Chopin, Joy of Music Festival, Music Festical, Piano, Guitar, Music Competition Chopin, Joy of Music Festival, Music Festical, Piano, Guitar, Music Competition Chopin, Joy of Music Festival, Music Festical, Piano, Guitar, Music Competition
Chopin, Joy of Music Festival, Music Festical, Piano, Guitar, Music Competition

Artists

Artists In alphabetical order
Giuseppe ANDALORO (piano)
Angela AU (piano)
Richard BAMPING (cello)
CiCi Chieh CHANG (piano)
Rachel CHEUNG (piano)
Yeeha CHIU (piano)
Lok Ping CHAU (piano)
Lok Ting CHAU (piano)
Emily CHENG (percussion)
Verne EDQUIST (piano technician / tuner)
Gary GRAFFMAN (piano)
Katie HAFNER (writer / journalist)
The LCO Chamber Group

- Andrew Haveron (violin)
- Magnus JOHNSTON (violin)
- Joel HUNTER (viola)
- Pierre DOUMENGE (cello)

Jinsang LEE (piano)
Colleen LEE (piano)
Zhong Xin Li (piano)
Alvaro PIERRI (guitar)
Ilya RASHKOVSKIY (piano)
Jeremy SIEPMAN (writer, musician and teacher)
Raymond VONG (percussion)
John Q. WALKER (classical musician, inventor, entertainer, engineer, and entrepreneur)

 

Giuseppe Andaloro

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistGiuseppe Andaloro, considered one of the leading international concert pianists of his generation, was born in Palermo in 1982.

Winner of : the Hong Kong International Piano Competition 2011 (Chairman of the Jury: Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy); the Bolzano Ferruccio Busoni Competition (Italy) in 2005; the London World Piano Competition (U.K.) in 2002; and before this: of the Sendai International Piano Competition (Japan), the "Cidade do Porto" International Piano Competition (Portugal), the "Premio Venezia - Teatro La Fenice", the "Premio A. Casella" International Piano Competition of Naples, and recipient of numerous other prestigious international piano music awards.

He studied under Sergio Fiorentino and Vincenzo Balzani and graduated with full marks, full honors and special mention from the Giuseppe Verdi State Conservatory of Music in Milan at a very young age; as Master of the Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg and from a two-year course in Chamber Music at the “Verdi” Conservatory in Milan.

He has performed at renowned festivals, including those of Salzburg, the Ruhr-Klavier, the Due Mondi of Spoleto, the George Enescu of Bucarest, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Young Prague, the Pleven, the Ravello, the Rittergut Bennigsen of Hannover, the Lindau Bodensee, the Duszniki-Zdrój Chopin, the Festival of Brescia and Bergamo, the Jiménez of Morelia, the Liepaja Piano Stars, the Sendai Classical, as well as at some of the most renowned concert halls and auditoria of the world, including the Großes Saal and Wiener Saal of the Salzburg Mozarteum, London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Mansion House, and Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Oxford Sheldonian Theatre, Berlin's KonzertHaus, Paris’ Salle Gaveau, Palais des Arts and Salle Cortot, Tokyo’s Sumida Triphony Hall, Pablo Casals Hall and Metropolitan Art Museum, Singapore’s Esplanade Concert Hall, Rome’s Parco della Musica, the Palazzo del Quirinale and Santa Cecilia Auditorium, Sacile Fazioli Concert Hall, Buenos Aires’ Fernández Blanco Museum, New York’s Klavierhaus, Mexico City’s Anfiteatro Simón Bolívar, the Munich Gasteig, Schloss Elmau in Elmau, Athens’ Byzantine Museum, Toronto’s Walter Hall, Hong Kong City Hall, Beijing Bravoce Classical Music, Montevideo’s Auditorio Sodre, the Dortmund Harenberg City-Center, Prague’s Rudolfinum Dvorák Hall, Santiago de Chile’s Oriente Theatre, the Sapporo Kjtara Hall, Palermo Teatro Massimo and Politeama Garibaldi, Tucumán’s San Martín Theatre, Osaka’s Phoenix Hall, Porto Auditório do Rivoli, Rabat Mohamed Théâtre, Kraków Philharmonic Hall, Sendai Grand Hall, Fort Worth Bass Performance Hall, Tel Aviv’s Recanati Auditorium, Novi Sad Synagogue, and Pretoria Old Mutual Hall.

His repertoire ranges from Frescobaldi to Messiaen, Ligeti, Kapustin, Sollima and Cuozzo) and includes his “Transcription for Two Pianos and Two Cellos of Igor Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps”.

He has collaborated with internationally acclaimed orchestras and chamber groups, including London Mozart Players, London Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Tokyo, Philharmonische Camerata Berlin, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the LCO Chamber Group, Czech Philharmonic orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra National of Porto, Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro Massimo di Palermo, and Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli.

He has collaborated with famous conductors, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gianandrea Noseda, Tomasz Bugaj, Alberto Martini, Alan Buribayev, Michael Guttler, Donato Renzetti, Andrew Parrot, Umeda Toshiaki, Ola Rudner, Alexander Shelley, Daniele Moles, Peter Altrichter, Gyorgy G. Rath, Gunter Neuhold. Daniele Giorgi, Giuseppe Lanzetta, Ovidiu Balan, Lu Jia, Gustavo Guersman, Maffeo Scarpis, Lothar Koenigs, Pier Carlo Orizio, Johannes Wildner.

