“A startling conducting talent.”
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Currently serving as Resident Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Programme Director of the Macao International Music Festival; Principle Guest Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the Macao Orchestra, Lio Kuokman is praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “a startling conducting talent.”
The 25/26 season marks Lio’s second at the helm of the RTV Slovenia Symphony, in which he also celebrates the orchestra’s 70th anniversary. Lio’s main repertoire focus in Ljubljana is interpretation and presentation of the core romantic repertoire. Lio is also strongly dedicated to promoting Slovenian composers both in live performances and through recordings. With the Macao Orchestra, Lio continues to expand the orchestra’s repertoire, and thisseason’s highlights include Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe.
He also takes Macao Orchestra on tour to Korea and Hong Kong and conducts the orchestra’s first outdoor classical concert on the lawn, in a bid to bring music to a wider audience. Currently in his fifth year as a Resident Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Lio frequently leads the orchestra on tour and notably heads to Japan and Korea this season, as well as to the Shanghai International Arts Festival, with a production of Carmina Burana, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Ballet.
Known for his magnetic interpretations and his ability to draw the musicians and audiences in, Lio is a regular guest with orchestras such as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and Tokyo Symphony, amongst others. Recent and upcoming guest conducting highlights include appearances with the Castilla y Leon, Antwerp, Vienna Symphony, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Seoul Philharmonic.
On the operatic stage, Lio Kuokman has collaborated with the National Taichung Theater on a production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Other opera performances include titles such as La bohème, L’elisir d’amore, Pagliacci, Turandot, Il Trovatore, Rigoletto, Madame Butterfly and Carmen.
Educated at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory, Kuokman is a founding member and President of the Macao Chamber Music Association. For his contributions to the development of arts and culture, Kuokman received a Certificate of Commendation and Medal of Cultural Merit from both governments of Hong Kong and Macao. In 2021 Kuokman was the recipient of the Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons award.
Lio was the second prize winner of the third Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Paris with audience prize and orchestra prize and has served as the Assistant Conductor with the Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Philadelphia Orchestra.
