About the musicians

James Cuddeford (violin)

A native of Brisbane, James Cuddeford commenced violin and composition studies at age 7. At age 12 James won a full scholarship to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England, and he continued his studies in performance at the Royal Northern College of Music and composition at the University of Manchester, graduating with distinction. His principal teachers were Yehudi Menuhin in violin, and Karlheinz Stockhausen and Gyorgy Kurtag in composition. James has won a series of important competitions including the first prize in the 1996 Charles Hennen International Chamber Music Competition in Holland.

James has performed extensively throughout Europe, Asia and Australia as both soloist and chamber musician. He has frequently appeared at major international festivals in many of the world’s most prestigious halls. As a chamber musician, James has collaborated with artists such as Charles Rosen, Stephen Kovacevich, Christina Ortiz, Michael Collins, Heinz Holliger and Michel Dalberto.  James has performed concertos with orchestras including the Camerata Lysy Switzerland, B.B.C. Scottish National, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Jena Philharmonic (Germany), Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.

As a highly active and renowned interpreter of contemporary music, James has worked with and premiered the music of many of the most important composers of our time. At age 15, James was the youngest finalist in the B.B.C. Young Composer of the Year, and the following year the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned and performed his first orchestral work. His compositions have been performed and broadcast in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia by groups such as the Nash Ensemble, Australian String Quartet, Psappha Ensemble, and the Sonos Chamber Orchestra of New York. Commissions in 2010 include works for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Ensemble Offspring.

James joined the Australian String Quartet in 1998, and was subsequently violinist with the Grainger Quartet and Sydney Soloists. He is currently Concertmaster Designate of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and has given master classes at many major institutions around the world. James has recorded for ABC Classics, Tall Poppies and Melba Recordings. He plays on a violin made by Nicolo Gagliano in 1769.

Wendy Law (cello)

Cellist Wendy Law has appeared as soloist with renowned orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Russian Philharmonic, and Juilliard Orchestra. She has performed throughout North America, appearing in such venues as Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall  and Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall  at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. and Jordan Hall, Boston. An active chamber musician, she has collaborated with the Borromeo String Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma, and Pamela Frank  among others.

In recent seasons, Ms. Law was invited by the office of the UN Secretary General to perform at the General Assembly of the United Nations in a memorial ceremony for the UN staff and family members of those who lost their lives in the attack on the UN compound in Baghdad, Iraq. By the invitation of the "Association of Performing Arts Presenters", Ms. Law was showcased in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.  Other recent appearances include New York’s Bargemusic, Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, and at the Caramoor and Marlboro music festivals. A regular touring artist, Ms. Law has toured with “Musicians From Marlboro" and performed internationally in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Argentina, Chile, Canada, France, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Ms. Law received her Bachelor of Music with Distinction from the New England Conservatory studying with Laurence Lesser, and her Master of Music and the prestigious Artist Diploma Program from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Joel Krosnick and Tim Eddy.

In addition to her active performance schedule, Ms. Law is a Teaching Artist at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and Artistic Director of Classical Jam. 

Sheryl Lee (piano)

Canadian pianist Sheryl Lee has shown exceptional musical talent from an early age. At age twelve, she gave her orchestral debut with Utah Symphony under the baton of Joseph Silverstein, and was accepted to the Julliard School two years later. Recent highlights include her acclaimed recital at Carnegie Hall in New York, Los Angeles, Virginia, Montreal, New Jersey, and Italy. She has garnered awards and international acclaim for her solo, orchestral and chamber music performances across Asia, Europe, Canada and the United States. An active chamber musician and a champion of exploring new music, Sheryl has appeared in numerous music festivals and performs regularly with artists from Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, New York and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras.  She has also worked with members of the Brentano, Emerson, Tokyo String Quartets. Currently, she is a member of the Anonymous Quartet (Hong Kong) and also plays with Vintage Fire, an electro-chamber band in New York. She is an artist at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada.

Sheryl began her piano studies in her native Hong Kong at the age of four with Katherine Lu and Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts prior to moving to the United States. In 1995, at the invitation of the late Maria Curcio, one of the most sought-after piano pedagogue and the last pupil of Artur Schnabel, Sheryl moved to study with her in London, England. She received her education at New York University and Yale University where she was awarded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund for her studies. Her teachers include Peter Frankl, John Perry, Eduardus Halim, Christopher Elton, Hamish Milne and Marc Durand. In addition, Sheryl currently serves on the artist faculty of chamber music at the award-winning New York Youth Symphony and previously as an adjunct faculty at New York University. Enjoying a multi-faceted music career, Sheryl’s diverse background includes music publishing, artistic producer and music management.