Music : Talent Shortage in China:

China is facing a musical talent shortage because top artists are leaving for foreign countries, an official daily paper reported Monday. The China Youth News said 470 musicians, mostly highly skilled professionals, have gone abroad at their own expense in the last decade. The newspaper implied that few are likely to return. The exodus includes musicians from the Central Conservatory of Music, the Central Ballet Ensemble, the Central Philharmonic Society and the Central Opera Theater. Most of the departing musicians are seeking to escape the restrictive atmosphere of being locked into one group or genre in favor of living where they have more freedom to express their musical talents, the newspaper said.