FOR young composers, it's much more difficult to find a big stage than it is to find inspiration.

For a composer in his or her 20s and 30s, it's a dream come true to have an orchestral work performed at China's most prestigious venue by an elite orchestra.

It's come true for two composers from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music whose compositions will be performed later this year at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Liu Hao from Guizhou Province and Liu Jian from Guangdong Province are both from the composition department. Liu Hao is an assistant professor focusing on digital composition. Liu Jian is a doctoral student graduating this year.

Their compositions were among the 12 short-listed for the recording evaluation in the National Center for Performing Arts Young Composers Program 2012-2013, meaning they will be performed by professional orchestras from March to December. The Beijing Symphony Orchestra, the National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra and the NCPA Orchestra will perform their works.

This is the second time the competition has been organized to encourage young talent in China; it was first held in 2010-2011.

The application process opened last April. Liu Hao submitted his symphonic suite "Ode to Guizhou" and Liu Jian submitted the second movement of her orchestral work "Beside the Lijiang River."

Both pieces involve some Chinese elements. Liu Hao's "Ode to Guizhou" conveys the beauty of the mountains, rivers and valleys in his province.

Liu Jian's composition is part of her graduation project, It was based on a folk song from Hunan Province, "Work song of the Boatman," and adapting the structure of the song.

According to the performing arts center, 61 works were submitted by young composers around the world, 24 were short-listed for the second evaluation, and 12 were finally selected for "exhibition" and performance, by a jury of renowned conductors, instrumentalists and composers.

"For young composers like us, an opportunity like this is hard to come by," Liu Hao tells Shanghai Daily. "From our perspective, it's more important for us to actually hear our own sounds. Even though there is software that can play the notes for you, it still can't reflect the actual effects."

The performing arts center invested considerable funds and effort in this program to encourage young composers by offering a free platform, so they do not need to worry about costs.

"It is a great model that will eventually nurture and bring out unique Chinese composers," Liu Hao says.

Out of the 12 selected works, three winners will be chosen. The jury will listen to both live concerts and recordings.

Each of the three will be commissioned to compose a work for the National Center for Performing Arts, paid a commission fee of 60,000 yuan (US$9,653) to 80,000 yuan.

For many new works, the premiere is also the last performance, Liu Hao says.

Liu Hao studied at the conservatory since high school, majoring in bassoon and composition in undergraduate, composition for graduate and doctorate.

Liu Jian, however, didn't turn to music until college. She focused on science in high school, and then attended Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, double majoring in music studies and composition. She came to Shanghai for graduate and doctoral studies in composition.

Liu Jian has won a dozen composition awards, but the NCPA performance will be the second time an orchestra to perform her works; the first performance was at the conservatory.

"It's a big deal for young students to have their works performed on stage," she says. There they can be appreciated by an audience, not only music professionals.

Liu Jian says her studies are purely academic and she's a little nervous about how a general audience will receive her works.

"We will have some people listening to the melodies and some looking for the techniques," she says.

The three commissions from the first 2011 session of the program had their world premiere in a special concert "Colorful Roses" presented by the Beijing Symphony Orchestra on March 8 at NCPA. The big event came 14 months after the three young composers completed their commissions.

Shanghai efforts

While the center in Beijing provides a national stage by organizing a competition, theaters in Shanghai are also looking for ways to promote young artists.

Focusing on symphonies, the Shanghai Oriental Art Center launched a series of programs for 2012-2013, inviting top orchestras from around the world, such as the Munich Philharmonic led by Lorin Maazel and Orchestra of The Mariinsky Theater led by Valery Gergiev.

The theater tries to persuade these orchestras to cooperate with young Chinese musicians in concertos.

It's a chance for the leading orchestras to recognize young artists and it could be a breakthrough for the musicians.

Lin Hongming, general manager of the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, explains the initiative to create a platform for young Chinese artists.

"Not only do we try to convince the orchestras to perform some Chinese compositions as encores, but we also wish to push the cooperation forward by putting young musicians on the stage with maestros and leading orchestras."

An example from last year was Shanghai-born violinist Chen Jiafeng performing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Lorin Maazel.During 2011-2012 season, the theater invites renowned orchestras to perform the four great violin concertos by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Mendelssohn. The London Philharmonic agreed to add Tchaikovsky's concerto to the program, but they had a South Korean violinist in mind.

So the theatre discussed the possibility of adding a Chinese performer.

"I considered three factors in making a recommendation," the general manager Lin says, "musical excellence, total understanding of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto and fluency in English."

Maazel was the last one to agree with the recommendation of Chen, when the Shanghai organizer convinced him about the plans to involve more young Chinese artists.

Chen, born in 1987, studied at Shanghai Conservatory of Music before attending the Royal Academy of Music and The Julliard School.

"He was very young and, honestly speaking, little known," Lin says. "When he learned of the opportunity to work with London Philharmonic and Maazel, he couldn't believe it at first."

For young artists like Chen, an opportunity like this is a career milestone. Performing with a prestigious orchestra and maestro is a "golden ticket" and chance to gain valuable experience and exposure.

"For Chen it's an important door to knock in his career; we were also very happy and the tickets sold well," Lin says.

But these negotiations can be difficult.

On April 4, Shanghai pianist Sun Yingdi will perform with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra under conductor Stephane Deneve.

Although Sun, born in 1980, won first prize in the 7th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in 2005, his only training has been in Shanghai. He did not attend overseas conservatories and he now teaches at the Shanghai conservatory.

"Stuttgart had many reasons to reject our recommendation of Sun, such as their lack of familiarity with him and tight rehearsal schedule, and we couldn't force them into this," Lin says. "But every time we wish to reach an agreement before inviting the company here. We understood the difficult requests and suggested future cooperation."

At last, there was concord. Sun will perform Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor.

"Shanghai as a cultural metropolis should show great foresight, and the Shanghai Oriental Art Center played an important role giving opportunities to young musicians and the possibility of cooperating with world-renowned orchestras," Sun says.

Zhang Haochen, a 23-year-old rising star from Shanghai, studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He staged a piano recital last year at the Shanghai Grand Theater as part of the young artist series. The theater also invited winners of the 14th International Tchaikovsky Competition, including Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov.

The chamber concert series at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center brings promising artists and ensembles from Europe and America to stage recitals as well as concerts for trios, quartets and quintets.

"We intend to pick some excellent young musicians who are having a moment now or will be in the future, but doing this requires vision to spot someone early before they become too famous," Lin says.

It's easier on the budget and also introduces more young international artists to the Shanghai audience.

The series was launched on March 17 with a piano recital by Maria Nemtsova from Russia. In April, Israeli pianist Berenika Glixman will give a recital, and the Marina Cedro Trio from Argentina will present a tango concert.

The series also means to promote chamber music by staging more than 20 concerts a year, with affordable tickets to attract a wider audience.