Praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer as “a startling conducting talent”, Lio Kuokman was the winner of the Second Prize (First Prize not awarded), Audience Prize and Orchestra Prize at Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition 2014 in France. He was also the first Chinese conductor to take up the position of Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and is currently serving as the orchestra’s Asia Residency Artistic Advisor and Conductor.
Lio has worked with many orchestras in both symphonic and operatic genres, including Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Seoul Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, National Taiwan Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Bulgaria Sofia Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia in Poland, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Virtuosi, Shanghai Philharmonic, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra and Taipei Philharmonic and Macao Orchestra.
In opera, Lio collaborates with Musica Viva Hong Kong annually to conduct new productions as music director including Carmen, L’Elisir d’Amore, La Fille du Régiment, Lucia di Lammermoor, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Il Trovatore and Rigoletto. He was also invited by Valery Gergiev to be a guest opera conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. Lio has participated in many music festivals including Beijing International Music Festival, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Great Mountain Music Festival in Korea, Hong Kong Arts Festival and Macao International Music Festival.
As a pianist, Lio has performed as soloist with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Filarmonica Bacău in Romania, China National Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Lio graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a degree in Piano Performance with first class honours. He later obtained a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School, followed by diplomas in conducting from Curtis Institute of Music and New England Conservatory of Music. He is also a founding member and the President of Macao Chamber Music Association. In recognition of his contributions to the development of arts and culture, Lio was awarded Certificate of Commendation and Medal of Cultural Merit from the Governments of Hong Kong and Macao in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
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