2021 UK Purcell International Youth Piano Competition Hong Kong Division Judges (ranking in no particular order)
Mr. Ma
Known as "one of the best young pianists in Hong Kong", "whose performance is full of deep concentration and masterly style", Hong Kong pianist Ma has won many awards and scholarships, including the Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarship, Standard Chartered Bank Scholarship, Bemard Van Zuiden Foundation Scholarship, and has won many awards in competitions, including the Singapore Rolex Performance Award and the third place in the Asian Mozart Bicentennial Piano Competition. Ma is active in performance and education, and has held solo recitals in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Macau, with great success. In 1999, he was invited to participate in the concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and premiered Kwan Nai-chung's Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. His performance at the 2008 Shanghai Spring International Music Festival was praised by music critics as "a first-class performer who awed the audience with his passionate artistic temperament and dazzling skills." He was also invited to perform in the "Asian Piano Concert" held in Seoul, South Korea in 2006 and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2009. Ma has performed with many symphony orchestras, including the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Traffic Police Orchestra and Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra.
In addition, he has recorded for radio and television stations in Canada, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, etc. Ma is also passionate about music education and has held numerous master classes, public lectures and served as a lecturer in teacher training in Southeast Asia, China and Hong Kong.
Ma graduated with honors from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and later went to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada, where he graduated with first-class honors. He studied under Professors such as Lin Minrou, Guo Jiate, John Winther, Boris Lysenko, and Li Mingqiang.
Ma currently teaches at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has also been invited to serve as the Hong Kong Regional Advisor to the Trinity College of Music in London and as a Visiting Professor at Yunnan Normal University.
Mr. Zhang Tao
Zhang Tao started learning piano at the age of nine. In 1988, he was admitted to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to study with Kwok Gabriel, and completed the Advanced Diploma program with honors in 1992. He is currently studying for a doctorate at the University of Kansas with pianist Costa. He has performed well in many international piano competitions. In 1996, he became the first champion of the Hemmel International Piano Competition in Slovakia and won the Best Interpretation Award for a Hemmel work. In July 1997, he won the Vänermot International Piano Competition, becoming the first Chinese to win the award, and won the Best Interpretation Award for a Chopin Nocturne. His name is even recorded in the biography of contemporary Chinese artists.
Zhang has given recitals and chamber music in Vienna, Brazil, Toulouse, Budapest, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Portugal and the United States. In 1998, he gave three debut concerts in three concert halls: Carnegie Hall, Wegmont Hall and Pleyel Hall. He has also performed concertos with orchestras including the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Slovak Sinfonietta, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Guo Xiaoxi
Dr. Guo Xiaoxi, a young American pianist, was born in Chengdu, Sichuan. In 2018, she received a doctorate in music arts in piano performance from the Manhattan Conservatory of Music. While studying for a doctorate in piano performance, Guo Xiaoxi taught the school's piano public and elective courses. Dr. Guo was invited to serve as the chairman of the Sichuan branch of the World Piano Teachers Association (WPTA) and the artistic director of the IPC International Piano Competition. She served as a special expert of Zhang Zhe's Piano Studio and held public lectures, which received a warm response.
In 2008, she went to the Manhattan Conservatory of Music in New York as a scholarship student to study piano performance and studied under the internationally renowned piano educator Professor Solomon Mikowsky and Professor Marc Silverman, the head of the piano department of the Manhattan Conservatory of Music. During this period, he received guidance and praise from artists including Matti Raekallio, Robert Levin, Alexander Korsantia, Victor Rosenbaum, Massimiliano Ferrati, Alexander Braginsky, Hung-Kuan Chen, Pi-hsien Chen, Meng Chieh Liu, and Ya-Fei Chuang, who taught at the Juilliard School and the Hannover Conservatory of Music. In 2012, 2014 and 2018, she completed her undergraduate, master's and doctoral studies with a GPA close to the perfect average. During this period, she was awarded the Dean's List and the President's Award for outstanding students. In addition to piano, Guo Xiaoxi also studied harpsichord performance for two years with harpsichord expert Ms. Jocelyn Stewart at the Manhattan Conservatory of Music and performed in New York many times.
Guo Xiaoxi has won many awards and been invited to perform in domestic and international competitions. These include the Manhattan Conservatory of Music Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition Grand Prize, the 1st Kawai Piano Competition Second Prize, the 3rd Asian Youth Piano Competition Mendelssohn Group Second Prize and Chopin Group Third Prize, the 6th CCTV National Television Art Awards Instrumental Group Bronze Prize, the 10th Xinghai Cup National Piano Competition Second Prize, the 1st Los Angeles Pan-Pacific Youth Competition Special Award, etc. In addition, he has performed in many domestic and foreign concerts and music festivals, such as the famous Walnut Hill Music Festival in the United States and participated in the International Keyboard Institute & Festival as a scholarship recipient.
