Yuen Yum is internationally regarded as an outstanding educator of young players in individual, group and large ensemble training. She has much to offer aspiring musicians, starting where they are and developing musical proficiency, a love for playing and providing rewarding learning and performing experiences.

A native of Israel, Meidad Yehudayan performs around the world as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He recently performed at the International Chamber Music Festival of Ameropa in the Czech Republic, FOOSA String Festival in California and a few concertos in the USA, Hong Kong, Korea and Israel. His projects in the past few years include solo and chamber music concerts with members of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Hamburg Symphony, as well as CD recordings with Hong Kong Pure Strings. The first CD, Popsinera, was awarded “The 10 Hottest CDs of the Year 2008” and “The Best Light Music Album of the Year 2008” by Radio Guangdong’s Voice of the City. The second CD Surprise – Happy Birthday was awarded the “Best CD of 2009” by Radio Guangdong. This is one of the biggest awards in China which takes playing, music selection and arrangements into consideration. As a soloist, he was invited to play at the main event of the World Peace Festival 2005 in Korea, where all proceeds were donated to UNICEF.

Yehudayan has given masterclasses at Indiana University in the USA, and was a jury member at the International Vienna Music Competition, HKGNA competitions, Hong Kong Bauhinia Cup Strings Competitions, and Hong Kong International Violin Competition. He was a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong String Quartet between 1995-2001. A prizewinner of many competitions in Israel, he has performed many recitals in Israel, America and Europe, and has recorded for Israeli National Radio & RTHK Radio 4 in Hong Kong.

Yehudayan received his Bachelor of Music Degree and Artist Diploma in the Faculty of Performing Arts at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, where he studied violin and viola with Samuel Bernstein, a renowned teacher and the first mentor of Gil Shaham. He had the honour to be the first and only Israeli student to be sent to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia, where he received a diploma under the guidance of Yuri Bashmet and Fyodor Druzhinin. Subsequently, he acquired his Master of Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Michael Tree, violist of the Guarneri String Quartet, and Pinchas Zukerman.

Yehudayan is the current violist of the Pure Strings Ensemble, and has been Orchestra and Strings Director at Hong Kong International School since 2000.

A native of Seoul, Korea, Ms. Park won the 1997 Artist International Competition and was presented as the Recipient of The Special Presentation Award in her New York Recital Debut at Carnegie Hall.

Her solo appearances include performances of the Haydn and Saint-Saens Concertos in Carnegie Hall, New York and in Korea, as well as the Brahms Double Concerto in Hong Kong and Korea. Recent recitals took her to Kumho, Cosmos, Young San Art Halls, Sejong concert hall and Perigee hall in Seoul as well as City hall and Korean Cultural Centre in Hong Kong. Ms. Park was also invited to be a jury member at the VIMC Vienna, Tom Lee and HKGNA International Music Competitions.

Ms. Park studied at The Juilliard School and later graduated from the Manhattan School of Music, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She also attended the Doctor of Music program at Rutgers University and had the honor to be a recipient of the Marta Istomin Award.

Ms. Park has performed in Asia, Europe and the U.S.A. She gave quartet recital at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, played in Musicarama – the International Contemporary Music Festival Concerts and recorded for RTHK (Radio 4) in Hong Kong. SiWon Park is a prizewinner of other competitions including the Weschester SUNY, Korean Monthly Music Magazine Competition and the Youth String Orchestra Competition.

Currently, she is a member of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

Sheryl is one of Greater China’s most well respected and accomplished creatives, with a multi-faceted career as a senior music executive, educator and international acclaimed pianist.

Sheryl began her piano studies at the age of four with Katherine Lu and subsequently with Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. She gave her professional debut with the Utah Symphony at age 13 under the baton of the late Joseph Silverstein and was admitted to the prestigious Juilliard School in New York the following year. At the invitation of the late Maria Curcio, Sheryl moved to study with her in London in 1995. She has garnered international acclaim and awards for her solo, orchestral and chamber music performances across Asia, Europe and North America. She received her education at Yale University under the tutelage of Peter Frankl with the support of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund and New York University. Other notable teachers include John Perry, Eduardus Halim, Marc Durand and Christopher Elton.

