Distinguished Jury For Final

For Piano

Gabriel Kwok was born in Hong Kong and studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Guy Jonson and later with Louis Kentner in London. He has been Head of Keyboard Studies at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts since 1989. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London, he is Visiting Professor at the Shenzhen Arts School, Xian Conservatory of Music, Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Wuhan Conservatory of Music and China Conservatory of Music in China. He has served on the faculty of the Cliburn Piano Institute (USA), International Institute for Young Musicians (USA), Colburn Academy Festival (USA), Chetham¡¦s International Piano Summer School (UK), Beijing International Music Festival and Academy (China), Beijing International Piano Festival (China), Shanghai International Piano Festival (China), Singapore International Piano Institute (Singapore), Asia International Piano Academy and Festival (Korea) and Tel-Hai International Piano Master Classes (Israel).He has given masterclasses at the Central Conservatory of Music (Beijing), Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Royal Academy of Music (London), Royal College of Music (London), Royal Northern College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Hannover Hochschule fur Musik und Theater, Rotterdam Conservatorium, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Queensland Conservatorium of Music, University of Auckland, University of British Columbia, Carnegie Mellon University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, University of Kansas, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Peabody Institute, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Temple University, Texas Christian University and The Yale School of Music as well as classes in Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and Portugal.Gabriel Kwok has been a jury member of many international competitions including the Asia Mozart Bicentenary, Rome, Vianna da Motta, Gina Bachauer, Hong Kong, China, Missouri Southern, Hilton Head, Minnesota Piano-e, Darmstadt Chopin, Japan PTNA, Rio de Janerio BNDES, Singapore Chopin, James Mottram and Asia Chopin International Piano Competitions.He has collaborated with many distinguished artists in concerts, among whom were Pierre Amoyal, Alexander Ballie, Siegfried Behrend, Alan Civil, Eugene Fodor, Lu Siqing, Albert Markov, Yuri Mazurkevich, Clarence Myerscough, Roberta Peters, Qian Zhou, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Jenny Ren, Aaron Rosand, Nathaniel Rosen, Rohan de Saram, Hansjoerg Schellenberger, Jeffrey Solow, Leon Spierer, Richard Stolzman, Wang Jian and Xue Wei. He has also been an Artist-in-Residence for Radio Television Hong Kong.

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.

Professor Eleanor Wong began her musical studies in Hong Kong with Betty Drown and later as an Associated Board Scholar at the Royal Academy of Music, London with Frederic Jackson and Max Pirani .Besides winning numerous prizes and awards, Eleanor was one the few students graduated with both the Graduate Diploma (G.R.S.M), and the Recital Diploma as well as top honours: the Walter Macfarren Gold medal and Majorie Whyte Memorial Award for the most outstanding students. After winning the coveted Boise Scholarship ,Eleanor studied in Paris with Vlado Perlemuter and later in New York with Artur Balsam.

Winner of silver medal at the Viotti International Competition Italy, Professor Wong broadcasted on RTHK (Hong Kong), WNYC (New York), BBC (UK), and overseas services.As a soloist she has given recitals extensively in the United Kingdom (including the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room in London)in Hong Kong and the United States ,as a Piano Duo with her sister they have performed together in Hong Kong , in cities of China and in the States.

Professor Wong is recognized as one of the foremost piano pedagogues with many of her pupils winning top prizes in international piano competitions. Being one of the most sought-after teachers, Professor Wong frequently hosted lectures and workshops on Piano Pedagogy and has given master-classes in China, Korea , Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Uruguay, South Africa ,England and USA. She is also a frequent member of jury in various international piano competitions and festivals.