After winning the second place in the A group of the first "Kadenza" Cup National Youth Chinese Piano Competition in Beijing, he donated all the prize money to the Hope Project and was praised by many media reports. Before going to the United States to study, in 2005, Guo Xiaoxi was admitted to the High School Affiliated to Sichuan Conservatory of Music with the first place in piano major. In the same year, he was invited to participate in the recording of the Sichuan Provincial Social Art Level Music Piano Grade Examination Teaching Demonstration DVD and distributed it throughout the province and received wide acclaim.
In addition to solo performances, as a chamber music performer, her piano quintet, piano trio, violin-piano duet and double piano group have been instructed and praised by experts including Professor Laurie Carney of the American String Quartet, Professor André-Michel Schub, winner of the Van Kleben Competition, famous chamber music performer Anton Nel, winner of the Naumburg Prize in Germany, Dr. Curtis Macomber, professor at the Juilliard/Manhattan School of Music, and Professor Jeffrey Cohen of the Manhattan School of Music.
At the Liangzhu International Violin Art Festival, Guo Xiaoxi participated in the work of the teaching group, serving as an assistant translator for Professor Boris Kuschnir of the famous Vienna University of Music and Arts, and as an assistant to Professor Takashi Shimizu of the famous Tokyo National University of Music and Arts in the Hong Kong International Online Music School/Shlomo Mintz International Violin Master Class held at the Central Conservatory of Music in the same year.
Young pianist and chamber music performer living in the United States
Doctor of Piano, Manhattan Conservatory of Music
Piano public class teacher at Manhattan Conservatory of Music
Multiple competition winner
Ms. Wang Xiuting
Wong majored in Music at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and graduated with First Class Honours. She was later awarded a Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Scholarship to fully fund her tuition and living expenses. She went to Indiana University in the United States and obtained a Master of Music in Piano Performance. She studied with the world-renowned pianist Menahem Pressler (founder of Beaux Art Trio). Her other main teachers include Dr. Wu Mei-lok, Ms. Luo Nai-san, and Mr. Chen Zhaoxun. She has performed at the Moscow Conservatory, Adamant Music School, and the International Keyboard Institute & Festival in New York, and has been coached by world-renowned pianists such as Victor Rosabaum, Jerome Rose, Mikhail Olenyev and Jenny Zakharyeva.
In addition to the Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Scholarship, she has also received many other awards, including the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship, the John Pomfret Prize, the Hu Gefei Graduate Overseas Study Memorial Scholarship, the Indiana University Music Scholarship, the Man Ruiting Scholarship, the Fulton Scholarship, the Bank of East Asia Scholarship and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Academic Creative Writing Award.
She is currently a piano tutor at the Education University of Hong Kong and teaches piano performance and piano teaching methods in many institutions, including the Hong Kong International School of Music, the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong, and the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She also frequently organizes piano master classes and workshops and lectures on piano teaching methods, and has trained many piano teachers. In recent years, she has also been invited to the Department of Music of the Chinese University of Hong Kong to give guest lectures on piano teaching methods.
Her students have won awards in many major piano competitions and received music scholarships from many world-renowned universities, including the University of Cambridge, Winchester College, Tonbridge School, Downe House, Whitgift School, etc. Many of her students have been admitted to famous foreign music colleges, such as the Royal Northern College of Music (UK), or to the music departments of local universities in Hong Kong.
She has also served as an external examiner for many tertiary institutions and as a judge in many large-scale piano competitions, including the Hong Kong Youth Piano Competition, the Hong Kong Youth Piano Open Competition, and the Hong Kong International Youth Performing Arts.
She is currently committed to piano teaching, nurturing many young talents, and often mentoring current piano teachers to improve their skills, teaching quality and piano qualifications. She is also the chairman of the Hong Kong International Piano Teaching Method Association.