Sheryl was previously on faculty at Chinese University Hong Kong, New York University and New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program. She is an honorary Artist-In-Residence at the Education University of Hong Kong through 2025.

Sheryl was the Executive Director of the Haw Par Music Foundation, which oversaw the adaptive reuse of Haw Par Mansion, accorded as Grade 1 heritage building by the HKSAR Government. Other positions held include General Manager of Naxos Records, Artistic Development Manager at the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and Marketing Director at Carl Fischer Music Publishing in New York. She currently serves as Council Member of the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Board of Directors for the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and the Hong Kong Fringe Club, Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music & Dance Fund Awardees Association and Board Governor of the Music Children Foundation, a charitable organization with a social mission providing free music education to underprivileged families.

Johnny Poon stands at the vanguard of classical music and interdisciplinary research as a conductor and visionary academic leader.

Poon has led orchestras across the world’s most prestigious stages, appearing regularly in concert halls and festivals including Isaac Stern Auditorium, Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; Glinka Cappella Hall, Novgorod Philharmonic Hall, and Gnessin Institute of Arts in Russia; National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, China; Opera festival di Roma in Italy, Harlaxton International Music Festival, Manhattan-Hong Kong Music Festival, and Hong Kong Arts Festival. He has conducted such ensembles as Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg State Capella Orchestra, Sudestdeutsche Philharmonie, Kammarkoren Svenska Roster, Kammerchor Stuttgart, Slezske Divadlo Opava, Opera Hong Kong Orchestra, Sinfonica dell’ international Chamber Ensemble, New England Symphonic Ensemble, Taiwan Baroque Camerata, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Poon has collaborated with artists, including Anne Akiko Meyers, Ryu Goto, Mengla Huang, Dan Zhu, Simone Lamsma, Nicole Cabell, Liping Zhang, Valentina Lisitsa, Andrew von Oeyen, Bart van Oort, Petra Somlai, Carole Cerasi, Mahan Esfahani, and Melvyn Tan. In addition, Poon directs the esteemed chamber ensemble Collegium Musicum Hong Kong.

Praised for its imaginative programming and flair, the group has earned acclaim as one of Hong Kong’s most dynamic chamber orchestras. Its artistry stems from Poon’s unique approach in programe curation, deftly blending traditional 17th and 18th century repertoire with contemporary classical compositions.

Beyond conducting, Poon champions ground-breaking research transcending traditional boundaries. Currently Associate Vice-President (Interdisciplinary Research) at Hong Kong Baptist University, he oversees three interdisciplinary clusters and six pioneering labs investigating new frontiers in science, technology and the arts. His own work focuses on inventive interdisciplinary projects that expand the future of creative practice. One major contribution was his rediscovery and modern adaptation of an 18th-century opera by Antonio Caldara, Le Cinesi, delivering the first performance edition since its 1735 premiere. Poon further reimagined this centuries-old work through an innovative performance model incorporating music, dance, theater, visual media and artificial intelligence. As co-founder of the pioneering Turing AI Orchestra, Poon spearheads radical human-AI collaboration in the arts. This singular ensemble leverages science and technology to advance creative artificial intelligence in the arts to new heights.

With his commitment to musical excellence and interdisciplinary innovation, Poon has established himself as an influential conductor, researcher and academic leader. His dedication to pushing boundaries, whether on stage or in the laboratory, expands the landscape of classical music and creative practice as a whole. Poon’s leadership and collaborations continue to shape the future of arts research and performance.

Jeremy Williams is currently Music Director at Yew Chung Education Foundation.

Jeremy began his career as a violinist with the London Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the Delme Quartet and Nash Ensemble, playing regularly with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the London Sinfonietta.

