Judges – Hong Kong Young Artists

Praised for her “flowing tones, poetic phrasing and heavenly singing melodies” (Cincinnati Inquirer), and “musical imagination and feel for complex textures that drew vivid images” (Washington Post), South Korean pianist Yoonie Han has won top prizes in distinguished international competitions and the highest accolades for her elegant performances in major concert halls around the world.

In 2009, Yoonie was honored with the Gawon Music Award as the “most brilliant pianist aged 17 to 31 of any nationality who possesses the most promising potential for global prominence.” She is the first-prize winner of the Washington International Piano Competition, Fulbright Concerto Competition, World Piano Competition, Kosciuszko Chopin Competition, Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Piano Competition, Juilliard’s Frederich Nordmann Piano Competition, Juilliard’s Chopin Piano Competition, Music Teachers’ National Association Piano Competition, and has garnered major prizes at the Helsinki Maj Lind International Piano Competition, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize, Concorso Pianistico Ettore Pozzoli Internaziole, Valencia-Paterna International Piano Competition, and Rencontre International Piano Competitions. Following her 2001 grand-prize award in the Korea National Music Competition, the Korean Ministry of Culture named her its “Most Promising Young Artist.” She is the recipient of “Brava!” award given by the Italian Academy Foundation, as well as an award from London Keyboard Trust.

Having made her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at Seoul Arts Center at age 13, Yoonie has since performed with the Berliner Symphoniker, Buffalo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Banff Festival Orchestra, Santa Cruz Symphony, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milan, Gangnam Symphony Orchestra of Korea, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, New Amsterdam Orchestra, Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, and Juilliard Symphony Orchestra. A graceful, sensitive, and powerful recitalist, Yoonie has played at such celebrated venues as at the Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Frick Collection, Symphony Space, Tanglewood Festival, Bergamo Festival in Italy, Salle Cortot in Paris, and Sejong Performing Arts Center in Korea. In 2012-13, with the supports from Fulbright Foundation, she toured major Steinway Halls in the U.S. and Europe.

Yoonie’s new release ‘Hollywood Romance’ (2020) is released on Universal Music Group features romantic piano music from Hollywood classic movies. She has recorded three albums with the Steinway Records. The first album ‘Love and Longing’ (2014) was “Album of the week” on WQXR and made the Top 21 on the Billboard Classical Chart. The second album, ‘Goyescas’ (2017) was released to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer, Enrique Granados. The third album presents the complete ‘Le Rossignol Éperdu’ (2019) by Reynaldo Hahn. Her previous album ‘Romantic Piano’ (2013) was released on Concert Artists Guild. A devoted chamber musician, she’s a founder and pianist at Gloriosa Piano Trio. The trio’s debut album (2019) was released on the Centaur Records label.

Yoonie received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, and her Doctorate from Stony Brook University. She was an Assistant Professor of Piano at Bilkent University in Turkey in 2015-18. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Istanbul International Piano Festival and Steinway Award in Turkey. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Piano at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Yoonie Han is a Steinway Artist.

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.

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.

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.

Simmone Bundy, originally from Jersey, Channel Islands, is no stranger to the stage having appeared in both Amateur and Professional performances alike including a leading role in Sir. Eric Chappell’s World Premiere ‘Summer End’ and as a ‘Joseph Child’ in Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group. She has also sung as a soloist for the Duke of Edinburgh and Sir David Wilcox and more recently at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing as part of a Celtic Celebration.

During her time in Wales, whilst studying for her Bachelor of Music Simmone was in the BBC series ‘Pushed to The Limits’ with Chris Ryan and was highly involved with the Young Welsh National Opera (WNO Max). Simmone studied singing under the direction of Tim Rhys Evans of the Welsh College of Music and Drama, who in recent years is best known as the founder and musical director of ‘Only Men Aloud!’, known for winning the hit BBC TV series ‘Last Choir Standing’. After completing Postgraduate studies in Music and Education, Simmone has taught in International Schools across the UK, Switzerland, Cairo and now Hong Kong.