美國印弟安納大學鋼琴演奏碩士
香港中文大學文學士(音樂) (一等榮譽)
香港賽馬會音樂及舞蹈基金獎學金得獎者
尤德學人(尤德獎學金得獎者)
LTCL, AMusTCL
Mr. Wong Nai Wai
Wong Nai-wai is a contemporary pianist and composer in Hong Kong who is a crossover between classical and jazz music. His "piano improvisation" was praised by the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who called him "an impressive talent". In 2017, he was invited by the famous composer Tan Dun to perform his piano concerto at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Huang has studied at the Salzburg International Music Master Class in Austria and the Beijing International Music Festival. He has given performances and lectures in many places, including the Concert Hall of the Austrian Mozarteum University, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Hong Kong City Hall, the Hong Kong Government House, the Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall, the Shenzhen Grand Theater, the Qingdao Grand Theater, the Beijing China Conservatory of Music, the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, the Inner Mongolia Academy of Arts, and Shantou University. In addition, Huang Naiwei is also involved in composition and improvisation, especially in jazz, pop, and film music creation. He was recognized by Universal Music (Hong Kong) and participated in the recording and production of the music album "Fu Ke" by the famous Hong Kong music star Hacken Lee. His works "Yearning" and "Recalling Porcelain Hometown" were world premiered in Hong Kong and Jingdezhen, Jiangxi in 2015 and 2018 respectively, with cellist Jia Nan and violinist Wei Ningyi. In 2018, Huang participated in the production of the original musical "Heroes' Celebration" staged at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China, and served as the composer of the musical. Recently, he collaborated with Hong Kong Film Award winner and famous musician Peter Kam to perform at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
In 2016, Huang was also the guest of honor for the launch of the "CELVIANO Grand Hybrid" piano developed by CASIO and C.Bechstein. In the same year, he performed Mozart's piano concertos with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in the "260th Anniversary of Mozart's Birthday". In addition, Huang also performed as a soloist and ensemble pianist at the "Hong Kong Arts, Culture and Music at the Airport" Festival. He has been invited to serve as a judge for many competitions, including the "Hong Kong International Piano Invitational Competition", "China-Singapore Music Competition Inner Mongolia Trial", "International Chinese Music Festival", "Park Music Festival", "Hong Kong-Asia Piano Open Competition", etc. He was also invited by the Chinese Musicians Association, the Chinese Pianists Association and the Park Group to attend the "7th Yangtze River Piano Art Festival" as a guest of honor in Hong Kong. In addition, when the "Xiangyuan Piano Museum" in Shantou opened, Huang was invited to explain the antique pianos in the museum's collection at the opening ceremony, and then he was the first performing guest to perform in its "Artist Recital Series".
In his early years, Wong Nai-wai studied piano with Mr. Yu Yang. After graduating from the piano major of the Affiliated High School of Xinghai Conservatory of Music, he studied under Professor Xian Jinsong. He then entered the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a scholarship and completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in the class of Professor Guo Jiate, the head of the piano department. During this period, he studied piano art with famous pianists and educators such as Dmitri Bashkirov, Arie Vardi, Jerome Lowenthal, Sequeira Costa, Aquiles Delle Vigne, and Professor Li Jinxing, and received high praise. Wong Nai-wai is currently a youth course instructor at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and a music consultant for the Greater China region of the Hong Kong International Musicians and Artists Association.
Ms. Wu Lingling
Wu has won many awards in Hong Kong and international piano competitions. In 2005, he studied at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music High School under the guidance of Mr. Xian Jinsong, a German pianist, and Mr. Du Ningwu, a pianist and composer. He then obtained a bachelor's degree in piano from the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, studying with Dr. Li Suirong, a Chinese-Canadian pianist, and also studied piano teaching and chamber music with Dr. Zhao Jin. In 2009, he participated in the Korean International Piano Music Festival and won the gold medal. In 2012, he won the Guangzhou Open Piano Competition. During his university years, he was an excellent student and received first-class scholarships from the National Education Bureau for three consecutive years.
In the same year, Wu was admitted to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Keyboard Department to study for a master's degree in music with excellent results. He studied piano under Professor Guo Jiate, the head of the Academy for Performing Arts Keyboard Department, and published a thesis: "Damper Pedalling in Debussy", which was recognized and appreciated by Roy Howat, a world-renowned Debussy scholar. During his time at the school, he held solo recitals, lecture concerts and chamber music concerts, which received unanimous praise.
Wu is active on the music stage, having participated in the premiere of the flute concerto "Sorrowful Empty Mountain" with flute player Mr. Chen Jingzhen at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall; he has also collaborated with the principal trumpet player of the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra to record an album, etc.