He has collaborated in duos and ensembles with various distinguished artists, including Sarah Chang, Giovanni Sollima and Sergej Krylov. He has an ongoing collaboration with the Italian cellist-composer Giovanni Sollima. His performances have been broadcast in several countries and he has a number of recordings to his credit. Giuseppe Andaloro has served on juries for international piano competitions, and given international master-classes.

He is also active as a composer and conductor.

In 2005 he was given the Award of Artistic Merit by the Italian Ministry of Culture.

WHAT HAS BEEN SAID OF HIS PERFORMANCES:

“… Andaloro’s magic touch…” The Times, London

A player of chiseled brilliance” The Independent, London

Andaloro’s Rachmaninov sent shivers down the spine” The Daily Telegraph, London

“… Andaloro closed with the fourth Movement of Prokofiev’s Sixth Sonata. Here he did not choose to shock and awe with its fusillades of loud dissonance but rather to dwell on its more witty and sarcastic undertones. He flew with the music, and its many percussive bits were not hammered with brute force but rather chiseled with the skill of a Michelangelo. Andaloro showed that Prokofiev’s music was not all aout violence, but rich with nuances”

“…possesses fingers of steel cushioned by a velvety soft touch. His rendition of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto was to remember. The opening chords were taken expansively, setting the tone for bittersweet melancholy contrasted with high drama. His projection from the keyboard was uniformly excellent, roaring above dense orchestral for ecstatic climaxes yet possessing the lightness of a gentle sigh in quiet solo passages. Prodigious finger technique told not the whole story – the ability to express emotions without words made the performance complete … The finale afforded disply for some of the most lyrical pianism thought possible and the requisite barnstorming, with the audience eating from his hands. The rare encore of Schumann’s Widmung in Sergio Fiorentino’s transcription was further proof that Andaloro was no off-the-assembly-line virtuoso” Chang Tou Liang, The Straits Times, Singapore

 


 

ANGELA AU, May Ling

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistAngela Au, born in Hong Kong, began her piano lessons at the age of six. After nine months of learning, she won her first prize, a grand championship, and went on to break all records by winning over a dozen championships, including China's first nationally-televised 1984 Pearl River Prize: Guangzhou - Hong Kong - Macau Piano Invitation Competition. In 1985, she was one of the few candidates admitted to the newly established Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts under the tutelage of John Winther. In 1986, Angela made her debut as Hong Kong's youngest-ever soloist in a piano recital sponsored by the German Consulate General. In October, she was chosen to play for H.M. Queen Elizabeth II to honor the Royal visit to Hong Kong.

In 1987, she became the first Hong Kong-born pianist ever admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Gary Graffman and Eleanor Sokoloff.

During the 1988-1999 season, Angela made her debut tour in the Boston area. In January 1990, Angela appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, performing Mozart's "Piano Concerto K.488." In February 1991, Angela made her London debut at the Royal Festival Hall, performing with the London Mozart players in the presence of H.R.H. Princess Alexandra.

Angela first appeared with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in its curtain-raising concerts for the 1991-1992 season. In the 1992-1993 season, Angela was active in a series of concert engagements, including recitals in the prestigious Lane Series in Vermont and the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago and orchestral appearance with the Philadelphia Pops Orchestra, Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra of Iowa, Newton Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

On completion of her high school education and musical studies at Curtis, Angela completed a degree in economics at Harvard. In 1995, she graduated with a Diploma of Music from Curtis Institute and an A.B. Economics, cum laude from Harvard University in 1997.

Upon graduation from Harvard, Angela has been touring extensively as a solo artist in North America. Her performance of Rachmaninoff’s Sonata No. 2 was highly acclaimed by the Vancouver Sun.

In 2005, she recorded her first orchestral CD of both Rachmaninoff and Chopin Concertos No. 2 with the Belgian Vlaams Radio Orkest under the direction of Maestro Dirk Brossé, an internationally acclaimed Belgian conductor and composer.

In addition to her career in music, Angela has successfully pursued a career as General Manager in the real estate development and property management business in Hong Kong. She is currently managing and designing a chain of boutique hotels and serviced apartments, catering especially for expatriates from multinational companies.

Angela also served as President of Harvard Club of Hong Kong, 2000-2002.

 


 

Richard Bamping

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistRichard Bamping has held the title of Principal Cellist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 1993. His many solo appearances with the Philharmonic have been greeted with critical acclaim.

He has had a very broad musical education studying cello with Elizabeth Wilson, Raphael Wallfisch, Amedeo Baldovino, Ralph Kirschbaum, Paul Tortelier, David Geringas, Aldo Parisot, Janos Starker, Timothy Hugh and Steven Isserlis.

In the field of chamber music, he has studied with the Amadeus, Alban Berg, Delme, Takacs and Allegri String Quartets, and with David Takeno, Eli Goren, Emmanuel Hurwitz, Gyorgy Kurtag, and Peter Norris.

As a freelance cellist based in London, Richard Bamping played in many chamber music ensembles performing across the United Kingdom, Europe and the U.S.A. He has also performed with many of the leading orchestras in Europe including the Philharmonia, the Royal Philharmonic and the European Community Chamber Orchestras, and served for four years as Principal 'Cellist with the London Soloists' Chamber Orchestra.

In 1990, Leonard Bernstein chose Richard Bamping to play Principal Cello for the first Pacific Music Festival in Japan, where he also worked closely with Michael Tilson Thomas and Marin Alsop.

In January this year, Richard performed Tan Dun’s The Map concerto in Taiwan and Shenzhen, under the baton of the composer.

Richard's cello, dated 1674 was made in Cremona by Andrea Guarneri and is one of only 8 surviving examples of his work.

