call (646) 870-4054, or email events@nyphil.org.