Simmone is currently Head of Music and Choral Director at ESF’s South Island School and is a keen arranger, songwriter and composer in her spare time. She has had her music performed in the UK, USA and more locally in St. John’s Cathedral here in Hong Kong.

She has been an examiner for IBDP Music for over a decade and shared resources with some 180+ International schools worldwide in the last academic year and is delighted to be part of this year’s HKGNA festival.

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.

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 recognised as one of the foremost piano pedagogues with many of her pupils winning top prizes in international piano competitions including the Chopin International Piano Competition, the Van Cliburn, the Leeds, Gina Bachauer and the Casa. 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, Eleanor Wong is Professor of Music（Keyboard）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,

Professor Wong is  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. In 2014, Professor Wong received the Medal of Honour from the Hong Kong SAR Government, recognising her dedication and contribution to piano education and grooming of local young pianists. In 2018, Professor Wong was honoured with a Life Time Achievement Award in music education by the 5th Hong Kong International Music Festival.

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.

Critically acclaimed Canadian violinist Jing Wang is one of the most versatile and dynamic violinists of his generation. Since his solo recital debut in Marseilles, France at the age of six, Wang has garnered prizes in top international competitions, including the first prize at the 2007 Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition. In 2003, Wang was awarded the “Young Soloist of the Year” by Les Radios Francophones Publiques, a broadcast network of four countries including France, Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium. As a part of the award, Wang’s first CD album including works by Beethoven, Ravel and Gershwin was released in Europe.

Wang has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras in Europe and North America, including Czech Radio Philharmonic, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre National de Lorraine, l’Orchestre de Picardie, the Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He has played with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta and in November will perform with China Philharmonic under Maestro Osmo Vanska. He has collaborated with renowned conductors such as James DePreist, Claus Peter Flor, Yoav Talmi, Jacques Lacombe, Joseph Rescigno and Anne Manson.

Wang’s chamber music performances and solo recitals at major venues, such as National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Lincoln Center, received critical acclaim and his performances are heard frequently on CBC Radio-Canada. Additionally, Wang is one of the founding members of Ensemble75, a chamber music series based in Dallas, Texas.

Under Maestro Graeme Jenkins, Wang was the Concertmaster of the Dallas Opera from 2010-2013. He previously served as guest Concertmaster for the Kansas City Symphony under Maestro Michael Stern and the San Antonio Symphony under Maestro Sebastian Lang-Lessing. Appointed by Maestro Jaap van Zweden, Wang is currently Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic since 2013. He plays a 1760 G.B. Guadagnini violin, a loan arranged by the Y. S. Liu Foundation.

Ivan Chan was born in Hong Kong, where he received his early training with Thomas Wang. He made his debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic at the age of 13. Shortly thereafter, he continued his studies in the United States with Jascha Brodsky, David Cerone, Felix Galimir and Jaime Laredo at the Curtis Institute of Music, and with Miriam Fried at Indiana University.

Winner of the Julius Stulberg Auditions in 1985, Radio Television Hong Kong Young String Player of the Year award in 1985, Ima Hogg Young Artists Auditions in 1990, Bronze Medalist of the Indianapolis International Violin Competition in 1990 and Second Prize as well as Audience Prize winner at the Washington International Competition in 1991, Mr. Chan has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Detroit Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, New World Symphony, Houston Symphony and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. As a chamber musician, he toured regularly with “ Musicians from Marlboro” and has collaborated with artists such as Jaime Laredo, Gil Shaham, Pamela Frank, Garrick Ohlsson, Jeremy Denk, Cho-Liang Lin, Robert Chen, Hsin Yun Huang and with members from ensembles including the Guarneri String Quartet, Orion String Quartet, Cleveland String Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Johannes String Quartet, Kalichstien-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Beaux Art Trio, Opus 1, TASHI and Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society.