Presently, Professor Wong is an Artist in Residence and Senior Lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She is also a visiting professor at the Shenzhen School of Arts and Wuhan Music Conservatory, and an honorary professor of the Tianjin Music Conservatory. She is a Steinway Artist, Co-Director of the Hong Kong Summer Music, and the Chairperson of the Piano Teachers’ Association in Hong Kong and Artistic Advisor of The Dalcroze Society of Hong Kong. She has served as Advisors for the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (ADC), Trinity Guildhall music exam (Hong Kong) .In 2008, Professor Wong was elected one of 2007 Outstanding Leaders by Singtao Daily in Hong Kong for her contributions to the musical world.In 2013 Professor Wong was awarded the Hong Kong Women of Excellence in the Six Arts for her work in field of Music by the Hong Kong Federation of Women.

For Strings

A native of Hong Kong, Andrew Ling is currently the principal violist of the HK Phil. He has performed solo performances with the HK Phil to critical acclaim. In the past, he had assumed the role of concertmaster at the Indiana University (IU) Concert Orchestra, the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, and the principal violist of the IU Philharmonic Orchestra.Ling began studying violin at the age of six under the tutelage of the late Professor Lin Yaoji of the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing. As a child, he toured around the world as a violin soloist. He has also collaborated with the HK Phil, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the China Film Philharmonic Orchestra, and has given recitals in Hong Kong, the North America and Europe.He is an active chamber musician, having performed with Cho-Liang Lin, Jaime Laredo, Trey Lee, the Shanghai String Quartet and has been invited as a guest artist at the Chamber Residency of Banff Centre in Canada and the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival.A dedicated music educator, Ling has directed The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Orchestral Fellowship Scheme as well as been invited to teach at the NTSO Youth Music Camp in Taiwan. He is currently an adjunct faculty member of the Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Ling completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the Indiana University, and has studied at Rice University in Houston. He has had a broad musical education having studied with Henry Kowalski, Ik-Hwan Bae, Alan de Veritch and Cho-Liang Lin.

Born in Guilin, China, Jing Wang began playing violin at the age of three; he made his first public appearance three years later in Marseille, France and his concerto debut aged nine with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Canada. Subsequent engagements have taken him across North America and Europe and include concerto appearances with the Czech Radio Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony, Montreal Symphony and Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal. Jing Wang has given solo recitals and chamber music performances at prestigious venues including the National Arts Center in Ottawa and throughout Canada where his performances are frequently broadcast on CBC Radio-Canada.

Jing Wang has been the recipient of numerous competition prizes including the Irving M. Klein International Competition (First Prize – 2007), Concertino Praga (First Prize – 2000), Montreal Symphony Competition (First Prize – 1998) and the Canadian Music Competition (First Prize – 1997). In addition he was awarded the “Young Soloist of the Year” (2003) by Les Radios Francophones Publiques, a broadcast network of four countries including France, Canada, Switzerland and Belgium. This award sponsored the release of his first CD album including works by Beethoven, Ravel and Gershwin.

Resident in Dallas from the 2010/11 concert season Jing Wang held the position of Concertmaster for the Dallas Opera for three years. Active on the Dallas music scene he co-founded Ensemble75 – a chamber music series featuring young Texas Artists at the Steinway Hall, Dallas. Other commitments included Concertmaster for the Dallas Chamber Symphony, Guest Concertmaster for the Kansas City and the San Antonio Symphony Orchestras as well as Fort Worth Opera and regular invitations to play with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Jing Wang studied at the Juilliard School as a Joseph Fuchs Scholar and completed post-graduate studies at the Shepherd School of Music (Rice University). He studied violin and chamber music as well as participating in masterclasses held by Zakar Bron, Zvi Zeitlin and Pinchas Zukerman. Jing Wang took up the position of Concertmaster with the HK Phil in September 2013 at the invitation of Maestro Jaap van Zweden. He plays a 1700 violin by Giovanni Tononi on loan from the Canada Council of Arts Rare Strings International Collection.