 


 

CiCi Chieh CHANG

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistPianist CiCi Chieh Chang was born in Shanghai. She began piano lessons with her mother, the renowned Chinese pianist Shan Shan Chu, at the age of four.

At the age of six, Ms. Chang performed for then U.S. President Mr. Richard Nixon and Mrs. Nixon in Beijing. Since then, she has given recitals in Japan, England, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, the United States, as well as China and Hong Kong.

Ms. Chang studied with Professor Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. Subsequently in 1986, Ms. Chang was the first pianist from Hong Kong to ever be admitted to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Gary Graffman. That year , competing against dozens of pianists worldwide, she was also the only pianist to win the sole piano opening at Curtis. While at Curtis, she also performed in master classes for Leon Fleisher, Emmanuel Ax and Murray Perahia. Ms. Chang received additional training at The Juilliard School.

Ms. Chang has won numerous competitions and awards including the IBLA International Piano Competition in Italy and three prizes at the fourth Josef Hofmann Piano Competition; the First Prize, the Hofmann Performance Prize and the Audience Favorite Prize.

Ms. Chang won first prize at the Hong Kong Concerto Competition for the 1985 International Year of Youth and was chosen to represent Hong Kong in a performance with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. In the same year, she was also chosen as the Best Performer of the year.

Ms. Chang has performed as a soloist with many orchestras including the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Augusta Symphony, South Carolina Symphony and The Curtis Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Chang lives with her husband, internationally acclaimed double bassist Owen Lee, in Cincinnati, USA.

Ms. Chang has performed many times at Hong Kong City Hall over the years and is very happy and honored to take part in the 50th Anniversary celebration of this wonderful venue.

 


 

Rachel CHEUNG Wai-Ching

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistRachel Cheung Wai Ching started playing the piano at 4 and was admitted to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts at the age of 10, where she studied with Professor Eleanor Wong .In June 2011, Rachel received her Bachelor of Music Degree with First Class Honours at the HKAPA.

Rachel has won numerous first prizes and awards in international piano competitions which include the ‘ 28th Alessandro Casagrande International Piano Competition’ in Italy in 2008. The Fifth Prize at the ‘16th Leeds International Piano Competition’. Most recently in 2010, she was a semifinalist at the 16th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Other prizes include the First Prize and a ‘Peer Jury Prize’ for the most popular finalist at the ‘2004 Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition’ in Salt Lake City, the United States; First Prize and three special prizes at the “International Competition for Young Pianist in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz” in Ukraine in 2003.

Rachel was awarded numerous scholarships including ‘The Robert H.N.Ho Family Foundation Scholarship’, ‘The Coutts Bank Scholarship’, ‘Lee Shuk Chee Memorial Scholarship’ , ‘Hong Kong Music Scholarship’ and was sponsored by the ‘Simon K.Y. Lee Foundation’ . In 2011, she was awarded the ‘ Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Scholarship’, ‘Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation Scholarship’, ‘Bernard van Zuidan Music Fund Scholarship’ and ‘School of Music Staff Prize Scholarship’. As a recognition for making outstanding achievements in the promotion of arts and culture in Hong Kong, Rachel was awarded the ‘Certificate of Commendation’ by the Hong Kong Government in 2004. In May 2010, she received the ‘Award for Young Artist 2009’ presented by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Rachel has performed frequently in Hong Kong and overseas as a soloist. She made her debut at the City Hall Hong Kong and Uruguay through the sponsorship of ‘The Hong Kong Chopin Society’ In 2005 Rachel performed a solo recital at the 33rd Hong Kong Arts Festival as the youngest soloist ever of the festival. She was invited to perform in the ‘Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Vladimir Horowitz Concert’ in Kiev, concert tours of United States for two consecutive years and recitals in UK, Paris, Taiwan , Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing . Rachel was also invited to take part in many prestigious international music festivals including ‘The 9th Musical Olympus International Festival’ in Russia , ‘The International Chopin Festival’ in Duszniki, Poland, ‘The Miami International Piano Festival’ , ‘Virtuosos of Planet 2006 ’ in Kiev, Ukraine. ‘The 2007 Golandsky Institute International Piano Festival’ in Princeton University, USA. ‘The Festival Transeuropéennes’ in Rouen, France. In October 2009 she made her debuts at the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris and the Steinway Hall in London. In May 2013, she will make her debut at the Royal Concertgebouw in the Netherlands and Bratislava, Slovakia.

Rachel has collaborated with many orchestras including ‘The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine’, ‘St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra’ ,‘Beethoven Orchestra Bonn’ , ‘Orchestra at Temple Square’ in Salt Lake City, ‘Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’ , ‘Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra’ , ‘ Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Junior Chamber Orchestra’ ,‘Hong Kong Sinfonietta’ and the ‘ Hallé Orchestra’, conducted by Sir Mark Elder. In October 2009, Rachel performed with the Sydney Symphony under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy.

June 2007, Rachel’s first DVD –‘ RACHEL CHEUNG – KEYBOARD PRODIGY LIVE IN RECITAL MIAMI INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL 2005’ was released by VAIMUSIC . Her first CD, under the Alpha Omega Sound label of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong, was released in 2009.

In January 2011, Rachel became a young Steinway Artist. She is now pursing the Master of Music degree at Yale School of Music under the guidance of Professor Peter Frankl. She was recently awarded the Elizabeth Parisot Prize for outstanding pianist of the 2011-2012 school year.

