Kuokman Top Conducting Prize

Lio Kuokman, Graduate of NEC’s Orchestral Conducting Program Wins Top Prize in Evgeny Svetlanov Conducting Competition in Paris

Recently Named Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra

Lio Kuokman,’13 G.D., the Macao-born graduate of NEC’s prestigious orchestral conducting program directed by Hugh Wolff, has taken the top prize in the third Evgeny Svetlanov Conducting Competition in Paris. He won Second Prize and the Audience Prize; no First Prize was awarded. The competition honors the late Soviet conductor, composer and pianist Evgeny Svetlanov (1928—2002) who led the Bolshoi Opera, the USSR State Symphony Orchestra and held positions with the London Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra and Residentie Orchestra of the Hague.

The final competition rounds took place at the Salle Pleyel in Paris where the orchestra was the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio Rance, directed by Maestro Myung-Whun Chung. As second prize winner, Kuokman was awarded €10,000 and a diploma. (Watch Lio's final round performance in video below.)

Kuokman was named Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra in April by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séquin. In that position, he will lead select Family and School Concerts, Neighborhood Concerts, Side-by-Side rehearsals, and other ancillary programs. Additionally, he will regularly act as “cover conductor” for Nézet-Séguin and guest conductors throughout the season.

Biography

Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “startling conducting talent,” Kuokman has worked extensively as conductor in both the symphonic and operatic genres. Recent appearances have included the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Center, the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Pan Asia Symphony, Hong Kong Virtuosi, Taipei Philharmonic, and the Macau Orchestra.

Throughout Asia and the U.S, his opera repertoire flourishes having conducted productions of Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Carmen, and for Musica Viva Hong Kong, L’elisir d’amore, La fille du régiment, Lucia di Lammermoor, Cavalleria rusticana, and Pagliacci. A proponent of contemporary works he has also premiered Yan Yu’s chamber opera, Heart of Coral, commissioned and produced by the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

His additional festival appearances have included performances at the Beijing International Music Festival, Cabrillo New Music Festival, Great Mountain Music Festival (Korea), Hong Kong Arts Festival, and Macau International Music Festival.

As a keyboard artist of note, Lio has performed as soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Romania Bacau Philharmonic, China National Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with members of Les Arts Florissants at New York’s Lincoln Center and is a founding member and President of the Macau Chamber Music Association.

Born in Macau, he began his musical training at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from which he graduated with first class honors in piano performance. He continued his graduate studies receiving a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School followed by a diploma in conducting from the Curtis Institute before coming to NEC.

For his contributions to the development of arts and culture, Lio has received a Certificate of Commendation from the Hong Kong government and an Honorary Diploma from the government of Macau.

For further information on NEC's orchestral conducting program, check the NEC Website.

ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY

A cultural icon approaching its 150th anniversary in 2017, New England Conservatory (NEC) is recognized worldwide as a leader among music schools. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, on the Avenue of the Arts in the Fenway Cultural District, NEC offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. NEC alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC-trained musicians and faculty. NEC is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.

Founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee, an American music educator, choral conductor and organist, its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, NEC features training in classical, jazz, and Contemporary Improvisation. Graduate and post-graduate programs supplement these core disciplines with orchestral conducting and professional chamber music training. Additional programs, such as the Sistema Fellows, a professional training program for top postgraduate musicians and music educators that creates careers connected to music, youth, and social change, and Entrepreneurial Musicianship, a cutting-edge program integrating professional and personal skills development into the musical training of students to better develop the skills and knowledge needed to create one’s own musical opportunities, also enhance the NEC experience.

Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Programs and Partnerships Program, the Conservatory provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, and adults. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music, jazz, and Contemporary Improvisation.

Currently more than 750 young artists from 46 states and 39 foreign countries attend NEC on the college level; 1,400 young students attend on the Preparatory level; and 325 adults participate in the Continuing Education program. The only conservatory in the United States designated a National Historic Landmark, NEC presents more than 900 free concerts each year. Many of these take place in Jordan Hall (which shares National Historic Landmark status with the school), world-renowned for its superb acoustics and beautifully restored interior. In addition to Jordan Hall, more than a dozen performance spaces of various sizes and configurations are utilized to meet the requirements of the unique range of music performed at NEC, from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to big band jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, and opera scenes.

Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre or Paramount Center in Boston, and a semi-staged performance in Jordan Hall. This past 2013-2014 season, the operas produced were Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus.

NEC is co-founder and educational partner of From the Top, a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United States.

Contact: Ellen Pfeifer, Senior Communications Specialist
New England Conservatory 290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115 617-585-1143
ellen.pfeifer@necmusic.edu