Professor Ray Wang, who is currently serving as Head of Junior Music Department and Senior Lecturer (Strings) at the HKAPA joined the Academy in 1994. He has performed throughout the musical centers and festivals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. His performances have taken him also to Chicago, Cremona, Florence, London, Luxembourg, New York, Saarbrucken, Segovia and Vancouver.
He is an active chamber musician, and is a founding member of the Hong Kong Virtuosi, Canzone Trio and New Art String Quartet in Hong Kong; which received support from the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Music Fund and Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

He wahttp://www.hkgna.com/s previously a music faculty member of the Baptist University and Chinese University of Hong Kong; other teaching activities included Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Australia, Fu Jen Catholic University of Taiwan and Wuhan Conservatory, Xinghai Conservatory, Central Conservatory of Music in China.

His students have enjoyed a wide range of successful careers in music, and have won top prizes in such cello competitions as the 1994 International Heran Violoncello Competition, the 2001 Hong Kong Competition for Young Asian Musicians, the 2002 International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians as well as the National Cello Competition of China in 1997, 2000 and 2004.

Distinguished Jury For Semi-Final

For Piano

Originally from Taiwan, Evelyn Chang was invited to play at the Buckingham Palace at the age of 17 whilst studying at The Purcell School of Music. Later she graduated from the Royal College of Music studying under the late Irina Zaritskaya and Andrew Ball supported by the Russell Gandler Award and St. Martyn’s scholarship. In 2004 she made her debut at London’s South Bank Centre, followed by concert invitations in the UK, Europe and Asia. Evelyn’s recording with violist Maxim Rysanov on Avie label received many awards and was picked as Editor’s Choice by Gramophone, BBC Music and Muzik Magazine. Since then, she has collaborated with numerous international artists such as Douglas Boyd, David Cohen, Cho-Liang Lin and Jian Wang. Evelyn’s passion is in chamber music and contemporary works. After spending 18 years in the UK, she now resides in Hong Kong under government’s Quality Migrant Scheme. In additional to performing, she teaches at The University of Hong Kong. Evelyn is a Steinway Artist.

Since his televised début with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of six, Hong Kong-born pianist Warren Lee was destined for a lifelong career in music, both on and off the stage. The South China Morning Post wrote after his performance with the Macau Chamber Orchestra in 1988, “Warren Lee’s performance bore out the insight… that exceptional artists are not so much people to be praised as phenomena to be treasured, bearers of a power altogether greater than the poor vessels that contain it.” His life as a child prodigy was documented on Hong Kong Television Broadcasts’ “Sunday’s File” in 1993, which has become a teaching reference on “gifted education” in universities.Graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and Yale School of Music with the highest of honours, Warren was the first-prize winner of the 1995 Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition and the “Grand Prix Ivo Pogorelich”, following which he made his European début at the Pogorelich Festival in Germany at the age of 18.Hailed by The Strait Times as a musician with “superb pianism… a wonderful sense of colour and impeccably controlled articulation”, Warren’s artistry has brought him to concert stages in four continents, gracing stages of all sizes and forms, and in collaboration with leading artists in the region. In recognition of his achievements in the performing arts and contribution to the community, Warren received the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award in Hong Kong in 2012.A Steinway Artist, Warren has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras of the region including the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Shenzhen Philharmonic and Macau Orchestras, just to name a few. As a recording artist, his maiden solo album, “From Bach To Gershwin” on Universal Music (Hong Kong), was lauded by the Audio Land Magazine as a “successful album that Hong Kong can be proud of.” Celebrating his decade-long collaboration with clarinetist Andrew Simon, their recent release of “Ebony and Ivory” also garnered favourable reviews worldwide. Over the course of two decades, Warren has also made over a dozen recordings for his hometown classical music station, RTHK Radio 4 where he had served as its Artist-in-Residence in consecutive years.