 


 

Yeeha CHIU

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistA Steinway Artist, Hong Kong-born pianist Yeeha CHIU is a graduate of the Royal College of Music in London and the Juilliard School in New York.

Ms. Chiu performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent at the historic inauguration of the City Hall Concert Hall in Hong Kong in 1962. Following this success, she was engaged in a solo recital tour from Hong Kong to Manila, Singapore and Tokyo.
"Her sincere and genuine musicianship made this a truly memorable evening." The Japan Times.

She returned to Hong Kong for the 20th anniversary celebrations of the City Hall Concert Hall to perform with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach.

Since making her home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she frequently collaborates with members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and other musicians in chamber music recitals. Audiences heard Yeeha perform the complete cycle of Piano Trios by Beethoven in 2007.

Yeeha Chiu is in demand as teacher and coach giving frequent Master classes. She has served as Visiting Professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and she currently serves on the faculty at the annual Keyboard Seminar in Texas directed by Sheila Paige.

 


 

Lok Ping Chau and Lok Ting Chau

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistLok Ping and Lok Ting Chau study piano with Professor Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and they finished their Master’s Degree Programme in 2012. In the coming years, they are awarded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarship and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Scholarship to study in the Hannover University of Music and Theater and Media.

The Chau sister has succeeded in international piano competitions as soloists and as duo. They began playing as a piano duo since 2007 and were awarded the Sara Lahat prize for the outstanding duo in the 17th Tel-Hai International Masterclasses in Israel. In 2009 and 2010, they won the first prize with two other special prizes in the Fourth International Piano Duo Competition, Bialystok in Poland, and the Second prize in the IV San Marino International Piano Duo Competition respectively. Besides, they were the youngest winners in both competitions.

Their performance experience includes both local and international musical event. They were invited to perform duo recitals at the 40th Hong Kong Arts Festival (2012), the Fifth Gulangyu Piano Festival in Xiamen (2010) and the Festival ‘Vacations with Music’ in Nowy Sacz, Poland (2009). Other public performance including participation in the memorial concert of duo pianists Eden-Tamir in Israel and “Celebration of 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Franz Liszt" in Hong Kong. The Secretary for Home Affairs has awarded commendations to the Chau sister for making outstanding contribution in international arts and culture activities in 2009.

 


 

Emily Cheng

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistBorn in Hong Kong, Emily Cheng started to learn percussion with Ms. Minnie Chau when she was 12 years old. She is now studying Bachelor of Music (Honors) at HKAPA (Major in Western Percussion) and she has been coached by renowned percussionists, Choy Lap Tak, Dr. Lung Hung Wing and former London Philharmonic Orchestra Timpanist, Alan Cumberland. She has attained Trinity Collage ATCL Diploma in percussion with distinction and has been awarded the “Chan Ho Choi Enchanting Music Scholarship” (2011) and “Helena May Scholarship”(2012).

Emily is active in many local bands and orchestras. Previously she was the percussion principal of Hong Kong Youth Neowinds Orchestra. As soloist, she participated in performances and overseas tours to Austria, the Netherlands, Singapore, Macau, Taiwan and Korea. She attended several master classes including Daryl Pratt’s contemporary “classical” music master class, Dame Evelyn Glennie and Robert Van Sice. In 2009, Emily has been invited to play in the joint concert <Project W> organized by HKPOand HKAPA.

In the summers 2010 and 2011, she was a member of the Asian Youth Orchestra with over 100 young Musicians from 10 countries, studied under Chris Williams (Principal Percussion of Baltimore symphony orchestra), and performed 16 concerts in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Tianjin, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan.

In 2012, Raymond Vong and Emily formed the duo called 《R/E‧MIX》, performed in Macau and Hong Kong received high critical acclaim.

Emily is currently a freelancer of Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra.

 


 

Verne Edquist
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1931 Born in the District of Glen Mary, Saskatchewan
   
1950 Graduated Ontario School for the Blind, Brantford, Ontario Certificate in Piano Technology
   
1950 Began career in Toronto, Ontario at Winter Company
(Subsidiary of Mason & Risch)
Chipper (first tuner of newly strung pianos)
   
1951 Worked in a variety of piano shops including that of Henry Kneifel (trained as Steinway concert tuner in Vienna) where he learned fine tuning and tone regulation
Joy of Music 2012 Artist
   
1952 Hired by W.D. Heintzmann of the Heintzmann Piano Manufacturers
Head Tuner in Factory
   
1961 Served as President of Piano Technicians Guild (hosted international convention of piano technicians)
   
1961 Accepted as Steinway Concert Tuner for T. Eaton Co. (Steinway agency in Canada)
   
1969 Launched own business as Freelance Piano Tuner
    • Clients included the National Arts Centre (Ottawa, Canada), Glenn Gould,
musicLiberace, Victor Borge.
     
1976 & 1994 Served as Alumni President, Ontario School for the Blind
     
1994 Published Centre Walk, a tribute to the Ontario School for the Blind and its graduates
     
1997 Retired (due to tinnitus)
     

 


 

GARY GRAFFMAN

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistThe President of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia until 2006, and successor to previous heads such as Josef Hofmann and Rudolf Serkin, Gary Graffman brings to the Jury his own decades-long artistic experience as a pianist and teacher.

At the age of seven the Curtis Institute accepted him to study with the renowned Isabelle Vengerova. After graduation from Curtis, he worked intensively for several years with Vladimir Horowitz and, during the summers, at the Marlboro Music Festival with Rudolf Serkin.

