Yan Huichang

The artistic director and principal conductor for life of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Yan Huichang has been with the orchestra since 1997; before that he was also artistic director and principal conductor at the China National Orchestra. A consistent innovator in the classical music world, he has been involved in commissioning new works for the orchestra, as well as hosting the first-ever International Conducting Competition for Chinese Music.

He has been involved with numerous educational initiatives, including the Professional Orchestra Internship Scheme from the HKCO and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and the HKCO Orchestral Academy, the world’s first Chinese orchestral academy, while he also designed the Master of Music in Conducting for Chinese Orchestras programme at the HKAPA.

A graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Yan is also director of the Chinese National Orchestra Research Center at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and an honorary fellow of the HKAPA, and has been the music director and principal guest conductor of the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan. He has also conducted numerous western orchestras, including the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the holder of a Cultural Medallion from the National Arts Council of Singapore and a Silver Bauhinia Star.