As violinist with the York Trio and violist with the Beethoven String Trio of London, he featured regularly on BBC broadcasts and made numerous recordings. Concert tours have taken him to major festivals all over the world including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Prague, Hong Kong and venues ranging from the Wigmore Hall, London, Sydney Opera House to the Forbidden City, Beijing.

In 1998 Jeremy was appointed Principal Viola with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and taught at the HK Academy for Performing Arts.Jeremy became a member of the Australian String Quartet in 2003 and in 2009 was appointed Lecturer in Chamber Music and Director of Strings at the University of Tasmania.

In 2015 Jeremy relocated to Hong Kong and in 2016 formed Hong Kong Camerata Strings, an ensemble for talented young string players.

Jeremy studied violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London with Yfrah Neaman and David Takeno.

Ms. Nancy Loo is one of Hong Kong’s most versatile artists, as pianist, radio programme host, actress and writer. She was a recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award in 1978. She currently teaches piano at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and The Chinese University of Hong Kong and is often invited to host music talks and master-classes and to serve as a juror for piano competitions.Ms. Loo is the presenter of a music programme Belle Nuit and Hong Kong’s only classical music radio show for children, Children’s Corner, on Radio 4 of Radio Television Hong Kong. She has participated in multi-media performances such as Kung Chi-shing’s M Garden, and in several drama productions. As a narrator, she has performed in Peter and the Wolf with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Barbar the Elephant and Carnival of the Animals with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and The Blue Planet LIVE with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a pianist, Ms. Loo has given solo recitals and performed with orchestras in England, Europe, North America and Asia. Locally, she has appeared in the Hong Kong Arts Festival and performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. In addition to founding the piano and woodwind sextet Les Six, she has also worked with numerous local and visiting artists in chamber music concerts. A keen promoter of contemporary music, she has participated in the annual Musicarama and the ISCM World Music Days Festival.

Ms. Loo attended the Juilliard School on scholarship, where she studied with Adele Marcus. After graduating with a Master’s degree, she studied with Vlado Perlemuter in Paris and Guido Agosti in Italy. She was first prizewinner at the Fourth Rina Sala Gallo International Competition in Monza in 1976 and has won many other international competitions, including the Marguerite Long International Competition in Paris.

She has played the piano part for the soundtrack of several Hong Kong films and television series. She has also published two books. Her recordings include a piano solo album of Christian music, Ambush and Moonlight on Spring River with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and piano works by local composers.

An internationally acclaimed pianist, educator and ambassador for the arts, Michelle Kim has performed in concert halls throughout the US, Europe and Asia including performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Caramoor, New Jersey Performing Art Center, Sejong Cultural Center, Hong Kong Cultural Center, LACMA and Chicago Cultural Center, among others. She has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras across the world including the New Jersey Symphony, the Brevard Music Festival Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic, the Xiamen Philharmonic, the Bergen Philharmonic, Bangor Symphony, Ridgefield Symphony, Reading Symphony Brooklyn Symphony, the Orchestra del Teatro Massimo di Catania, and many others. Her performances have been televised in the US, Europe and South Korea and broadcast on radio stations throughout the US and abroad.

An advocate for young artists and disadvantaged youth, Michelle is motivated by a profound belief in music’s power to transform lives. In 2009, she founded Hong Kong Generation Next Arts (HKGNA), a Hong Kong Charity dedicated to nurturing artistic excellence and personal success in young artists and changing lives through music. In 2011, she was awarded ‘a Hong Kong & Shenzhen Lifestyle Award’ by the Southern Metropolis Daily for being an ambassador for culture and performing arts and promoting youth development in Hong Kong. Featured as one of the “Inspiring Women of Hong Kong” in the October 2013 Anniversary Issue of Marie Claire, she has performed numerous concerts to raise money for Hong Kong Charities including performances with violinist Lu Siqing at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and “Concert of Power” with renowned evangelist and motivational speaker, Nick Vujicic. Michelle was invited to speak at TEDxWanchai and shared a talk “Finding the True Gift of Music.” She was also invited by Humanitarian Affairs, UK, in partnership with the Hong Kong Government to speak at the 6th University Scholars Leadership Symposium, which was attended by over 700 student leaders representing 69 different countries. Recently, Ms. Kim received the 2020 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award from the South Korean Government for her dedication and contribution to Korean classical  music abroad and enhancement of the reputation of Korea.

