Kiko Shao, an active composer from Hong Kong, currently based in the UK She received her PhD in music composition at the University of Hong Kong and Master of Music at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She is currently a lecturer at the Cardiff University School of Music.Notable recent achievements include being selected for the BBC Composition: Wales 2025, the premier of my orchestra piece will be performed by BBC National Orchestra of Wales in March. Kiko has also been commissioned by Wales’s UPROAR new music ensemble; her piece Floating Theatre, composed for chamber ensemble, will be touring Wales in March. She was also selected for the Music Salon Concert by the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, where her work was premiered by the Mivos Quartet in May 2024 Kiko was shortlisted for the ISCM World Music Days 2023 and selected for the Psappha contemporary ensemble's Composing for… scheme. Her premiere work Throwback debuted at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama through the selection of the CoDi Lead programme by Tŷ Cerdd. Kiko is a trustee of the Tŷ Cerdd Wales Welsh Music, and a member of Hong Kong Composer Guild and Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong.
Ray Lin is an award-winning composer, conductor, and arranger for concert hall and screen. His works have been performed internationally in the US, UK, China, New Zealand, and Australia, and has written for the Queensland Pops Orchestra, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, Camerata –QLD’s Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Central Coast, Queensland Conservatorium Symphony, renowned guiarist Karin Schaupp, pipa virtuosos Zhou Yi (USA), Lulu Liu (AUS) among others. Ray’s music has also been showcased in festivals including VIVID Sydney, Sydney Film Festival, BrisAsia Festival, Brisbane Festival; and through a range of prestigious venues and platforms in Australia, including ABC Classic, SBS, QPAC, Brisbane City Hall and more. As a composer, Ray has received many outstanding awards including winning the Contemporary Classical Song of the Year prize at the 2020 Queensland Music Awards and a David Blumberg Award from the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (2022). Ray was named Young Composer of the Year (2024) with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and was appointed emerging composer-in-residence with Camerata for 2023.
Michele Deiana is an Italian composer based in London. He studied in the Conservatories of Cagliari (studies in classical guitar, harmony and counterpoint), Venice (BA + MA in Composition under the guidance of Corrado Pasquotti), and Birmingham (studies in Composition as an Erasmus+ scholarship holder, under the guidance of Dr. Michael Wolters). His works have been performed and broadcasted at festivals, institutions, and radio stations such as Classical WSMR (USA), RaiRadio3 (IT), La Biennale di Venezia (IT), Cheltenham Music Festival (UK), Spitalfields Music Festival (UK), Pinault Foundation (IT), MUTEK San Francisco (USA), Montréal International Festival of Films on Art (CA), ThinkThank® Birmingham Science Museum (UK), Screen.Dance Festival (UK) amongst others He has worked with professional ensembles and soloists in Italy, UK and France, such as Perpetuo Saxophone Quartet (IT), Ensemble Forma Libera (IT), Decibel Ensemble (UK), The Carice Singers (UK), Psappha (UK), Toby Hughes (UK), Duo Confluence (FR) As a media composer he scored awarded short films such as Intertidal Barene (Collettivo Confluenze) and Concetto Spaziale (Jacopo Zanessi) He currently works with studios and agencies such as White Mirror, String and Tins and Sonic Union, making music for advertisement, film and TV
Music Director
Yajie Ye, a versatile young conductor, is gaining international recognition for her fresh and collaborative approach to contemporary music. Awarded conducting scholarships by Divertimento Ensemble (Milan) and Mostly Modern Festival (New York) in 2024. She has won the Second Prize in the Conducting Category of the Gabriel Fauré Music World Competition 2024. Yajie has also been selected for the Young Conductor’s Scheme Workshop, working with the Crouch End Festival Chorus. She has worked with Opera de Baugé in the competition as a finalist. Her talents were recognised with a conducting fellowship at the Cortona Sessions for New Music in Italy (2023). As an assistant musical director, she worked at the Chicago International Youth Musical Theatre Camp in 2019, the same year she won the First Prize Choral Director Award at the 9th Chorus Competition of South China Normal University. As a composer, her music has been performed by the London Oriana Choir Scholars, the Mavron Quartet, and at the European Clarinet Congress in Salerno. Yajie has been recognised for both her vocal and piano talents on international stages. She was awarded the Second Prize in the Vocal Music Competition at the American California International Youth Arts Festival. In addition to her vocal accomplishments, Yajie also earned the Second Prize in the Tchaikovsky category of the “Liszt Award” Hong Kong International Piano Open Competition
Performers
Soprano – Emily Wishart
Soprano Emily Wishart has performed regularly across her native Scotland as a soloist with the likes of the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union and at events such as the Wellington Arts Festival and The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Emily is currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London for a Master of Performance with Ben Johnson, supported as an RCM Scholar, having graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2021. Recent performance highlights include the Spring and Summer Opera Scenes at the RCM, firstly as Ernestine in an extract from Offenbach’s Monsieur Choufleuri restera chez lui le…, as Ginevra in an extract from Handel’s Ariodante and Despina in the Act 1 Finale of Così fan tutte. Emily recently performed in the Brunswick Vocal Arts Highlight selections from Mozart’s Don Giovanni as Zerlina and earlier this month she sang in the Bach Cantata project with the RCM Chamber Choir at SJE Arts in Oxford with the RCM Baroque Orchestra
Mengdie Ji is a young guzheng player, a member of the Guzheng Professional Committee of the Chinese National Orchestra Society. She is the founder of Ninesongs Music LTD. She graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's degree and from University College London with a master's degree. She started learning Guzheng at the age of 4 and has won many awards, such as the gold medal in the youth professional group of the China International Youth Guzheng Invitational Competition, the silver medal in the youth professional group of the Hong Kong International Guzheng Competition, and the performance award in the professional group of the Dunhuang Cup Guzheng Competition. She began to explore Guzheng performance and improvisation in a cross-cultural context in 2015, and has performed live with many pop, jazz and rock bands and recorded albums. She has been invited to participate in London Fashion Week and has held many concerts at home and abroad. The "Candlelight Series Concerts" and "Chinese and Western Harmony" series of concerts she hosted have received widespread attention and support from audiences and media at home and abroad.