Warren devotes much of his time off the stage advancing various education initiatives. Currently the Music Director of St. Paul’s Co-educational College and Primary School, he co-currently serves as a guest professor of the Central Conservatory of Music EOS Orchestra Academy, the Hong Kong Representative of Royal Academy of Music, as well as an adjunct faculty or visiting artist in various universities in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and United Kingdom.Drawing inspiration from his work with the choirs of St. Paul’s, Warren has lately become an award-winning and internationally published composer, whose works are published in Hong Kong, Germany and the United States. Warren holds an MBA degree from HKUST and is an elected member of the Beta Gamma Sigma. When he finds time, he extends his reach in education to the field of business academia by being a business case writer for HKUST.

Hailed as “an artist of intense passion and profound sincerity,” pianist Michelle Kim has captivated audiences for her unique blend of pianistic power, poetry and stage presence.She has performed solo recitals and concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Caramoor, LACMA, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Sejong Cultural Center. and the Hong Kong Cultural Center. She’s performed as soloist with numerous orchestras including the New Jersey Symphony, Brevard Music Festival Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Bangor Symphony, Paducah Symphony, Ridgefield Symphony, Reading Symphony, Lima Symphony, Flagler Symphony, Brooklyn Symphony, Xiamen Philharmonic, and the Orchestra del Teatro Massimo di Catania, among others. Ms. Kim’s performances have been televised in South Korea, Italy and the United States, and broadcast on radio stations in New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Palm Beach, National Public Radio and WQXR.In 2009, pianist Michelle Kim founded Hong Kong Generation Next Arts (HKGNA), a registered Hong Kong Charity dedicated to supporting next generation young artists and transforming lives through music. In 2011, HKGNA was awarded “Hong Kong & Shenzhen Charity of the Year Award” by the Southern Metropolis Daily for being an advocate for culture and performing arts and promoting youth development in Hong Kong. In 2013, Ms. Kim was featured as one of the “Inspiring Women of Hong Kong” in the October 2013 Anniversary Issue of Marie Claire for her charity work in Hong Kong.

Ms. Kim began her musical studies at age four. At age ten, she gave her orchestral debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. She graduated from The Juilliard School where she earned her Bachelors and Masters of Music and was recipient of the Arthur Rubinstein Award. Ms. Kim garnered top prizes in national and international competitions including the Leschetizky Piano Competition, the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition and the Vincenzo Bellini International Piano Competition. Ms.Kim makes her home in Hong Kong with her husband Thomas and her son, Max.

Graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Royal Academy of Music in London, Julie is currently a piano faculty member at Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Chinese University and the Baptist University. She is also the new hostess in a series of talk and demonstration on the ABRSM piano examinations at the RTHK radio 4.

Apart from giving lectures, masterclasses and acting as jury in many piano competitions, Julie also leads an active career in performance and composition. She formed the “HK Duo” (www.hkduo.com or hkduo2000 at Youtube) in 2000 giving local and overseas concerts. She had also appeared as Artist-in-Residence in the RTHK Radio 4 and the TV series, ‘Music and Beyond’. In 2007, she was commissioned by the local government to arrange a Chinese composition for ten pianists on ten pianos in the Dragon Jamboree concert celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the return of sovereignty. Her composition, “Tableau for 48 hands” for 24 pianists on 4 pianos, became one of the top 10 headlines of the Fine Music Magazine in 2008. In 2009, she was commissioned to compose for the 40th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Children’s Choir and the 20th Anniversary of the Cultural Centre. In 2010, her “Mahjong on Stage!” for 4 pianists on 4 pianos synchronizing with video clips on mahjong game attracted much attention from the press and the audience. She was then featured as one of the Hong Kong Ten Young Musicians in the i-cable TV “Close to Culture”.

Julie’s publications include lecture demonstration dvd on the 62nd Hong Kong Music Festival piano competition repertoire published under Brio, piano duo CD album “In a glimpse” published under Tammy Records, and piano duo composition “Nocturne” published under H’ing Publishing.

