Chinese composer Sicong Ma studied the violin at conservatories in Nancy and possibly Paris before returning to China in 1929, briefly travelling back to France in 1930 for composition lessons. After a series of teaching and administrative appointments at Chinese conservatories, he was appointed head of the Central Conservatory (1950). Persecuted at the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution (1966), he fled to the USA, where he remained until his death. Though initially better known as a violinist than a composer, Ma wrote patriotic songs for use during the 1930s and 40s. Most of his large-scale pieces date from the central phase of his career in China. He was particularly active as an organizer in later years, working to develop the infrastructure for the development of Western-style composition and performance in China. In exile in America, he resumed his earlier concentration on composition.