Chinese baritone Ma Jinquan is a professor in Vocal and Opera Music of the China Conservatory and supervisor on its Master’s degree programme. He is also a member of the Chinese Musicians’ Association and a member of the Central Committee of the Jiu San (Sept. 3rd) Society. He trained at the Central Conservatory of Music under Li Xinchang before he furthered his studies in the postgraduate programmes of the Tokyo Gakugei University and Tokyo University of the Arts in Japan towards the late 1980s. He was subsequently awarded a Master’s degree in Music Education and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Music, with his specialism in Opera Performance. While studying in Italy, he was supervised by Gabriel Pisani of La Scala and benefitted from the coaching of Professor Andrea Monacò, who made the following appraisal of his performance: “As a baritone, Mr Ma Jinquan is endowed with an excellent voice. He has the temperaments and talent of both an artist and an educationist.”
Following two solo recitals in Tokyo in 1996 and 1998, Ma gave a highly successful third recital in Beijing in 2001. In opera, he was Tonio in the China National Opera House production of I Pagliacci in 2004, and Coppelius in Les contes d’Hoffmann, a project of The Year of France in China in 2005. In 2006, he performed at the Students Concert of Li Xinchang in celebration of 50 Years of Li’s career. In 2009, at the invitation of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Ma performed in Gianni Schicchi. It was followed by the lead vocal role in the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s symphonic poem production, Genghis Khan, in September 2010. The production was so successful that his role was reprised at the China National Orchestra concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts later that year, and at the Taiwan International Festival of Arts concert presented by the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan in 2015. Ma was interviewed for his awe-inspiring interpretation of the ‘Great Khan’ by the Taiwan press on that occasion.
Since returning to China to teach, Ma has trained many outstanding students. He has published close to a hundred articles and critiques as well as conducted interviews, with topics covering baritone singing in Verdi’s operas, on do di petto, etc. His discography includes teaching demonstrations on vocal music, solo recitals, and Chinese folk music.