For Strings

William Lane performed as a soloist, orchestral player and chamber musician all over Australasia, Asia, Europe and North America. He studied under Jan Sedivka (Australia), Bruno Giuranna (Italy) and Garth Knox (France), as well as in Germany at the International Ensemble Modern Akademie, and in Switzerland at the Lucerne Festival Academy under Pierre Boulez.He was Principal Viola of Ensemble Resonanz, a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and guest violist of Ensemble Modern, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and the Lucerne Festival Strings. He is currently a member of the Anonymous Quartet (Hong Kong), and is Founder/Artistic Director of the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. He has taught at universities in Australia, the U.S.A, the U.K, Mexico, Ireland and China.

Praised by music critics, clarinetist Seunghee Lee has been reviewed as a “brilliant clarinetist” by the Fanfare Magazine, and the Clarinet Magazine of the International Clarinet Association has recognized her as “an uncompromising soloist destined to be an upcoming contender of top stature”. Upon release of her debut album “Brava” with Summit Records, captured by multi-Grammy award winning producer and recording engineer, Joanna Nickrenz and Marc Aubort of NYC, Seunghee was featured as one of the “Top 30 Classical Stars Under 30″ by KDFC, San Francisco’s classical radio station. After some time off from music, Seunghee returned back to recording and produced her second CD, “Embrace” which climbed HMV Classical Charts in Hong Kong to #4! Her new found passion and inspiration comes from broadening the limited clarinet repertoire by arranging beautiful classical pieces for the clarinet and piano. Seunghee’s third CD production entitled, “Hidden Treasures” is soon to be released.Seunghee is the recipient of numerous competitions and awards, including First Prize at both the International Clarinet Association Competition and the Saint Louis Symphony Young Artist Competition, judged by Leonard Slatkin, the Yale University Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition, the Music Academy of the West Concerto Competition, and Yale’s Charles Ives Scholarship.At the 2013 International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest, held in the mesmerizing city of Assisi, Italy, Seunghee premiered some of her own arrangements including Brahms Poco Allegretto from the Symphony No.3 and Chopin Nocturne in C minor for clarinet and piano. Seunghee received her Bachelor’s degree from Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Charles Neidich and earned her Master’s degree and the Artist Diploma at Yale University with David Shifrin.

Praised by music critics, clarinetist Seunghee Lee has been reviewed as a “brilliant clarinetist” by the Fanfare Magazine, and the Clarinet Magazine of the International Clarinet Association has recognized her as “an uncompromising soloist destined to be an upcoming contender of top stature”. Upon release of her debut album “Brava” with Summit Records, captured by multi-Grammy award winning producer and recording engineer, Joanna Nickrenz and Marc Aubort of NYC, Seunghee was featured as one of the “Top 30 Classical Stars Under 30″ by KDFC, San Francisco’s classical radio station. After some time off from music, Seunghee returned back to recording and produced her second CD, “Embrace” which climbed HMV Classical Charts in Hong Kong to #4! Her new found passion and inspiration comes from broadening the limited clarinet repertoire by arranging beautiful classical pieces for the clarinet and piano. Seunghee’s third CD production entitled, “Hidden Treasures” is soon to be released.Seunghee is the recipient of numerous competitions and awards, including First Prize at both the International Clarinet Association Competition and the Saint Louis Symphony Young Artist Competition, judged by Leonard Slatkin, the Yale University Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition, the Music Academy of the West Concerto Competition, and Yale’s Charles Ives Scholarship.At the 2013 International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest, held in the mesmerizing city of Assisi, Italy, Seunghee premiered some of her own arrangements including Brahms Poco Allegretto from the Symphony No.3 and Chopin Nocturne in C minor for clarinet and piano. Seunghee received her Bachelor’s degree from Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Charles Neidich and earned her Master’s degree and the Artist Diploma at Yale University with David Shifrin.

