In 1984, the long-retired French composer Olivier Messiaen took on a new student, Qigang Chen.

The unique tapestry of Chinese and Western components created by Chen, as in Wu Xing and Instants d'un Opera de Pekin, aligned perfectly with the complex motifs of his mentor. 'Messiaen was the first person who encouraged me to compose truthfully and find myself.' 

Come experience the artistic world of Messiaen and Chen through music woven through with soundscape and narration in A Parallel Journey.

Rachel Cheung

2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Finalist and Audience Award-winning pianist Rachel Cheung is hailed as 'a poet, but also a dramatist' displaying 'the most sophisticated and compelling music-making' (The Dallas Morning News). Also a Young Steinway Artist, she continues to build a reputation for an elegant stage presence, giving sensitive and refined performances across three continents.

Rachel has appeared with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Sydney Symphony, London Chamber, and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. She has also given recitals and chamber music concerts in many cities in Northern America, Europe, Asia, and has shared the stage with world-renowned musicians like violinist Ning Feng, violist Vladimir Mendelssohn, cellist Jan-Erik Gustafasson, and the Brentano String Quartet.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rachel graduated with first-class honours at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the tutelage of Eleanor Wong, and later studied with Peter Frankl at the Yale School of Music. Rachel was awarded Artist of the Year (Music) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2019. Her first international debut album Reflections, featuring the Chopin Preludes, was released in 2023.

Evelyn Chang

Evelyn Chang is a Taiwanese pianist and composer. She is a Steinway Artist and has performed as soloist and in chamber groups at various music festivals in recent years, including Hong Kong Arts Festival, Beare's Premiere Music Festival, Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival, and French May.

Her passion for contemporary music grew following a featured performance at the South Bank Centre while studying at the Royal College of Music. Since then she became involved with many contemporary ensembles actively premiering and recording new compositions. Such collaborations include an improvisatory album with saxophonist Paul Dunmall titled Mahakai. In her 2009 solo album Poets from the East, Chang performed works by contemporary composers Leonid Desyatnikov, Ma Shui-Long, and Dorinka Tabakova.

Her first published work, Fantasies for Children for piano solo, dedicated to her two sons was printed in 2021. A selection from it was featured in the children's musical play Where are the animals? at the 2022 Hong Kong's International Arts Carnival with a 6-show-sold-out run. Later that year she wrote short stories to each animal and combined them into an album named Fantasies for Children Musical Stories. 

Yuki Ip

Hong Kong Soprano Yuki Ip's major performances include being the featured soloist with José Carreras for the inaugural season of the National Centre of the Performing Arts, Beijing, China; her European début at the Basilica di San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, singing Pergolesi's Stabat Mater in a special concert commemorating the landmark meeting between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church; guest solo appearance at the Shanghai Expo with Shanghai Opera House Orchestra; debut in New York City and Toronto as soprano soloist in An-Lun Huang's Revelation; her debut with Macau Orchestra in the Macau Handover Anniversary Concert. 

Recently she made her musical debut as Narrator in Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat at the Hong Kong Methodist International Church. Ip performed the role Queen of Heart in the world premiere of Pierangelo Valtinoni's Alice in Wonderland at the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Her performances have been featured on radio and TV. She was Artist-in-Residence of RTHK Radio 4. 

Ip graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and New England Conservatory of Music, with a bachelor's and master's respectively.

Kitty Cheung

Kitty Cheung's childhood teachers included the late Professor Lin Yao-Ji, Yau Sing-Yeh, Li Hou-Yi, and Ho Hong-Ying. She received her doctoral and undergraduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Charles Castleman and Zvi Zeitlin, and two master's degrees from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied with David Takeno. Cheung is currently the Sub-Principal Second Violin of the Welsh National Opera Orchestra. She was the Associate Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2011-2017. In the past, she has performed in the London Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. Kitty is a founding member of Contrast Trio, Romer String Quartet, and LENK Quartet. As a soloist, she has performed with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Hong Kong City Chamber Orchestra. She taught at the Hong Kong Baptist University, Education University of Hong Kong, and held residencies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong with her chamber groups.

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