Zheng – Mengdie Ji
Flute – Desislava DimitrovaPawlas
Bulgarian flautist Dessy Dimitrova-Pawlas is gaining international recognition for her solo, chamber music and orchestral appearances in the UK and around Europe. Dessy completed her MMus at Lemmenstituut in Leuven, Belgium and has participated in festivals such as MidisMinimes, Brussels, Belgium and Cremona International Music Academy and Festival, Italy Her orchestral positions led her to stages such as the Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria and Solothurn Classics, Switzerland spanning a repertoire of over 30 operas under the baton of notable names with the likes of Jorma Panula, Giorgio Chroci and Nayden Todorov. In collaboration with traditional and modern instruments, in 2019 Dessy joined musicians from 197 countries and represented Bulgaria in a global orchestra project recording a work by the British film composer George Fenton at the Abbey Road Studios in London. With a focus on contemporary music, Dessy is a founding member of the flute and cello duo D&P Music which has performed in breathtaking venues such as the French Salons in Antwerp, Belgium and the Space Oddity Hall at Google Headquarters in London. In contribution to living art, Dessy is a keen explorer of new music and has performed several premiers of duos, trios and larger ensembles
Passionate about exploring the intersection of clarinet and electronics, Joy is a versatile musician who combines traditional clarinet performance with innovative electronic effects. With a background in classical music, including studies at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a Masters from the Royal College of Music, Joy has performed with prestigious orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Her performances have taken her to renowned venues such as Cadogan Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and Royal Festival Hall. Joy is dedicated to showcasing the rich and warm acoustic properties of the clarinet, enhanced by the use of electronics and effects pedals to create a unique and immersive musical experience.
Szymon Pawlas is a Polish cellist currently based in the United Kingdom. He graduated from the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland, and is a co-founder of D&P Music, a flute and cello duo specialising in contemporary chamber music Szymon's close relationship with Belgian composer Wilfried Westerlinck led to the realisation of several pieces in the period 2019 - 2024, including performances at the Polish and Bulgarian Cultural Institutes in London and an acclaimed tour in Belgium, including the French Salons in Antwerp and the Hollands College in Leuven. A passionate chamber musician, Szymon has collaborated with various ensembles around the UK, including Trio Espressivo, Konvalia Quartet, Calathea Trio, and D&P Music Alongside chamber music, Szymon has been a member of esteemed orchestras such as the Orion Orchestra and Opera Prelude, which brought him to stages
Clarinet– Joy Boole
Cello – Szymon Pawlas
Piano
with the likes of the Aberystwyth Music Festival in Wales and the renowned Painted Hall in Greenwich, London
Michelle Kwan is a pianist and doctoral researcher whose work focuses on the historical performance practices of Liszt's Hungarian music. She is currently pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Jane Roper and Danny Driver at the Royal College of Music, where she also works as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in historical studies modules. Michelle received scholarships to study at distinguished music institutions, including the Royal College of Music, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and the Institute of Music at UCSI University. During her formative years, Michelle achieved recognition in several piano competitions, including the Asia Piano Competition (2013), the Malaysian Youth Music Festival Piano Competition (2014), the Steinway Malaysia Youth Piano Competition (2014), and the Putra International Piano Competition (2019). In her performance career, Michelle regularly presents solo recitals and collaborates in chamber music settings. She recently performed at the Hong Kong City Hall and has premiered compositions by Malaysian composers, both in Malaysia and Hong Kong. She returns to Malaysia every summer to perform, whether as a soloist or as part of chamber ensembles.
Percussion – Bryony Che
Bryony Che has been following her parents’ footsteps in learning music. With full support from the HKSAR Government Scholarship, she completed Bachelor Degree of Music and Master Degree of Music at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, under the tutelage of James Boznos and Aziz Barnard Luce, both Principals of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra She is now pursuing Guildhall Masters Performance (Orchestral Artistry). During her studies, she won the Champion for the IPEA Marimba Competition in 2018. Being awarded the Lady Fung Scholarship from the Asian Cultural Council and she attended the Aspen Summer Music Festival in 2022. She was the associate artist of Toolbox Percussion in 2022-23 Season, performing in the TICA Festival, Tianjin and Japan tour. She was a member of The Orchestral Academy Hong Kong: Young Pro Platform, funded by “TrustTomorrow” of The Swire Group Charitable Trust. As an emerging grant grantee of Hong Kong Arts Development Council, she will present a percussion recital called “It Was Not Your Fault,” raising the awareness on the victim-blaming culture. She also performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Orchestra, Opera Hong Kong and Macao Orchestra as a freelance player
