Updates for fall 2019

It has been a while since our last news update, since this might not be the most effective way to do it, we have decided to minimize the updates in this section of our website unless there are some big announcements. We do have a few BIG updates though

1. Due to personal reasons, Hua has decided not to return to the group after a year of leave. Martin has returned to school as planned, and Australian violinist Sally Law has joined our quartet since June. You can find more about her on her bio page HERE.

2. We have left the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and are starting a new residency at the Chinese University of Hong Kong this fall, our first sharing session in the school will be on 10th Sept and more details can be found on the event page our social media posts!

3. We will have a trip back to the US in early October, which we will perform in Texas and New York, come catch us if you are nearby!

More updates can be found on our Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other social media accounts! Use the icons/ links on the top right corner to follow our latest news!

Spring 2019 HKAPA Academy String Quartet Concert: Man Behind the Giants 1

Here come our last recital of the season at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and the first concert of a upcoming series, “Man Behind the Giants”, this time we will have two premiere and works related to Prince Lobkowitz, including the Dvorak Piano Quartet No.2 joined by another local pianist Eliza Chan.

Please join us on 24th May (Fri), 2019, 8pm, Concert Hall of the HKAPA, Free admission with tickets !

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Grand Prize Winner of 2019 Salzburg Mozart International Chamber Competition in Tokyo!

So now we have an extra line to add on our bio. First place and Grand Prize winner of the Salzburg Mozart International Chamber Music Competition 2019 in Tokyo!

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Thank you so much for all the supports from everyone, especially our teachers, family and fellow colleagues who have walked through this path together with us. It was never easy to play as a quartet and we couldn't have walked this far without you.

We understand it is just the beginning and now we will have to work even harder for the next goal 🙂

P.S. come to our performance on Friday at Asia Society!

Winter 2018 HKAPA Academy Quartet Recital: CONG QUARTET X WONG WAI YIN

Academy String Quartet Recital:

CONG QUARTET X Vanessa Wong Wai Yin

2nd Dec 2018 (Sun) 4pm

Concert Hall, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Free Admission with ticket

(Tickets are available to be picked up half an hour before the start of the performance at the Academy Box Office on the ground floor at a first-come, first-served basis)

You can find more details on our calendar!!

Cong 四重奏在2015年於印弟安納大學積可斯音樂學院組成,師隨太平洋四重奏和陳浩堂教授(前邁阿密四重奏第一小提琴手), 亦曾受學於鮑羅丁、卡雲妮、克里夫蘭、上海、東京四重奏等多隊著名四重奏的成員。成員在多所世界著名音樂學府如倫敦皇家音樂學院、紐約巴德學院、伊士曼音樂學院、印弟安納大學等畢業,現駐於香港演藝學院。四重奏成員曾在大阪國際音樂比賽、愛麗絲與愛倫諾·勛菲爾德弦樂比賽、新世代藝術比賽、利馬青年藝術家大賽等比賽中獲獎,並在不同音樂節和研討會中擔任多隊著名四重奏包括艾里安娜四重奏、Blair 四重奏、Dover 四重奏和魯賓斯四重奏等等的助教, 亦曾跟世界知名的演奏家同台演出, 包括應氏四重奏、小提琴巨星貝爾、俄國中提琴大師巴舒米特、前紐約愛樂團團長格蘭·迪克特羅等等。是次音樂會,Cong 四重奏除了會演出莫扎特和拉威爾兩首膾炙人口的弦樂四重奏作品外,成員亦將會夥拍香港最出色的年青鋼琴家之一黃蔚然演奏布拉姆斯g小調第一鋼琴四重奏,實在不容錯過。


Recent semi Finalists of the Coltman Chamber Competition, Cong Quartet made their appearances around the North America and Europe before returning to Hong Kong in 2018 to resides at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts to work with Prof. Ivan Chan (former leader of the Miami Quartet). Members of the quartet were graduated from world famous music schools such as the Royal Academy of Music in London, Bard College in New York, Eastman School of Music and all of them went to the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where they were formed and worked closely with the Pacifica Quartet.  The Cong Quartet have also shadowed famous quartets such as the Arianna, Blair, Dover and Johannes Quartet in coaching younger string quartets in different occasions. Members of the Cong Quartet have collaborated with world renowned artists such as Ying Quartet, Yuri Bashmet, Joshua Bell, Glenn Dicterow and have studied with the members of Borodin, Cavani, Cleveland, Shanghai and Tokyo Quartet. They were also prize winners of competitions including the Osaka International Music Competition, Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, Lima Young Artist Competition and Generation Next Arts Competition. Besides the two popular string quartets from Mozart and Ravel, members of the Cong Quartet will also perform Brahms’s first piano quartet in g minor with one of the best local pianists in their generation, Vanessa Wai-Yin Wong, in this concert.