Currently, Mr. Chan is Associate Professor of Music at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he teaches chamber music, violin and viola. His students have won positions in major orchestras and top prizes in competitions such as the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, Xuzhou Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Alice and Eleanore Schoenfeld International Competition, Shanghai Conservatory Chamber Music Competition and the Salzburg-Mozart International Chamber Music Competition. As a visiting artist, he has taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Missouri in Kansas, Western Michigan University, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Encore School for Strings, Meadowmount School of Music, Heartland Chamber Music Festival and Morningside Music Bridge. Mr. Chan coaches regularly at prominent festivals such as the Heifetz International Music Institute, Music@Menlo Chamber Music Institute, Kent Blossom Music Festival and New York String Orchestra Seminar. As an adjudicator, he has served on the jury panel of competitions including the Julius Stulberg Auditions and Annual Concerto Competition of the New World Symphony. He was as a member the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis screening committee in 2010, 2014 and 2018.

From 1995 to 2010, Mr. Chan was a member of the acclaimed Miami String Quartet. Winner of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, the MSQ appeared regularly on premier series and festivals throughout the United States such as Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Cleveland Chamber Music Society, as well as Santa Fe, La Jolla, Angel Fire, Kent Blossom and Music@Menlo festivals among others. The Miami Quartet was featured on prominent live radio programs including National Public Radio’s “St. Paul Sunday Morning” and “Performance Today”. Mr. Chan’s performances with the Miami String Quartet can be heard on recordings under the BMG/Conifer and CRI labels.

Hong Kong-native Andrew Ling is a concert violist and violinist, conductor and music educator. Currently Principal Violist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil), Andrew has garnered acclaim for his orchestral playing and solo recitals worldwide. His appearances as concert soloist have included the HK Phil, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, etc.

A versatile and an all-round musician, Andrew has brought his musicianship to conducting engagements with the HK Phil, the Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, Kunming Nie Er Symphony Orchestra and Finland’s Seinäjoki City Orchestra and Kuopio Symphony Orchestra. Handpicked to conduct the HK Phil in rehearsal for Christoph Eschenbach and the late Lorin Maazel, he has worked alongside some of the world’s foremost conductors, including Jaap van Zweden, Edo de Waart and Leonard Slatkin. Ling was the finalist of the Besançon International Conducting Competition 2017.

He is often seen playing solo as well as chamber music. He has played with many renowned musicians including Yu-Ja Wang, Cho-Liang Lin, Jaime Laredo, Ning Feng, Michael Guttman and The Shanghai Quartet, etc.

Outside the concert hall, Andrew is passionate about cultivating the next generation of musicians. He holds teaching positions at Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and has also served as faculty at The Youth Summer Music Camp hosted by the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. He is the Music Director of Happy Gabby children’s music book series and believes that music education should start at an early age, to prepare the child for future advancement in his or her music journey, with genuine positivity and curiosity.

Richard Bamping has been the Principal Cellist of the HK Phil since 1993. He has performed with many of the finest musicians of recent history—Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Leonidas Kavakos, Mstislav Rostropovich, Carlo Maria Guilini, Valery Gergiev, Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Sir Colin Davis and Claudio Abbado, to name but a few.

Bamping has performed many of the staples of the solo cello repertoire with orchestras from Europe to the Far East. He has a great passion for playing chamber music with friends and colleagues whenever he gets the chance.

Bamping’s cello, dated 1674 was made in Cremona by Andrea Guarneri and is one of only nine surviving examples of his work.

Critically acclaimed Canadian violinist Jing Wang is one of the most versatile and dynamic violinists of his generation. Since his solo recital debut in Marseilles, France at the age of six, Wang has garnered prizes in top international competitions, including the first prize at the 2007 Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition. In 2003, Wang was awarded the “Young Soloist of the Year” by Les Radios Francophones Publiques, a broadcast network of four countries including France, Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium. As a part of the award, Wang’s first CD album including works by Beethoven, Ravel and Gershwin was released in Europe.

