(CFP)

Ye Xiaogang, a famous composer, is the art director of the 2011 Beijing Modern Music Festival, which took place on May 21-27.

Ye, 56, is regarded as one of the leading contemporary composers in China. He learned to play the piano at the age of 4 from his composer father. He went to the Central Conservatory of Music (CCM) to learn composition in 1978. In 1980, he studied in Professor Alexander Goehr's class at Cambridge University and received a full scholarship from the Eastman School of Music in the United States in 1987 to further his studies.

Due to his extraordinary talent, Ye was acclaimed one of the "Four Talents" of the conservatory along with Tan Dun, Guo Wenjing and Qu Xiaosong. Ye composed symphonies, chamber music and ballets, participated in many festivals and won various prizes. He is now vice president and professor of the CCM.