Born in Seoul Korea, Ms. Kim began her musical training at age four. At age ten, she gave her orchestral debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. She went on to graduate from The Juilliard School earning both a Bachelors and Masters of Music. She was also the recipient of the prestigious Arthur Rubinstein Award and garnered top prizes in numerous international competitions.

Currently Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, James Cuddeford has emerged as one of Australia’s leading musicians. After commencing his musical studies at age seven, Cuddeford won a full scholarship at age 12 to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England. He continued his studies in performance at the Royal Northern College of Music and composition at the University of Manchester. His principal teachers were Yehudi Menuhin in violin, and Karlheinz Stockhausen and György Kurtág in composition. He has won prizes in a series of important competitions including the first prize in the 1996 Charles Hennen International Competition in Holland.

Cuddeford has performed extensively around the world as both soloist and chamber musician. He has frequently appeared at major international festivals in many of the world’s most prestigious halls. As a chamber musician, James has collaborated with artists such as John Lill, Charles Rosen, Stephen Kovacevich, Cristina Ortiz, Michael Collins, Heinz Holliger, Yehudi Menuhin, Bruno Giuranna, Pieter Wispelwey and Michel Dalberto. He has performed concertos with orchestras including the Camerata Lysy Switzerland, BBC Scottish National, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Jena Philharmonic Germany, Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.

As a highly active and renowned interpreter of contemporary music, Cuddeford has worked with and premiered the music of many of the most important composers of our time, including violin works by Brett Dean, György Kurtág, Roger Smalley and Harrison Birtwistle. At age 15, he was the youngest finalist in the BBC Young Composer of the Year, and the following year the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned and premiered his first major orchestral work. His compositions have also been performed, recorded and broadcast in Europe, North America and Asia by groups such as the Nash Ensemble, Australian String Quartet, Ensemble Offspring and Psappha Ensemble. His music is represented by the Australian Music Centre.

Cuddeford joined the internationally acclaimed Australian String Quartet in 1998, and has directed from the violin many orchestras in Australia, Japan and Europe. Cuddeford lectured in violin at both the Elder Conservatorium and the Australian Institute of Music, and has given masterclasses at many major institutions around the world. He has recorded for ABC Classics, Tall Poppies, Melba Recordings and Toccata Classics and plays on a violin made by Nicolò Gagliano in 1769.

Sheryl is one of Greater China’s most well respected and accomplished creatives, with a multi-faceted career as a senior music executive, educator and international acclaimed pianist.

Sheryl began her piano studies at the age of four with Katherine Lu and subsequently with Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. She gave her professional debut with the Utah Symphony at age 13 under the baton of the late Joseph Silverstein and was admitted to the prestigious Juilliard School in New York the following year. At the invitation of the late Maria Curcio, Sheryl moved to study with her in London in 1995. She has garnered international acclaim and awards for her solo, orchestral and chamber music performances across Asia, Europe and North America. She received her education at Yale University under the tutelage of Peter Frankl with the support of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund and New York University. Other notable teachers include John Perry, Eduardus Halim, Marc Durand and Christopher Elton.

Sheryl was previously on faculty at Chinese University Hong Kong, New York University and New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program. She is an honorary Artist-In-Residence at the Education University of Hong Kong through 2025.