盧嘉博士
鋼琴演奏家盧嘉博士生於音樂家庭，曾就讀香港演藝學院，多倫多皇家音樂學院，美國歐柏林音樂學院及克利夫蘭音樂學院，主修鋼琴演奏。除師從 Paul Schenly, Daniel Shapiro, Monique Duphil, Boris Lysenko及John Winther 之外，並曾受多位大師指導，包括﹕Barry Snyder, Dmitri Bashkirov, Ferenc Rados, Jerome Lowenthal, Murray Perahia, Russell Sherman, Seymour Lipkin, Stephen Hough, 傅聰﹐劉詩昆﹐殷承宗和郭嘉特等。 在學習期間，主要研究分析貝多芬及蕭邦作品的歷史背景和音樂結構，其中兩篇著作就是以「貝多芬後期鋼琴奏鳴曲的不尋常賦格規律」，和「蕭邦二十四首前奏曲的統一特性」為題。 此外，他歷年來共獲得多項殊榮，如: 加拿大全國音樂比賽國際組鋼琴大獎，美國紐約肖邦鋼琴比賽及Kosciuszko鋼琴比賽亞軍﹐阿圖爾·羅薩(Arthur Loesser)鋼琴獎，威廉·克拉斯賓(William Kruzban) 鋼琴獎，路易思·考夫曼(Louis Kaufman)室內樂獎﹐歐柏林音樂學院最佳伴奏獎﹐並連續三年被選為利伯拉齊學者( Liberace Scholar)。
在演奏事業方面﹐盧嘉一直活躍於南北美洲﹐中國﹐及香港的舞台上。 他先後與多倫多交響樂團和克利夫蘭音樂學院樂團合作演出，亦是首位在美國及加拿大公演貝多芬和舒伯特全套鋼琴奏鳴曲的華人青年鋼琴家。在2006樂季，他在中國重慶、成都、貴陽、綿陽、深圳、廣州和北京等地巡迴演出，並於2007年夏在重慶市成功舉辦了一連八場的貝多芬奏鳴曲全集的中國首演。近年他採用中國民族品牌“長江鋼琴”舉辦多次巡迴獨奏會，到訪青島，太原，鄭州，杭州，溫州，寧波，惠州等十數個省市並舉辦大師班。除了獨奏以外，盧嘉也擅長演奏室內樂。 他的合奏曲目包括貝多芬的全套小提琴與大提琴奏鳴曲， 以及勃拉姆斯的全套中、小提琴奏鳴曲，後者更被美國WCLV電臺作現場直播。
盧嘉的演奏深受各國媒體的一致好評。 他的首張CD唱片已由美國BRIOSO唱片公司發行，曲目包括貝多芬的最後六首鋼琴奏鳴曲。美國權威唱片雜誌American Record Guide認為“確實是令人留下非常深刻的印象”。 而中國「鋼琴藝術」雜誌，則評論他演繹的貝多芬奏鳴曲具有“一種率直的氣勢和令人信服的感染力，毫無矯揉造作的意味，並出色地揭示了作曲家各首奏鳴曲中不同的風格”。 美國「平原日報」(The Plain Dealer) 及「美國公報」(The Gazette) 的樂評人認為他的演奏“絕對地令人驚嘆”， 並高度讚揚他是“一個超級的音樂家，有極棒的技術和風格上無盡的吸引力”。
2004年，盧嘉獲美國克利夫蘭音樂學院頒發鋼琴藝術博士學位，並早於2002年已受聘為該校教師， 教授鋼琴，樂理和鋼琴藝術史。 由於教學成績優異，他被提名為2007-08年度最優秀教師。 多年來他擔任多個美國﹐香港﹐及中國的鋼琴比賽評判﹐並曾獲廣州星海音樂學院及深圳藝術學校邀請出任客席考官及導師。近年，盧嘉亦活躍於幕後工作，先後舉辦“香港優秀鋼琴師生音樂會”及協辦香港演藝學院校友會之“音樂馬拉松”籌款音樂會。盧嘉博士現為英國聖三一音樂院香港區顧問，及任教於香港浸會大學和香港演藝學院。
Huang Weiran
Born in Hong Kong, young pianist Wong Wai-yin is a Steinway Young Artist. She graduated with first-class honors from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a bachelor's degree, and was awarded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Trust Fund Scholarship to study at Johns Hopkins University School of Music and obtain a master's degree. She was later admitted to Yale University with a full scholarship to study for a Diploma of Artists. She has studied with Professor Guo Jiate; Mr. Xu Ning; Prof. Boris Slutsky and Prof. Boris Berman. Wai-yin is also a recipient of the Mrs. Feng Bingfan Scholarship and the Asian Cultural Association Scholarship.