Before an injury to his right hand in 1979 curtailed his performing career to the small but brilliant repertoire for the left hand, he had left an extensive discography covering solo as well as piano concerto pieces with the orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and Boston, and with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta and Eugene Ormandy.

Gary Graffman continues to perform and record piano works specifically composed for the left hand for him including piano concertos by among others, Ned Rorem, Daron Hagen and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski.

In the summer of 2005, Gary Graffman received an invitation to head the piano department at the new Canton International Summer Music Academy in Guandong, China, giving him an opportunity to explore his love of education, chamber music, and Chinese culture.

 


 

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistKatie Hafner

Katie Hafner is a journalist who has worked at Business Week, Newsweek and, most recently, The New York Times. She joined the Times in 1998 when the paper started its technology section, called Circuits. In addition to A Romance on Three Legs, her books include The House at the Bridge: A Story of Modern Germany, Cyberpunk (with John Markoff), and a history of the Internet titled Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet (with her late husband, Matthew Lyon). She left the New York Times in 2008 and is finishing her sixth book, Mother Daughter Me, a memoir to be published by Random House next year.

 


 

Pierre Doumenge

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistFrench cellist Pierre Doumenge enjoys a busy career divided between solo work, chamber music and teaching. From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the Dante String Quartet performing at major venues in Europe and making regular radio and commercial recordings. Pierre has also worked as guest principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Passionately fond of chamber music, Pierre regularly explores and performs the repertoire with artists such as Pascal Rogé, Lars Vogt, Daniel Hope, Pekka Kuusisto, Lawrence Power, the Belcea and Allegri Quartets and the Nash Ensemble. He has appeared at many international festivals (Aldeburgh, Bath, Cheltenham, Kuhmo, La Hague, Bucharest, Nuremberg, Bergstaden, Hindsgalv, Genève), and frequently attends the Open Chamber Music sessions at IMS Prussia Cove in Cornwall, joining their tour of England in 2003. Pierre is also a regular performer at the Joy of Music Festival in Hong Kong. He has recorded for the Dutton, Meridian and Hyperion labels to great critical acclaim. He was chosen to be the official cellist of the 2008 Menuhin International Violin Competition, playing the Ravel Sonata with the nine semi-finalists.

Pierre taught cello and chamber music at the Yehudi Menuhin School from 2003-2009 and is a cello professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. He gives annual masterclasses at the Oxford Cello School, the International Cello Courses UK, the Violoncello Society of London, the West Helsinki Music Institute (Finland), the Conservatoire Royal de Mons (Belgium) and the Szymon Goldberg Seminars in Toyama (Japan).

 


 

Andrew Haveron - violin

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistThe highest British prize-winner at the prestigious 'Paganini' competition in the last fifty years, Andrew Haveron is one of the UK's most sought after violinists. He was born in London in 1975 and took up the violin aged five. After studying at the Purcell School and London's Royal College of Music, Andrew also took prizes at the 'Queen Elisabeth' and Indianapolis competitions.

As a soloist, Andrew has appeared with conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Sir Roger Norrington, Kent Nagano, Stanislaw Skrowachewski, John Wilson, John Lubbock, Jean-Jacques Kanteroff, Darrell Davison and Raymond Leppard, performing a broad range of well known and less familiar repertoire.

In 1999 Andrew was appointed first violinist of the internationally acclaimed Brodsky Quartet. A busy schedule saw the quartet perform and broadcast in their unique style all over the world. Andrew recorded more than fifteen CDs with the quartet, many of which received industry awards such as "Diapason d'or" and "Choc du Monde".

Since leaving the Brodsky Quartet Andrew has focused on his work as Concertmaster. Since being appointed Concertmaster of the BBC Symphony in 2007, Andrew has also been invited to play as Guest Leader with major symphony orchestras including the London Symphony and Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Royal Scottish National and the West Deutscher Rundfunk of Cologne. Andrew has also led the 'World Orchestra for Peace' at the request of conductor Valery Gergiev.

He has recently been appointed as Concertmaster of the Philharmonia Orchestra, a post he will take up during the 2011/12 season.

In 2004 Andrew received an honorary Doctorate from the University of Kent for his services to music.

Andrew plays on a Carlo Tononi violin made in 1709.

 


 

Joel HUNTER – viola

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistJoel Hunter is in great demand both as a principal orchestral player and as a chamber musician. Having graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1997 he has performed all over the world with many leading ensembles and orchestras working regularly under conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, Valery Gergiev and Lorin Maazel.

Having spent three years as Co-Principal Viola with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow from 1998-2001, he returned to London to embark on a busy and diverse freelance career. In 2005 he was appointed Principal Viola in the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm but has continued with commitments in the UK and works as guest Principal Viola in the London Chamber Orchestra and many other orchestras including the Philharmonia and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In May 2009 he accepted the position of Principal with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, Joel has appeared alongside such eminent artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Augustin Dumay, Piers Lane, Pascal Roge, Christian Tetzlaff and members of both the Vogler and Artemis quartets in concerts throughout the world. He has toured Italy, Hungary and France as a member of the Cat quartet and regularly performs at international festivals most recently in Germany at the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival with the Kungsbacker String Trio and in the U.S.A at the Charlottesville International Music Festival.

He is a member and director of the Goldberg Ensemble, playing frequently throughout the UK and specializing in new music with its own critically acclaimed contemporary music festival running alongside a highly successful chamber music series in Manchester. Invitations to join ensembles such as The Wakeford Ensemble, Chamber Domaine and The London Conchord Ensemble have led to highly acclaimed performances and recordings, most recently of Gorecki and Ned Rorem on Black Box Classics and Nicola Lefanu with Naxos.