Sheryl was the Executive Director of the Haw Par Music Foundation, which oversaw the adaptive reuse of Haw Par Mansion, accorded as Grade 1 heritage building by the HKSAR Government. Other positions held include General Manager of Naxos Records, Artistic Development Manager at the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and Marketing Director at Carl Fischer Music Publishing in New York. She currently serves as Council Member of the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Board of Directors for the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and the Hong Kong Fringe Club, Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music & Dance Fund Awardees Association and Board Governor of the Music Children Foundation, a charitable organization with a social mission providing free music education to underprivileged families.

Ilari Kaila is a Finnish-American composer who has written chamber, orchestral, vocal, and stage music. He joins the faculty of HKUST from New York where he has worked at Columbia University and Stony Brook University (State University of New York), teaching harmony, counterpoint, musicianship, and post-tonal music analysis, and as a teaching artist in composition with the New York Philharmonic. Kaila received his PhD in Music Composition in 2011 from Stony Brook University, New York, having previously studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.  

His work has been presented by the MATA Festival in New York City, including the inaugural composer portrait concert in the MATA Continued series; as the Composer-in-Residence of the Chelsea Music Festival in New York and Taipei; at the American Music Festival in Albany; the Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong; the Metropolis Festival in Australia; the Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival in Canada; and the New York International Fringe Festival. Artists and ensembles Kaila has worked with include the Escher String Quartet, Aizuri Quartet, Tanglewood New Fromm Players, Alcott Trio, Kamus Quartet, Uusinta Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Emil Holmström, Melinda Masur, Rachel Cheung, Olli Mustonen, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Avanti Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Joensuu Symphony Orchestra, Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra’s chamber ensembles. An album of Kaila’s chamber music, recorded by the Aizuri Quartet and pianist Adrienne Kim, was released on the Innova Recordings label in March 2020. 

An internationally acclaimed pianist, educator and ambassador for the arts, Michelle Kim has performed in concert halls throughout the US, Europe and Asia including performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Caramoor, New Jersey Performing Art Center, Sejong Cultural Center, Hong Kong Cultural Center, LACMA and Chicago Cultural Center, among others. She has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras across the world including the New Jersey Symphony, the Brevard Music Festival Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic, the Xiamen Philharmonic, the Bergen Philharmonic, Bangor Symphony, Ridgefield Symphony, Reading Symphony Brooklyn Symphony, the Orchestra del Teatro Massimo di Catania, and many others. Her performances have been televised in the US, Europe and South Korea and broadcast on radio stations throughout the US and abroad.

An advocate for young artists and disadvantaged youth, Michelle is motivated by a profound belief in music’s power to transform lives. In 2009, she founded Hong Kong Generation Next Arts (HKGNA), a Hong Kong Charity dedicated to nurturing artistic excellence and personal success in young artists and changing lives through music. In 2011, she was awarded ‘a Hong Kong & Shenzhen Lifestyle Award’ by the Southern Metropolis Daily for being an ambassador for culture and performing arts and promoting youth development in Hong Kong. Featured as one of the “Inspiring Women of Hong Kong” in the October 2013 Anniversary Issue of Marie Claire, she has performed numerous concerts to raise money for Hong Kong Charities including performances with violinist Lu Siqing at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and “Concert of Power” with renowned evangelist and motivational speaker, Nick Vujicic. Michelle was invited to speak at TEDxWanchai and shared a talk “Finding the True Gift of Music.” She was also invited by Humanitarian Affairs, UK, in partnership with the Hong Kong Government to speak at the 6th University Scholars Leadership Symposium, which was attended by over 700 student leaders representing 69 different countries. Recently, Ms. Kim received the 2020 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award from the South Korean Government for her dedication and contribution to Korean classical  music abroad and enhancement of the reputation of Korea.

Born in Seoul Korea, Ms. Kim began her musical training at age four. At age ten, she gave her orchestral debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. She went on to graduate from The Juilliard School earning both a Bachelors and Masters of Music. She was also the recipient of the prestigious Arthur Rubinstein Award and garnered top prizes in numerous international competitions.