| Dr. Yip Wai-hong |
Music Director/ Conductor |
Dr. Yip Wai-hong entered the Yen-Ching University in Beijing and later graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, majoring in music theory and composition. In 1970, he received a Master's Degree in church music from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, the United States. His graduation composition The Symphony of the Earth, a symphony poem, won him the First-Class Composition Award. In 1979, he got the Doctor of the Musical Arts degree from the South-western Baptist Theological Seminary, Forth Worth. Dr. Yip is the Music Director and Conductor of the Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra which he founded in 1976, and in 1996, he founded the Hong Kong Children's Symphony Orchestra. Prior to the establishment of the Yip's Children Choir in 1983, he founded the Hong Kong Children's Choir in 1969 and was honoured the title 'Father of Children's Choir'. In 2003, he was awarded the Medal of Honour of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. On 5th September 2006, he was conferred the Award of Honorary University Fellow of Hong Kong Baptist University.
| Jimmy Chiang |
Principal Guest Conductor |
First prize of the Fourth International Competition of
Young
Conductors 'Lovro von Matacic' in Croatia, 2007
Born in Hong Kong, conductor and pianist Jimmy Chiang began his musical education at the age of four with piano studies in Hong Kong under Choi Ching-yee, later with theory and composition under Dr. Yip Wai-hong and cello from Wang Yau-kin, later with composition and cello as well. At the age of 16, he received the Fellowship Diploma of Trinity College in London, later Bachelor of Music Degree from Baylor University, United States and "Magister Artium" with distinction from University for Music and Performing Arts of Vienna. He studied with International renowned conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Leopold Hager, Erwin Ortner and pianists such as Krassimira Jordan and Wolfgang Watzinger.
In 2007, Chiang won the First Prize at the Fourth International Competition of Young Conductors “Lovro von Matacic” in Zagreb, Croatia. Other Awards included “Würdigungspreis” from the University for Music and Performing Arts of Vienna in recognition of his outstanding musical achievement, the Hannah Adler Music Scholarship (Vienna), the "Bärenreiter Urtext Preis" at the Third International Competition for Young Choir Directors (Vienna), the Tokyo Foundation Music Scholarship (Japan), the Presser Foundation Music Award (United States) and the “Performing Arts Showcase Winner” of the Golden Key International Honor Society (United States).
He was invited to participate in Music Festivals such as the Rohm Music Festival in Kyoto, Japan, the European Piano Forum in Berlin and the Macao International Music Festival.
Since the age of 13, Chiang has appeared often on stage as concert pianist. In addition, he is highly demanded as vocal coach and accompanist at international singing competitions, masterclasses, and song recitals as well as chamber music concerts.
As conductor, Chiang was appointed musical assistant and conductor of numerous opera productions at the Schlosstheater Schönbrunn in Vienna from 2004 to 2006. Since 2007, Chiang appeared regularly as assistant conductor of opera productions at Theater Lübeck and the Eutin Festival in Germany. He is at the moment the Principal Guest Conductor of the Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra as well as the Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra. Other orchestras he has conducted included Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna, Lübeck Philharmonic, Zagreb Philharmonic, Oradea Philharmonic and Hong Kong Sinfonietta in major venues such as the Golden Hall of Musikverein in Vienna.
| David Hyung Ki Park |
Violin Soloist |
Winner of the Irving M. Klein International Competition and The Coleman National Chamber Music Competition
David H. Park started playing the violin at the age of five in Seoul, Korea. Park has studied with some of the most distinguished artists and teachers, such as Jascha Heifetz, Josef Gingold and Dorothy Delay. He received his Bachelor of Music at the University of Indiana and Master of Music at the Juilliard School.
Park maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras throughout the world and his recital and chamber music activities. Park appeared as a soloist with the Utah Symphony, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Harmonic Orchestra, the Korean Chamber Orchestra, Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, the Daegu Symphony, the Inchon Symphony and Santa Ana Symphony. Park has given recitals in many of the world’s great concert halls including Carnegie Weill Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Salle de Pleyel in Paris, and Sejong Music Center in Seoul. Park has also performed on national television and radio broadcasts in the United States, France and Korea. Furthermore, Park has participated as both soloist and chamber musician in summer festivals such as the Music Festivals of Aspen, Vienna, Music Academy of the West, Wintergreen Music Festival, and
Aix-en Provence, France.
Some of Park’s highlights include his first return to Seoul, Korea, performing the Lalo Symphonie Espagnole with the Seoul Philharmonic. Park made his New York debut performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in Carnegie Weill Hall. Park performed both solo and chamber music in collaboration with Augustin Dumay in France which was broadcasted nationally by France Musique, the main classical radio station in France. In 2004, Park soloed with the Pyongyang State Orchestra of North Korea in a cultural exchange gala concert. In 2008, he will be playing with Roanoke Symphony in Virginia, Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra in Hong Kong and a recital in Rochester, New York.
Currently, Park is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Utah Symphony and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Music at the University of Utah. Prior to joining the Utah Symphony, Park was the Concertmaster of the Festival d’Art Lyrique de Musique d’Aix-en Provence, Wintergreen Music Festival Orchestra, the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra working with such musicians as Joseph Silverstein, Leonard Slatkin, John Williams, Robert Mann, Keith Lockhart and Reinhart Goeble of Antiqua Cologne. In the spring of 2005, Park held a position of Distinguished Artist at the UC Santa Barbara.
His awards includes Recipient of the Youth Musicians Foundation Grant and the Performance, Certificate from Indiana University of Excellence in Performing, Winner of the Irving M. Klein International Competition and The Coleman National Chamber Music Competition.
| Henry Choi |
Violin Soloist |
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Henry Choi started his musical training at the age of five. He fell in love with both the violin and the piano. He later joined the Hong Kong Children's Choir under Dr. Yip Wai-hong and performed with the group in its European Tour.
In 1990, Choi received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics at Occidental College. In his freshman year, he received the Howard Swan Award in recognition of his outstanding musical talent. During his four years at Occidental, he was the Assistant Concertmaster of the Occidental/Caltech Symphony. He was the winner of the Occidental/Caltech Symphony Concerto Competition and gave two solo performances with the orchestra. During the summer of 1990, he toured with the Olympic Philharmonic and performed in different cities in Taiwan, highlighted by a performance at the Taipei Chiang Kai Shek Cultural Center Concert Hall.
Henry studied with the late Eudice Shapiro in 1991 and graduated with his Master of Music degree in Violin Performance at the University of Southern California (USC) in 1994. He performed in numerous solo recitals, played with the USC Symphony, USC Opera and different chamber music groups. He performed at the Manchester Music Festival in Vermont during the summers of 1991 and 1992. He is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and Music Honor Society of Pi Kappa Lambda. In remembrance of his teacher, Henry and his family established the Eudice Shapiro Violin Scholarship at USC in 2006.
Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra
Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra is a highly organized orchestra aiming at promoting music among the general public especially the young generation in Hong Kong. In order to achieve its goal, the Orchestra has performed frequently in the Hong Kong City Hall, regional town halls and civic centres a few hundred times over the past thirty years. A number of internationally famous conductors and soloists have been invited to perform with it. By using the idioms of popular music and organizing concert talks, the Orchestra has successfully introduced serious music and Chinese orchestral music to the public, and at the same time, brought about an awareness of the indigenous culture of the people.
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