In 2001 he was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for his services to the profession.

 


 

Magnus Johnston – violin

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistMagnus Johnston began his musical education as a chorister of the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. As head chorister of the choir of King’s College Cambridge, Magnus toured extensively at a young age, going on to win a scholarship to Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and later the Royal Northern College of Music where he studied with Christopher Rowland.

Magnus is recognized as one of the most distinguished chamber musicians of his generation. Magnus’ passion for chamber music led to the birth of the Aronowitz Ensemble, a unique chamber group of string sextet & piano. In November 2004 the ensemble made their debut performance to a sold out St John’s Smith Square, and have since enjoyed a busy touring schedule along with frequent live broadcasts & studio recordings for BBC Radio 3. Aside from his dedication to chamber music, Magnus has immersed himself in a variety of playing; from leading the Britten Sinfonia in Julian Phillips’ newly commissioned opera ‘The Yellow Sofa” at Glyndebourne, to recording the strings for Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ and playing under Ennio Morricone in his recent soundtrack to the film ‘Nine’, Magnus has been the leader of the Navarra String Quartet since 2010.

In 2003 Magnus won Second Prize in the London International String Quartet Competition as a member of the Johnston (now Elias) Quartet, and has since collaborated in a variety of chamber music projects with Ralph Kirshbaum, London Bridge Ensemble, Alison Balsom, Nicholas Daniel, András Keller, Chamber Domaine, Andrew Kennedy & Martin Lovett.

Notable recent performances include The Wigmore & Bridgewater Halls, The Aldeburgh, Bath & Cheltenham Festivals, and the BBC Proms. During the early days of the group, Magnus worked closely with Norbert Brainin of the Amadeus Quartet, and on later receiving an Abbado Trust Award was able to acquire one of Brainin’s bows on which he now plays, As a recording artist Magnus has recorded with the Aronowitz Ensemble & Gerald Finley for Hyperion (‘Dover Beach’ – Barber) and he joined Julius Drake & Gerald Finlay for their “Romanzo Di Central Park” CD of songs by Charles Ives, The Aronowitz Ensemble have more recently recorded a CD of Vaughan Williams, Watkins & Elgar for Sonimage.

Magnus plays a Hieronymus Amati II (1693)

 


 

JINSANG LEE

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistBorn in 1981 in Seoul, South Korea, he began to play the piano at the age of seven. He commenced his studies at the Seoul Arts High School and then continued at the Korean National University of Arts. From 2003 until 2006 he studied at the Nuremberg University of Music and from 2006 onwards he has been studying at the Cologne University of Music.

Jinsang has won prizes in several competitions including: the second prize and Audience Prize at the Sendai International Music Competition in 2001, the first prize, Scarlatti Prize and Orchestra Prize at the International Pianoforte Competition in Cologne in 2005 and in October 2008, the first prize at the 2nd Hong Kong International Piano Competition, In 2009 he won the first prize at the Geza Anda International Piano Competition (Zurich) including the Mozart, Schumann and the public prizes.

He has played with various orchestras, among which The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nuremberg Symphonic Orchestra, the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne. Conductors he has worked with include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Christopher Warren-Green, Michel Brousseau and Peter Gülke. He has played solo and in concert in various cities including Hong Kong, Chicago, Los Angeles, Berlin, Essen, Siena, Athens, Sendai, Nagoya as well as in various venues including the Philarmonie in Cologne, the Seoul Arts centre, the Meistersingerhalle in Nuremberg, the Beethoven Haus in Bonn, the Robert Schumann Saal in Dusseldorf.

The Alpha Omega Sound label of the Chopin Society is issuing a double CD of his recording of compositions by Hiller, Mendelssohn and Chopin on period and on modern pianos.

 


 

Colleen LEE (Piano)

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistHailed by the New York Concert Review Inc. as “an extraordinarily talented young pianist”, Colleen Lee is one of the most brilliant pianists of the younger generations from Hong Kong and China.

She has experienced a rapid rise in renown and popularity both at home and abroad following her winning of the 6th Prize (the only female laureate) at the 2005 Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. In recent years, she has performed extensively in China, Japan and the major cities in Europe, the United States and South America.

Born in Hong Kong, she started her piano lesson at the age of four. Subsequently she was trained at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the celebrated pedagogue Ms Eleanor Wong since she was seven. After completion of her Bachelor of Music Degree in 2003, she was awarded scholarship from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund and the Bernard Van Zuiden Scholarship to further her studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover under Professor Arie Vardi.

Colleen has won many major prizes in international competitions including First Prize at the 3rd Seiler International Piano Competition in Kitzingen, Germany, the 2003 Dorothy Mackenzie Artist Recognition Award, Third Place and Critic and Audience Prizes at the 15th International Competition for Piano and Orchestra in Cantú, Italy as well as the Pro Musicis International Award, 6th Place of the 1st Hong Kong International Piano Competition, Gina Bachauer International Artist Competition Award and Sendai International Music Competition award, and was Laureate of the 16th Santander International Piano Competition in Spain.

Colleen was featured at several international music festivals including the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdroj in Poland, Pianoforte-Festival Meissen in Germany, International Keyboard Festival in New York, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Festival Pianistico Internazionale Arturo Benefetti Michelangeli in Bergamo and Brescia and Settimane Musicali al Teatro Olimico in Vicenza and the Guangzhou Arts Festival.

She has collaborated with major international orchestras such as the, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Galacia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and The Hong Kong Sinfonietta. She is also an avid chamber music lover and performs regularly in chamber music concerts including the Hong Kong International Chamber Festival 2010.

