About the musicians
Carol Yu (piano)
Carol Yu studied piano with Hamish Milne, Philip Fowke and Shiu Yuen Shun in her early years. She went on to study with renowned Russian masters Viktor Merzhanov, Irina Zaritskaya and Andrzej Esterhazy (pupil of the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus). She has studied chamber music with Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lynn Harrell and the Amadeus Quartet.
A recipient of prestigious scholarships from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music & Dance Fund, Carol graduated with Bachelor and Master Degrees with First Class Honours from the Royal Academy of Music in London. She then obtained the Master of Arts in Performance from the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen (Germany).
Her active performing career has taken her to major concert halls in the UK, Austria, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, Japan, China, Malaysia and Brunei. In 2007, she was appointed Artistic Director of a concert for 16 pianos in Shanghai, in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Hong Kong SAR Reunification. She has given concerto performances with Malaysia National Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong.
Piano Faculty member of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Carol frequently gives lectures and masterclasses in Japan, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong. She is a jury member at competitions such as Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition and Hong Kong Young Musician of the Year, and has been Examiner for the Australian and New Zealand Cultural Arts diploma music examinations.
Chow Lap Chung (violin)
Chow Lap Chung spent his formative years with Mr. Wang Zhen Shan at the Beijing Conservatory of Music. He then continued his studies at The Hong Kong Conservatory of Music and Dartington Music College in UK.
In 1984, Chow won a scholarship provided by the Hong Kong Government to study with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London from which he graduated in 1986. His chamber music teachers included Erich Greunburg, Concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Charles Tunnels, Principal Cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, lan Jewel of the Gabrieli String Quartet and the pianist Gordon Back. At the Guildhall School he formed a string Quartet and played with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and the Contemporary Ensemble. As a member of the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra (YMSO) in UK, he performed at prestigious London venues such as the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall.
Since 1986, Chow has played First Violin in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1987 –1989, he was a lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and since 1990 he has taught at CUHK. From 1995 – 2000, Chow was a member of the Hong Kong String Quartet. In 2008, Chow was appointed Violin Lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Meidad Yehudayan (viola)
Mr. Yehudayan received his Bachelor of Music Degree and Artist Diploma in the Faculty of Performing Arts from the Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance. He had the honor to be the first and only Israeli student to be sent to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia from which he received a diploma under the guidance of Yuri Bashmet and Prof. Fyodor Druzhinin. Subsequently, he acquired his Master of Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Michael Tree, violist of the Guarneri String Quartet and Pinchas Zukerman.
Mr. Yehudayan was a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong String Quartet between 1995-2001. A prizewinner of many competitions in Israel, he has performed numerous recitals in Israel, America and Europe. Mr. Yehudayan is the violist of the Pure Strings Ensemble and Orchestra and Strings Director at Hong Kong International School since 2001.
Artem Konstantinov (cello)
Born in Russia into a family of musicians, Artem Konstantinov has studied at the Glinka School in Novosibirsk, the Moscow Conservatory and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Artem has studied and collaborated with such distinguished cellists as Mstislav Rostropovich, Kirill Rodin, Alexander Kniazev, Natalya Shakovskaya, Alexander Rudin, Marina Tarasova, and Stefan Popov. Artem has won prizes at numerous competitions, including the Competition of Young Cellists in Russia, the Moscow International Competition of Young Ensembles, the 1995 International Chamber Music Competition in Palma d'Oro, Italy, and the 1997 Russian National Cello Competition. In 2001 he received an honorary award from the Russian Ministry of Culture.
From 1999-2005, Artem served as Principal Cello and soloist of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Professor of Cello at the Shenzhen School of the Arts, and Guest Principal Cello for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Currently, he is Principal Cellist of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. He also teaches at Yip's Music Centre and Hong Kong Baptist University.
Eddie Zong (bass)
Eddie Zong was Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Principal Bass from 1995 -2007. He has performed as double bass soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Xi'an Symphony and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, and has participated in several major festivals including Aspen, Blue Lake, Keystone, Missouri, Spoleto, Village Bach and Fukuoka Asian Music Festival. Zong was also acting Principal Bass of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans from 1992-94, Principal Bass with the Israel Sinfonietta (Mendi Rodan, Music Director) from 1989-91, and Principal Bass of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra from 1987-89 (Kenneth Kiesler and Tsung Yeh, Music Directors).
Born in China to a musical family, Zong began his music studies at an early age and later attended the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he had received the Exceptional Outstanding Students Fellowship for three years. A few years later, he also received a full scholarship from Indiana University and earned his Master of Music degree, in 1988. His major teachers include Lawrence Hurst, Bruce Bransby, Stuart Sankey and Murry Grodner.
Zong also gives master classes at The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Hong Kong Institute of Education and Hong Kong Baptist University. He has performed with various chamber music groups such as the Moscow Soloists and Hong Kong Soloists, and has given recitals in China, U.S.A. and Hong Kong. He teaches at Yip's Music Center, Hong Kong Music Office and at various primary and secondary schools; he has also conducted the Hong Kong Children's Orchestra.