年青鋼琴家黃蔚然出生於香港,是一位施坦威青年藝術家,她以一級榮譽畢業於香港演藝學院獲學士學位,並獲頒香港賽馬會音樂及舞蹈信託基金奬學金入讀美國約翰霍普金斯大學音樂學院並獲碩士學位,其後再獲美國耶魯大學以全額獎學金錄取深造,修畢藝術家文憑,。曾師隨郭嘉特教授; 許寧老師; Prof. Boris Slutsky和 Prof. Boris Berman。蔚然亦是馮秉芬夫人及亞洲文化協會獎學金得主。

蔚然曾在香港及多項國際鋼琴比賽中屢獲殊榮,為澳洲新南威爾斯國際鋼琴比賽歷屆最年輕的冠軍;美國第十七屆希爾頓國際鋼琴比賽亞軍及於巴西里約熱內盧第二屆BNDES國際鋼琴大賽中榮獲奴韋斯特別獎。蔚然亦曾是第七屆霍洛維茲國際鋼琴大賽最年輕的冠軍得主並同時獲五項特別獎。

蔚然曾於多個地方舉行獨奏會,其中包括第三十九屆香港藝術節獨奏會, 第四十六屆香港藝術節鋼琴音樂會及美國紐波特國際音樂節舉行開幕獨奏會;荷蘭阿姆斯特皇家音樂廳「年輕音樂家巡演」; 新加坡國立大學獨奏會及紐約卡內基音樂廳室樂演奏會等。蔚然曾與多個樂團合作,包括香港管弦樂團、香港小交樂團、香港愛樂室樂管樂團、汕頭愛樂團、澳門樂團、美國希爾頓交響樂團、耶魯大學交響樂團、烏克蘭國家交響樂團、以色列新海法交響樂團及香港兒童交響樂團等。

黃氏曾獲香港政府頒發「傑出服務嘉許獎」,以表揚她對香港的文化藝術的積極推廣及參與國際文化藝術活動成績優異。

A Hong Kong born young pianist and a Young Steinway Artist, Wong Wai Yin Vanessa obtained her Bachelor of Music degree with First-class honours from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and was awarded a full scholarship by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund to pursue a Master Degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Later on, she was awarded a full scholarship by the Yale University School of Music and obtained the Artist Diploma. Her teachers include: Prof. Gabriel Kwok; Hui ling; Prof. Boris Slutsky and Prof. Boris Berman. She was also the recipient of the Lady Fung Scholarship as well as the Asian Cultural Council Scholarship.

She has been the recipient of international awards including the First Prize Winner of the Southern Highlands International Piano Competition in Australia, Second Prize Winner of the 17th Hilton Head International Piano Competition in USA, the “Guiomar Novaes Award” in the BNDES International Piano Competition of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.  The Gold Medal winner in the 7th International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz held in Ukraine including five special prizes.

She has given recitals in places including solo recital and piano concert at the 39th and the 46th Hong Kong Arts Festivals, the Opening Recital of the Newport International Festival in USA; ‘New Masters on Tour’ series in Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; solo recital at the Singapore National University and give masterclasses as a visiting scholar ; chamber concert in the Carnegie Hall of USA and piano recitals in Brisbane; Canberra; Bowral; Paris; New York; Washington D.C.; Chicago and Shanghai, etc.

Wai Yin has also collaborated with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Hong Kong Sinfonietta; Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia; Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra; Yale Philharmonia in USA; National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in Kiev; New Haifa Symphony Orchestra in Israel and Hong Kong Children Symphony Orchestra.

She was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Hong Kong Government in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the promotion of international arts and culture activities.


節目查詢 Programme Enquiries:

info@congquartet.com

節目長約1小時30分鐘,包括中場休息15分鐘。

The performance will run for about 1 hour and 30 minutes including a 15 minute intermission.

主辦機構有權更改節目及表演者。

The presenter reserves the right to change the programme and artists.

此節目適合3歲或以上之人士。

This event is suitable for aged 3 or above

Welcome our interim violinist - Martin!

As mentioned on our social media pages earlier, Martin Kuo Tzu Ming from Taiwan has joined our quartet as our interim violinist since September. While Hua is finishing up her studies in the US, Martin will be subbing for her in most of our performances during the 2018-19 season. His profile will be update soon!

He has already performed and recorded with us in a few previous projects, here are some highlight of his first month with us!!

Rehearsing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Amphitheatre at HKAPA

Rehearsing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Amphitheatre at HKAPA

Recording for the 『聽。見』音樂紀錄片 organized by the FreShMAn magazine and Orbis.

Recording for the 『聽。見』音樂紀錄片 organized by the FreShMAn magazine and Orbis.

Performance at Tai Kwun’s Saturday Music Platform

Performance at Tai Kwun’s Saturday Music Platform

Chamber Class when the Trio Los Angeles visited the HKAPA 

Chamber Class when the Trio Los Angeles visited the HKAPA 

With the Hagen Quartet at Macau

With the Hagen Quartet at Macau

Coltman Competition 2017

Sorry for the late update! But yes, we were back to the US last month for two weeks for the 4th Coltman Chamber Competition at Austin, Texas. Congratulation to the winner KASA Quartet and thank you for everyone who came to support us! Special thanks to the current and former members of Miró Quartet who gave us some wonderful coachings during our time in Austin.

Our next performance is very likely to be our debut in Europe! Stay in tune with us on facebook and our Events page! 

 

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Update from the Congs

As many of you have realized.... Cong Quartet is no longer residing at Indiana University, and it looks like all four us are doing our own thing in different places, are we broken up? What have we been doing? Where are we now?

Yes, Cong Quartet is not staying at Indiana anymore as most of us have been done with school at IU and we are doing a little bit of our own stuffs in different countries (to be precise, different continents!) for now. BUT the quartet is still happening! We have already scheduled performances and other appearances in the coming winter and more are coming for the spring!

After the long time that we have been working together everyday, we believe that it is a good idea for each of us to explore our own world a little bit and look for bringing back new elements into the quartet. 

Our upcoming events included a winter chamber festival appearance, competitions in 2017, AND we are planning on our exciting debut in Hong Kong as well (where we are all originally from!). So stay in tune with us and hope to see your in our next concert!