She has been appointed Artist Associate/Piano of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for the 2010/2011 season

 


 

Zhong Xin Li (Piano)

Joy of Music 2012 Artist9 years old Li Zhongxin Johnson is now studying at the Hong Kong Yew Chung International School. He is a junior music student at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, studying under Professor Eleanor Wong. Johnson was the recipient of the Lang Lang Music Foundation scholarship in August 2011 “for demonstrating exceptional piano skills and musical talent”. Johnson had also participated in Piano Master Classes hold by Mr. Lang Lang and Kaplinsky, the head of the Piano Department of the Juilliard School in USA.
Johnson has also performed piano duets several times with Lang Lang at the Hong Kong UNICEF's twenty-fifth anniversary concert; the Special Program of CCTV1 “The First Lesson of the Term ”, and the Shenzhen New Year Concert of Dec. 31, 2011. Johnson has also performed with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra.

 


 

Alvaro PIERRI (Guitar)

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistAlvaro Pierri is internationally acclaimed as a leading personality in the world of the guitar. He received his early musical education from his mother on the piano and his aunt on the guitar. Later he studied with Abel Carlevaro, the composer Guido Santorsola and also at the Uruguayan National Institute of Musicology. He also won numerous prizes in international guitar competitions.

After his debut in the USA, he subsequently appeared on numerous radio and television programmes in Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Denmark, Canada, Korea and Japan. Pierri is a regular guest at the major concert houses of Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Contemporary composers such as Leo Brouwer, Guido Santorsola, Jacques Hetu, Astor Piazzolla, Abel Carlevaro, Carlo Domeniconi and Terry Riley have written major works for him. He has collaborated with major musical figures in chamber performances including Astor Piazzolla, Pascal Roge, Hatto Beyerle, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Ernö Sebestien, Regis Pasquier, Philippe Müller, Leo Brouwer, Alcides Lanza, Terry Riley, Tracy Silverman, Maureen Forrester, Eduardo Fernandez, the Cherubini Quartet and the Turtle Island String Quartet. He has also worked with conductors such as Pinchas Steinberg, Charles Dutoit, Wojciech Rajski, Mario Bernardi and Yannick Nezet-Séguin.

He was professor at the University of Santa Maria in Brail and subsequently ran a guitar class at McGill University and the UQAM (Academy of Music) in Montreal. In 2002 he was appointed professor at the famous Academy of music in Vienna (today University of Music and Performing Arts). Pierri gives master classes at major music festivals and also in Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and at The Joy of Music Festival in Hong Kong.

Alvaro Pierri’s CDs have been released by numerous labels. His discography includes solo recordings, chamber music, guitar concerts and electro-acoustic music. Several of his CDs have been honoured with prizes and he has received twice the coveted Canadian FELIX award for the best classical CD of the year.

The Alpha Omega Sound, the recording label of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong, has embarked in a long term project with Alvaro Pierri to issue a comprehensive survey of the major sonatas for guitar composed in the 19th to 21st centuries, The first CD has already been issued.

 


 

Ilya RASHKOVSKIY (Piano)

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistBorn in 1984 in Irkutsk, Russia, Ilya Rashkovskiy studied with Vladimir Krainev at the Hanover Hochschule für Musik und Theater. Since October 2009, he continues his studies at l’Ecole normale supérieure de musique in Paris with Marian Rybicki. He is the laureate of the 2001 Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris(second prize), the 2005 Jaén Competition(Spain) and the Hong Kong International Piano Competition(first prizes), the 2007 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels (fourth prize), the 2010 Vianna da Motta Competition in Lisbon(second prize) and the 2011 Artur Rubinstein Competition(third Prize).

Ilya Rashkovskiy has performed in several important concert venues throughout the world as well as in festivals such as La Roque d’Anthéron and the Duszniki Zdroj Chopin Festival in Poland. He has collaborated with the Russian State Symphony, the Kiev national Philarmonic, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Czech National Symphony and the New Japan Symphony.

He recorded the Seasons and Sonata in c-sharp minor by Tchaikovsky for the Naxos Label (2008) as well as Fantasies for piano by Mozart, Chopin, Liszt and Scriabin for the Alpha Omega Sound, the recording label of The Chopin Society of Hong Kong Ltd.(2009.

 


 

Jeremy SIEPMANN (writer, musician and teacher)

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistJeremy Siepmann is an internationally acclaimed writer, musician, teacher, broadcaster and editor. In recent years his series for Naxos Records – ‘Life and Works’ and ‘Classics Explained’ – have received exceptional accolades from critics and listeners on both sides of the Atlantic.

Though long resident in England, he was born and formally educated in the United States. On completing his studies at the Mannes College of Music in New York (piano, conducting, analysis) he moved to London, at the suggestion of Sir Malcolm Sargent. After several years as a freelance lecturer he was invited to join the staff of London University. For most of the last thirty years he has confined his teaching activity to the piano. His pupils, many coming from abroad for purposes of study with him, include pianists of worldwide repute. He has also given numerous masterclasses on both sides of the Atlantic and has been on the regular staff of the Chethams International Summer School and Festival for Pianists since 2002. In January 2004 he was appointed Professor of Musical Aesthetics and the History of Piano Performance at the International Piano Academy, Lake Como, Italy, and in 2010 joined the panel of lecturers at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education.

