About Us
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Co-founded by composers Janet Jieru Chen and Koji Nakano, the Asian Young Musicians’ Connection (AYMC) promotes new music by commissioning emerging composers to create music for worldwide professional musicians for its regular concert. AYMC’s mission is to bring about a full understanding of the importance of supporting emerging composers and musicians through its annual concerts and lectures. Since the first concert in 2010 at the Soochow University Performing Arts Center in Taiwan, AYMC has commissioned and performed more than two dozens of new works. The previous guest ensembles and soloists have included Borealis String Quartet (Canada), Duplum Duo (Mexico), MUPA Thai Music Ensemble (Thailand), Taipei Chinese Orchestra and Percussion Duo X (Taiwan), as well as sopranos Stacey Fraser and Anne Harley (Canada). Since its establishment, AYMC has also promoted mentorship between young and senior composers. The previous mentor composers were Shyhji Pan-Chew (2010), Chinary Ung (2011), Chou Wen-chung (2012), Jonas Baes (2013), Richard Tsang (2014), and Maria Christine Muyco (2015). In 2015, AYMC appointed Dr. Pui-shan Cheung as the Director of newly established Asian Young Musicians' Connection of Hong Kong. AYMC (Hong Kong) had presented a series of lectures and concert at HKICC Lee Shau School of Creativity, Centennial College, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and Farm and Botanic Garden on October 18-22, 2015. In 2018, AYMC (HK) presented a series of lectures at Hong Kong Arts Center (Creative Mind Series sponsored by Asian Cultural Council Hong Kong), Asia Society Hong Kong Center (Collaborating on Nature and the Environment),Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Education University of Hong Kong, as well as a multimedia concert at Y-Studio in the Youth Square sponsored by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Grant, and two cross-cultural concerts at HKAPA Recital Hall featuring two newly commissioned works by the two emerging young composers from Hong Kong sponsored by the Creative Collaboration Project Fund at HKAPA. AYMC (HK) is to promote dynamic and growing Hong Kong culture through multicultural collaborations and to explore a collective musical identity in Asia. Our aim is to cultivate cultural heritage and traditional music in Asia as well as to provide a cross-cultural understanding of the arts and humanities of world. |
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About the Composers
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Koji Nakano
Award-winning composer Koji Nakano’s compositions reflect the relationship between beauty, form, and imperfection through the formality of music. He isrecognized as one of the major voices among Asian composers of his generation. Dr. Nakano obtained his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in composition from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. From 2002 to 2003, he studied with Dutch composer Louis Andriessen in Amsterdam and at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague as the Japanese Government Overseas Study Program Artist. In 2006, he received his Ph.D. in composition from the University of California at San Diego. In 2008, Dr. Nakano became the first composer to receive the S&R Washington Award Grand Prize. His portrait concert has been presented at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and at Tenri Cultural Institute of New York, among other venues. In the winter quarter of 2013, Dr. Nakano was a visiting faculty member at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he taught world music composition. He has also been a guest professor incomposition at Taipei National University of the Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts, and Seoul National University. In 2016, he was named the Scripps Erma Taylor O’Brien Distinguished Visiting Professor at Scripps College in the U.S. Co-founder of the Asian Young Musicians’ Connection (AYMC), Dr. Nakano commissions emerging composers to create music that is performed by worldwide professional musicians at AYMC’s annual concerts, lectures, and workshops. Currently, he is the Head of International Affairs for the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts at Burapha University in Thailand, where he teaches composition as a full-time faculty member. At Burapha, he is also Director of International Programs for the Annual Music and Performing Arts International Festival and directs the Experimental Thai Music Laboratory for Young Composers. http://kojinakano.weebly.com http://sfcmp.org/koji-nakano/ |
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Janet Jieru Chen
A native of Taiwan, Janet Jieru Chen’s compositions have been performed by groups, such as the Luxembourg Sinfonietta, the Orchestre National de Lorraine, the Présence Contemporaine, the American Composers Orchestra, the Eighth Blackbird, the Alarm Will Sound, the VERGE ensemble, the Kochi Ensemble, the Banff Chamber Ensemble, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and Taipei Chinese Orchestra. Ms. Chen has won several prizes. She is the first Taiwanese who won the first prize of ALEA III International Composition Competition (2009), other prizes including the winner of Orchestra’s Choice Award, Audiences’ Choice Award and Second Prize of 2009 NTSO (National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra) Young Composers Composition Competition for Orchestra; ISCM-ACL Young Composers Awards, William Klenz Prize, Judith Lang Zaimont Prize and the nomination for 2007 Taiwan President’s Awards for Young Creation. Janet holds a Ph.D in Composition from Duke University and B.A. and M.F.A. in Composition from Taipei National University of the Arts. Her primary mentors in composition include Stephen Jaffe, Shyhji Pan and Ting-lein Wu. Ms. Chen not only demonstrates her talent in music composition, but also reveals her superb arts administrative management skill. She is now the administrative director of Canada-Taiwan Music and Arts Exchange and the co-founder of Asian Young Musicians' Connection, promoting contemporary music and chamber music for the young talents. |
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Cheung Pui Shan
Pui-shan CHEUNG is the first Hong Kong composer to be appointed as a full-time professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She has also recently been invited as the international judge of the International Alliance of Women in Music (IAWM), Search for New Music Composition Competition, guest composer of the Estonia V ABIMF Music Academy (2018), Delian Academy for New Music in Greece (2019)and international jury at the Composium 2018 (DingYi Music Organisation) in Singapore. Her recent works included her chamber opera, the “Lotus Script”, Traditional Chinese Shadow Multimedia work, “The Dragon VI”, and her cello orchestra work, “The Taste of Old Hong Kong-Kai Tak Airport”. Cheung has received number of awards and prizes, including the first prize in the II International Lepo Sumera Composition Contest (2006) in Tallinn, Estonia, first prize in the Italy Percussive Society Composition Competition (2013), third prize in the International Music Prize Luxembourg (2009) in Luxembourg, Libby Larsen Prize in the International Alliance for Women (2006) in Music Search for New Music by Women Composers Composition Contest, special prize in the IBLA World Competition in Italy (2005), Global Music Award (2018) and etc. Described as "beautiful sounds with abrupt intrusions of jagged explosive ideas." (Peninsula Review). Her music has been performed by Gothenburg Opera Symphony Orchestra, Estonia National Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Shen Zhen Symphony Orchestra, UMKC Symphony Orchestra, HKAPA Academy Orchestra, as well as Stockholm Saxophone Quartet (Sweden), Darmstadt Trio (Germany), E-Mex Ensemble (Germany), Niew Ensemble (Amsterdam), Reconcil Ensemble (Vienna), Saxcess Saxophone Quartet (New Zealand), TIMF (Korea), Pacific Sounding Ensemble (Japan), Eighth Black-bird, Empyrean Ensemble (San Francisco), Liberace Woodwind Quintet (Kansas City), Wuji Chinese Plucked-string Music Ensemble (H.K.). Born in Hong Kong, pui-shan received her degrees from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (B.M.), University of California, San Diego (M.A.) and University of Missouri, Kansas City (DMA). She has served as Assistant Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, currently associate professor in music composition at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Her music and recording has been published by VDM-Verlag (Germany), LGNM (Luxembourg), HoneyRock (U.S.A.), Capstone (U.S.A.) and HKAPA Records. Please browse www.cheungpuishan.com for more information. |
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