Wei-ran has won numerous awards in Hong Kong and international piano competitions. She is the youngest winner of the New South Wales International Piano Competition in Australia, the runner-up of the 17th Hilton International Piano Competition in the United States, and the winner of the Nouve Special Award at the 2nd BNDES International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Wei-ran was also the youngest winner of the 7th Horowitz International Piano Competition and won five special awards.
Wei-ran has given recitals in many places, including the 39th Hong Kong Art Festival Recital, the 46th Hong Kong Art Festival Piano Concert and the opening recital of the Newport International Music Festival in the United States; the "Young Musicians Tour" at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; the National University of Singapore Recital and the New York Carnegie Hall Chamber Music Recital. Wei-ran has collaborated with many orchestras, including the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Shantou Philharmonic Orchestra, the Macau Orchestra, the Hilton Symphony Orchestra, the Yale University Symphony Orchestra, the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra, the New Haifa Symphony Orchestra of Israel and the Hong Kong Children's Symphony Orchestra.
Wong was awarded the "Outstanding Service Award" by the Hong Kong Government in recognition of her active promotion of Hong Kong's culture and arts and her outstanding participation in international cultural and arts activities.
吳斯斯女士
吳斯斯女士先後畢業於香港浸會大學音樂及藝術系及香港中文大學音樂文學碩士課程，專業範疇包括鋼琴演奏及教學法，並具有倫敦聖三一音樂學院最高級別院士演奏文憑（FTCL)。曾師隨亞洲著名鋼琴家洪昶及馬驄老師學習鋼琴， 並且跟隨鍾裕森博士及梁靜宜女士學習古鍵琴和聲樂。
吳氏熱衷於音樂教學及演奏，參與過無數國際及本地演出，而且演出項目經驗多元化。曾為中英話劇團、香港兒童音樂劇團、香港浸會大學女聲合唱團擔任鋼琴伴奏，於香港各大型表演場地演出無數劇目，並曾受邀前往上海、台灣、日本、韓國、新加坡、泰國、美國和加拿大等地巡迴演出。
由2005年開始加入新世紀青年管弦樂團擔任鋼琴首席, 曾於香港大會堂及文化中心音樂廳擔任獨奏, 與樂團合奏蓋希文之「藍色狂想曲」、蕭斯達科維奇之第二號鋼琴協奏曲, 聖桑著名雙鋼琴協奏曲「動物狂歡節」深獲好評。2012年受任香港婦協六藝管弦樂團為鍵盤系首席，代表香港參與各大專業演出，如法國五月及慶回歸音樂會中演出「黃河」鋼琴協奏曲。
吳氏並曾以音樂成就獲選為「海外傑青匯中華」之香港代表。多年來致力於演奏及教育工作，於香港不同中小學舉辦音樂工作坊，並受邀為香港聯校音樂大賽擔任鋼琴獨奏組評判。
Principal Ho Shu-yan
Principal Ho Shuk-yan has been learning piano since she was young. She studied under pianist Teresita Botelho. She then went to the UK to study piano performance with famous pianists such as Maria Ho, Dennis Lee and Michael Round. She obtained a Bachelor of Music degree with Class A honors. She then obtained a Master of Music degree with honors from Hong Kong Baptist University.
Principal Ho started teaching piano full-time more than 20 years ago. In recent years, he has traveled to the United States many times to study Kodaly, Duckworth and Osborne music teaching methods at famous institutions such as New York University, Juilliard School of Music and Eastman School of Music. He was awarded the "Outstanding Music Teacher in Hong Kong" award by the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) and was invited to attend the "Australia-Asia Piano Teaching Seminar" at the Victoria Academy of the Arts in Melbourne.
Principal Ho actively introduces excellent music examinations and new piano teaching materials from various places, and often participates in Asian and international music education conferences and other activities. He was invited by TVB to host a 7-episode program to introduce the music teaching methods of Kodayi and Dalcroze. He was also interviewed by the media such as Hong Kong Radio, Metro Radio, Sing Tao Daily, Economic Daily and Ming Pao to discuss the current situation of music education in Hong Kong, and regularly writes articles about piano education for the Peegaboo parent-child website. In 2014, he published the book "Teaching Capriccio".
In 2004, Principal Ho and Principal Ho Wai-ling opened the famous Hong Kong Piano Education Academy (HKPPEA), and founded the Hong Kong Professional Piano Education Association in the same year. After the establishment of the association, many local and overseas piano pigs and education pigs were invited to hold more than 100 training courses, lectures, master classes and workshops for piano teachers and students in Hong Kong.
The principal is currently a lecturer and brass piano tutor at the Bachelor of Music program at Kingston University in London, UK.