Wang has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras in Europe and North America, including Czech Radio Philharmonic, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre National de Lorraine, l’Orchestre de Picardie, the Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He has played with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta and in November will perform with China Philharmonic under Maestro Osmo Vanska. He has collaborated with renowned conductors such as James DePreist, Claus Peter Flor, Yoav Talmi, Jacques Lacombe, Joseph Rescigno and Anne Manson.

Wang’s chamber music performances and solo recitals at major venues, such as National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Lincoln Center, received critical acclaim and his performances are heard frequently on CBC Radio-Canada. Additionally, Wang is one of the founding members of Ensemble75, a chamber music series based in Dallas, Texas.

Under Maestro Graeme Jenkins, Wang was the Concertmaster of the Dallas Opera from 2010-2013. He previously served as guest Concertmaster for the Kansas City Symphony under Maestro Michael Stern and the San Antonio Symphony under Maestro Sebastian Lang-Lessing. Appointed by Maestro Jaap van Zweden, Wang is currently Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic since 2013. He plays a 1760 G.B. Guadagnini violin, a loan arranged by the Y. S. Liu Foundation.

Hong Kong-born Synthia Ko studied conducting with great masters in both the United States and Europe. She is considered by many a rising conducting star in China. Her passionate expression for music is manifested in the enchantment of her baton. Ko not only captures the heart but also the soul. The recent exciting media coverage is proof that this young conductor has made a mark in the world of symphonic music.

With a sharp mind for details, Ko has a superb interpretation of Western works of the celebrated composers and her Chinese repertoire also displays a thorough and mature understanding of the nuances in the Chinese culture. Her lyrical interpretation of the Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto captured the attention of world-renowned Chinese violin virtuoso, Siqing Lü. In September 2009, he invited her as guest conductor for his concerts in China which were highly acclaimed. Recognizing her immense talent in conducting, the Guangxi Symphony Orchestra soon invited Ko to be their new Music Director and Chief Conductor starting from October 2010. Her concerts with the Guangxi Symphony Orchestra in Nanning all received overwhelming response. The Guangxi Symphony Orchestra is considered the best symphony orchestra in the northwest region of China and has toured the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, the Shanghai Expo 2010, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan. Under Ko’s leadership, the Guangxi Symphony Orchestra aims at performing in many more great music halls in other parts of the world.

Ko received her conducting degree in the United States where she studied with world-renowned conductors like Abraham Kaplan and Helmuth Rilling. She later furthered her conducting studies in Europe with “the maestro of maestros,” Jorma Panula. She collaborated with the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, and guest conducted the Kunming Symphony Orchestra in China, the Performing Arts Institute in the United States and the Hong Kong Children Symphony Orchestra.

Apart from her professional work, Ko is also engaged in strongly promoting classical music in the community. Not only is she a guest speaker for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and presenter for RTHK Radio 4, she is also the Artistic Director and Chief conductor of one of Asia’s top youth orchestras, the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Hong Kong (MYO). Since she took up the directorship in 2007, the orchestra’s reputation has grown by leaps and bounds. In 2009, her orchestra was invited by Austria’s Brahms Music School and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to perform in the famous Haydn Saal Concert Hall where her concert was well-received by members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The MYO was given the honour of having a private audience with the world-renowned conductor, Nicolaus Harnoncourt. In 2008 Ko took part in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival and Festival of British Youth Orchestras where her concerts all had tremendous success.

In the earlier days of her career, Ko was the Music Director of the Diocesan Girls’ Symphony Orchestra and Choirs. Together with her much loved students they captured the Gold Medal at the International Choir Olympics competition in 2002. Her vast conducting repertoire ranges from orchestral and choral music to musical productions.

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.