Euna Kim was born in Seoul, Korea and studied violin and chamber music in Korea and Germany. Her teachers included Professors Nam-Yun Kim, Zahkar Bron, Walrei Gradow and Anthony Spiri. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the School of Music at the Korean National University of Arts, a Diploma in Violin Performance and Chamber Music from the Kolner Musikhochschule in Germany and a Konzertexamen from the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim.Following her solo debut at the age of 14 with the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, Euna became a fellowship student at the National Theatre Mannheim and a member of the Jeunesse World Orchestra.Euna has won first prize at numerous competitions in her native Korea. Then in 2003 she received First Prize as a chamber musician at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition in Germany. She has given solo and chamber music recitals at the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Schloss Albrechtsberg in Dresden, Beethoven String Trio Abend in Ratingen in Germany and several other occasions in Europe and China. Between 2009 and 2010 she performed at the concerts “Complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin” in Seoul, Korea.Euna has performed as soloist with the Seoul Chamber Orchestra, the Seoul Academy Symphony Orchestra, and the Korean Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed at the Bowdoin Music Festival in the USA, The Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland, the Gaida Contemporary Music Festival in Lithuania, the Berlin Music Festival “Crescendo” and the Niedersachsen International Chamber Music Festival in Germany. In 2011 she appeared at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, New Stage Series.

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 and Young San Art Halls in Seoul and City hall in Hong Kong. Ms. Park was also invited to be a jury member at the VIMC Vienna International Music Competition.

Ms. Park studied at The Juilliard School and later on graduated from the Manhattan School of Music, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under the guidance of Paul Tobias, Zara Nelsova, Myung Wha Chung and Ardyth Alton. While attending at Manhattan School, Ms. Park had the honor to be recipient of the President Marta Istomin Award and the Hans & Klara Bauer Cello Scholarship. Her chamber music coaches were Jerry Grossman, Nathaniel Rosen, Yehuda Hanani and Alan Stepansky as well as members of the Guarneri, American & Vermeer String Quartets.

Ms. Park participated in the music festivals of The International Symphony Orchestra, Israel, The National Orchestra Institute (MD) and National Repertory Orchestra (CO) among others. As a recitalist, chamber musician and soloist, 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.

Si Won Park is a prizewinner of other competitions including the Weschester SUNY of 1992 Korean Monthly Music Magazine Competition of 1989 and the Youth String Orchestra Competition of 1987.

Currently, she is a member of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Bauhinia Piano Trio. She is also a faculty member of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and teaches at the Hong Kong International School.

A native of Israel, Mr. 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 and a few Concertos in USA, Hong Kong, Korea and Israel. Mr. Yehudayan was also invited to play solo at the main event of the World Peace Festival 2005 in Korea in which all proceeds from the festival were donated to Unicef. Past few years’ projects 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 CD of the year 2008″ and “The Best Light Music Album of the year 2008″ by the Radio Guangdong “Voice of the City.” The second CD “Surprise – Happy Birthday” was awarded the “Best CD of 2009″ by Canton Radio. This is one of the biggest awards in China which incorporates playing, music selection and arrangements. Mr. Yehudayan also gave master classes in Indiana University and California, and was a jury member at the International Vienna Music Competition and Hong Kong Bauhinia Cup Strings Competition 2012.

Mr. Yehudayan received his Bachelor of Music Degree and Artist Diploma in the Faculty of Performing Arts from the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance. There he studied violin and viola with Prof. Samuel Bernstein, a renowned teacher and the first mentor of Gil Shaham. He had the honor to be the first and only Israeli student to be sent to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia from which he received a diploma under the guidance of Yuri Bashmet and Prof. Fiodor 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.

Mr. Yehudayan was a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong String Quartet between 1995-2001. He participated in the Geneva Competition in 1992 and was a prizewinner of many competitions in Israel. He has performed many recitals in Israel, America and Europe, and recorded for Israeli National Radio & RTHK (Radio 4) in Hong Kong.

Mr. Yehudayan is the violist of the Pure Strings Ensemble and Orchestra and Strings Director at Hong Kong International School since 2000.