Artistic Director and Conductor : Dr. Henry Shek
Dr. Henry Shek is regarded by many critics and musicians as one of the outstanding conductors of today. His warm personality and his dynamic yet passionate style of music making have made him a favourite conductor all over the world.
Dr. Shek graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of music with honours in conducting in 1971. Dr. Shek was immediately invited by the conductor-composer Yasushi Akutagawa to be his assistant in Tokyo where he conducted the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the New Symphony Orchestra. He won the Third prize in the Minon National Young Conductors Competition held in Tokyo that year. In the following years he has won several prizes in international conducting competitions such as the Herbert Von Karajan International Conducting Competition in Berlin, the San Remo Opera House Conducting Competition in Italy and the Besancon Conducting Competition in France. He was also awarded the “Outstanding Young Conductor Award for New Music” prize at the competition for young conductors in Warsaw. Since then, Dr. Shek has made well received appearances with prestigious orchestras and opera houses throughout Europe.
In 1976, Dr. Shek made his debut in Hong Kong conducting the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and was immediately engaged to return as a regular guest conductor for the following seasons. His success soon travelled to Taiwan where he was invited in 1978 to conduct the Taipei Municipal Symphony Orchestra and was received with tremendous enthusiasm by the Taiwanese audience and music community. A Chinese music enthusiast, Dr. Shek was also one of the very first conductors to make a series of recordings devoted to Chinese orchestral music with the Tokyo Philharmonic, released by EMI records. Since then, Dr. Shek has made numerous recordings of Chinese music with the Gumma Symphony of Japan, The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and won a Platinum Disc award with his well-praised recording of “Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto” in 1982. His recent recording of “Colourful Clouds” with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra in 1994 was one of the top ten best selling recordings in both 1994 and 1995 in Hong Kong.
Dr. Shek is also a specialist in twentieth century contemporary music. In New York, he founded the Sinfonia da Camera of New York and The Concert Orchestra of Asian Contemporary Music where he premiered many works of Asian composers. Dr. Shek has recorded many symphonic and operatic repertoires for worldwide distribution. He has also appeared in numerous concerts and opera productions for television broadcast in Europe and the United States. His recordings with the Moscow Symphony of rare selections of Russian composers have won him distinguished reviews from the American CD Guide. His platinum CDs have won him the title of best-selling conductor second to Herbert von Karajan.
Active in the operatic scene in New York, Dr. Shek was appointed Music Director of the Manhattan Opera Society in 1979 where he produced more than five grand operas as well as operettas with more than a hundred performances each year. He was also invited to conduct other opera companies in New York such as the Bel Canto Opera, the New York Lyric Opera and the Regina Opera, where he not only conducted standard grand operas but also introduced unknown and neglected operatic works such as Rossini’s “Otello” and Puccini’s “La Rondine ”. In 1983, amidst his busy schedule, Dr. Shek managed to obtain his Master’s degree in conducting from the State University of New York where he studied with Arthur Weisberg who is a well-respected specialist in contemporary music. In 1984, Dr. Shek was one of the first overseas Chinese nationals to be invited to conduct both the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of Beijing and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra with overwhelming success. In the following year, Dr. Shek made his debut with the Central Opera Company conducting the Chinese Premiere of “Pagliacci” and “Gianni Schicchi” in cooperation with the stage direction of famous Italian opera stage director Gino Becchi.
In 1982, Dr. Shek made his debut conducting the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. He was so well received that he was invited back regularly until he became the Music Director in June, 1993. In 1992, Dr. Shek was invited to conduct the Taipei Experimental Chinese Orchestra. His popularity with the orchestra encouraged his return in the following year to conduct other orchestras in Taiwan such as the National Concert Hall Orchestra, the Taiwan Symphony and the Taipei Municipal Chinese Orchestra.
During Dr. Shek’s appointment with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, he made remarkable achievements with the orchestra not only in raising its artistic standard but also in exploring new frontiers in music. He led the orchestra for the first time in music history performing together with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in the “Musical Offering of the Century” and supervised and conducted the grand production of the very first Hong Kong style musical “Tale of the Walled City” in collaboration with the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and the Hong Kong Dance Company in 1994. Both musical events were significant milestones in the history of the orchestra, as well as breakthroughs in the musical history of Hong Kong.
Dr. Shek is active in the musical scene in European countries as well as the Americas. He was frequently guesting conducting the Orchestras of France, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Russia and Mexico. Everywhere he goes, he receives high acclaims from the orchestra and the music community there. At home in Hong Kong, Dr. Shek is also active in the local music community in bringing up new generation of musicians. He is the Artistic Director of the Hong Kong Chorus, the Music Director of The New Philharmonia of Hong Kong. In 2006, he was appointed Artistic Director and Music Director of VTC Symphony and VTC Chorus, and made two recordings in 2016 and 2017 for the two young groups.
In 2006, Shek was awarded the Most Outstanding Chinese of the World together with an honorary doctor degree. And in 2009, he was awarded his second honorary doctorate degree.
Assistant Conductor: Mr. Ho Ping Hing Ken
Ken was born with a gentle voice, and the art of singing gave him a very different one. His choral training from early years has inspired him to pursue his love of singing at the Hong Kong International Institute of Music and later got an honours degree at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), with grants from the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation Scholarship. He has learned about different techniques and styles from Ghillian Sullivan, Lan Rao, David Quah and Peter Lally. He has often performed in Opera & Stagecraft Workshops in Sydney, Australia, by Newcastle Festival Opera.
Ken has often worked as a vocal coach and musical director with youth as well as adult singers, from classical vocal music, a-cappella music to musical theatre. He was the singing coach for the HKAPA’s production of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit, the music director for many productions by the HK3AMI and the Leisure and Cultural Service Department in Hong Kong, including Romeo and Harriet (for the International Arts Carnival), Aladdin, Pinocchio, Once on this Island, The Wizard of Oz, Grease, The Little Mermaid and A Kidsummer Night’s Dream. He was involved in another production about thanksgiving, for the 3rd Hong Kong Thanksgiving Day, at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. He was also involved in a musical production about recycling, Prop Story. He was the Assistant Music Director for The Harmonics; the Conductor and has continued to be the Rehearsal Conductor for The Elements Choir.
Accompanying pianist: Mr. Harry Wong
Pianist | Conductor | Composer | Piano Accompanist | Educator
Founder and Art Director of Hong Kong Cultural Studio
Lecturer at the Hong Kong Polish Cultural Festival
Master of Music Studies, University of Sydney
(2020 Times Higher Education Impact Ranking No.2)
Bachelor of Music (Piano), Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
(2020 QS World Ranking No.7 in Performing Arts)
Winner of the Molly McAulay Memorial Full Scholarship
Harry is skilled in multiple professional fields, including piano performance, music education, competition, and the music industry. He not only performs solo and ensemble concerts around the world, but also collaborates regularly with conductors, orchestras, and chamber groups. He is also the founder of HKCS Hong Kong Cultural Studio, providing high-quality music venues and recording services for music lovers and assisting young musicians to showcase their talents through competitions and music production programs.
Harry’s early performance career took him to the United States, Austria, Australia, China and Hong Kong, where he became known for his excellent technique, rich and profound interpretation as well as colorful timbre. After winning the piano concerto competition in Sydney, Harry was immediately invited by Eduardo Diazmuñoz, a famous American conductor and student of the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, to perform Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the local orchestra in 2018. Both concerts were sold out and received high praise.