As a writer he has contributed articles, reviews, interviews and programme notes to numerous journals, recordings and reference works (including The New Statesman, The Listener, Encounter, The Musical Times, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, International Piano, Classical Music, Slavic Review and the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians) some of them being reprinted in book form (Oxford University Press, Robson Books). His books include highly acclaimed biographies of Chopin, Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, two volumes on the history and literature of the piano, and an introductory survey of chamber music. From December 1997 to February 2010 he was the editor of Piano magazine, whose regular contributors included many of the world’s greatest pianists.

His career as a broadcaster began in New York in 1963 with an East Coast radio series on the life and work of Mozart, described by Alistair Cooke as “the best music program on American radio”. On the strength of this, improbably, he was hired by the BBC as a humorist, in which capacity he furnished weekly satirical items on various aspects of American life. After a long break he returned to broadcasting in 1977, and has devised, written and presented more than 1,000 programmes, including the international-award-winning series The Elements of Music.

 


 

Raymond VONG (Percussion)

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistMacau-born Vong Wai Man, Raymond completed the Bachelor of Music (Honours) in The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), is acclaimed as “a very very musical musician” by the famous British percussionist, Evelyn Glennie. He is currently awarding the Y. S. Liu Foundation Scholarship for studying Master of Music in Performance in HKAPA with Mr. Alan Cumberland, Mr. Aziz D. Barnard Luce, Mr. Shaun Tilburg and Ms. Sophia Woo. He won several prizes in music competitions, including the first prize with “Honour” (Full mark) in percussion, advanced level, in the Macau Youth Music Competition.

Raymond is an active performer in Macau and Hong Kong. He has been regularly invited to play many orchestras, such as, Macao Orchestra, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, etc. On the other hand, Raymond has held different solo and ensemble concerts, including “Raymond and Lily Percussion Duo concert” (Macau, 2006 and 2008), “3+1 percussion quartet concert” (Macau, Hong Kong and China, 2008), “Raymond Vong Percussion Recital ‘Earnestness’.” (Macau and Hong Kong, 2011), “ ‘R/E MIX’ Raymond Vong and Emily Cheng Percussion Duo Concert” (Macau and Hong Kong, 2012), etc. Raymond also has a deeply interest in contemporary music and very often work with new composers. He has been invited by the Hong Kong University to play in a multimedia concert as a duo with international renowned violinist – Ms. Yao Jue and with high compliment.

Raymond participated in some music festivals all over the world, such as Nancy Zeltsman Marimba Festival in Wisconsin, Brevard music festival in North Carolina, etc. In 2007 and 2008 summer, Raymond participated in the tour of Asian Youth Orchestra, toured through Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Mainland China. Raymond has also benefited from the Master Class given by Nancy Zeltsman, Jean Geoffroy, Ivana Bilic, David Friedman, Taiko Saito, Pius Cheung, Frederic Macarez, Evelyn Glennie, Ney Rosauro, Ng Pui Ching, Ted Atkatz, etc.

Raymond has collaborated with various percussionist in founding Macau Percussion Association and Encore Percussion Ensemble to popularize percussion music and enhance the musical interflow between Macau and Hong Kong. Raymond is recently acting the executive director in the Association. He has also conducted music workshops for students and teachers both in Hong Kong and Macau with different music and education societies. He is currently a percussion instructor at Macau Band Directors Association, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, St. Paul's Co-Educational College and some schools in Hong Kong and Macau.

 


 

John Q. WALKER

Joy of Music 2012 ArtistDr. John Q. Walker is a classical musician, an inventor, an entertainer, an engineer, and an entrepreneur. He founded Zenph Sound Innovations, a software company that created technology for precisely understanding how musicians perform – and exactly replicating their nuanced touch. Imagine being able to sit in a room and hear Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Glenn Gould, or Duke Ellington play again as if they were there. Zenph’s recordings for Sony Music are among Stereophile magazine’s “Records to Die For,” and rated 10/10 by The Absolute Sound. The New York Times described Zenph’s work as one of the “Best Ideas of the Year.”

Dr. Walker’s TED Talk describes his ideas in creating an entirely new music industry. He has presented on topics related to science, music, and technology on stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Harlem’s Apollo Theater, L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium, and Toronto’s ideaCity. Ruth Slenczynska is one of his piano teachers (she’s Rachmaninoff’s only living student); he’s also worked on projects with musicians as diverse as Seiko Matsuda, Joshua Bell, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Zuill Bailey, Oscar Peterson, and Quincy Jones.

Attached to his home in Raleigh is a modern recital hall, possibly the finest of its size in the USA. It served as the test lab and R&D center for Zenph. It houses a range of state-of-the-art virtual and robotic concert instruments.

Walker has extensive experience in the development and management of emerging technologies in engineering development organizations. In his career at IBM, Dr. Walker was influential in the creation of widely-used local-area network (LAN) and the wireless LAN (“Wi-Fi”) standards. He was a co-founder of Gany­mede Software in the Research Triangle.  In his five years as vice presi­dent of product de­velopment, Ganymede products consistently won “Best Prod­uct” and “Prod­uct of the Year” awards. Dr. Walker co-authored a pioneering book for Cisco Press on Voice-over-IP, and also a book on portable net­work pro­gram­ming for McGraw-Hill. He holds eight pat­ents.

His Bachelor degrees in piano and mathematics, and a Master’s degree in computer science, are from Southern Illinois University, where he was named to its Alumni Hall of Fame. Walker received a Ph.D. in software engineering from the University of North Carolina, and was named a Distinguished Graduate Alumnus at the school’s centennial. His current focus is on one of the unsolved Millennium Prize problems, relating physics and mathematics.

 

 

 
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