35th Anniversary Concert Piano trio by violinist James Cuddeford, cellist Wendy Law and pianist Sheryl Lee
Hong Kong Chamber Music Society
proudly presents
35th Anniversary Concert
Piano trio by violinist James Cuddeford, cellist Wendy Law and pianist Sheryl Lee
Date and time:
Wednesday 15 September, 2010
(Concert at 7pm / Dinner at 8:45pm)
Location:
Central
Admission:
Concert only:
HKCMS members $250
Non-members $280
Full-time students $120
Concert and Dinner: $530
Programme for Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
W.A. Mozart: Piano Trio in C Major, KV548
I. Allegro
II. Andante cantabile
III. Allegretto
Astor Piazzolla: Primavera porteña for piano trio (transcribed by Jose Bragato)
~Intermission~
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87
I. Allegro
I. Andante con moto (Tema con variazioni)
III. Scherzo. Presto – Trio. Poco meno presto
IV. Finale. Allegro giocoso
About the musicians:
James Cuddeford (violin)
Currently Concertmaster of Hong Kong Sinfonietta, James Cuddeford is one of Australia’s most versatile musicians and has performed extensively around the world as both soloist and chamber musician. He won a full scholarship at age 12 to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England, and continued his studies in Violin Performance at the Royal Northern College of Music. His principal teacher was Yehudi Menuhin in violin, and he has won prizes in a series of important competitions including the First Prize at the 1996 Charles Hennen International Competition in Holland.
Cuddeford has frequently appeared at major international festivals in many of the world’s most prestigious halls. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as John Lill, Charles Rosen, Stephen Kovacevich, Cristina Ortiz, Michael Collins, Heinz Holliger, Yehudi Menuhin, Bruno Giuranna, Pieter Wispelwey and Michel Dalberto. He has performed concertos with orchestras including the Camerata Lysy Switzerland, BBC Scottish National, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Jena Philharmonic Germany, and the Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmanian symphony orchestras.
Cuddeford joined the internationally acclaimed Australian String Quartet in 1998 and has directed from the violin many orchestras in Australia, Japan and Europe. He lectured in violin at both the Elder Conservatorium and the Australian Institute of Music, and has given masterclasses at many major institutions around the world. He has recorded for ABC Classics, Tall Poppies, Melba Recordings and Toccata Classics, and plays on a violin made by Nicolò Gagliano in 1769.
Also a highly active and renowned interpreter and composer of contemporary music, Cuddeford has given numerous world première and worked with many of the most important composers of our time, including Penderecki, Xenakis, Birtwistle, Smalley and Dutilleux. At age 15, he was the youngest finalist in the BBC Young Composer of the Year, and the following year the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned and premiered his first major orchestral work. He continued his composition studies at the University of Manchester with John Casken, and chamber music studies at the International Musicians Seminar with György Kurtág. He also attended Stockhausen’s lectures, which were critical in the development of his compositional thinking. His compositions have been performed, recorded and broadcast in Europe, North America and Asia by groups such as the Nash Ensemble, Australian String Quartet, Ensemble Offspring, Kammer Ensemble and Psappha Ensemble. Recent works performed by musicians and guest artists of Hong Kong Sinfonietta include 3 Studies of the Human Body for Violin & Timpani, Homage to Bach for Solo Violin, Ave Maria, “For the Five Fingers” from Four Studies for a Portrait of Roger Smalley etc. His music is represented by the Australian Music Centre.
Wendy Law (cello)
Cellist Wendy Law has appeared as soloist with renowned orchestrasincluding the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Russian Philharmonic, and Juilliard Orchestra. Ms. Law has performed throughout North America, appearing in such venues as Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the J.F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. and Jordan Hall, Boston. An active chamber musician, she has collaborated with the Borromeo String Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma and Pamela Frank among others.
In 2003, Ms. Law was invited by the office of the UN Secretary-General to perform at the General Assembly of the United Nations in a memorial ceremony for the UN staff and family members of those who lost their lives in the attack on the UN compound in Baghdad, Iraq. By the invitation of the “Association of Performing Arts Presenters”, Ms. Law was showcased in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Other appearances include New York’s Bargemusic, Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, and at the Caramoor and Marlboro music festivals. A regular touring artist, Ms. Law has toured with “Musicians From Marlboro” and performed internationally in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Argentina, Chile, Canada, France, Switzerland, and Belgium.
Ms. Law has appeared on television and radio. Ms. Law has been featured on Japan’s NHK TV documentary series “New York Streets,” which was broadcast nationwide. She has also appeared on PBS TV’s documentary broadcast on the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra’s tour of Chile and Argentina, of which Ms. Law was the featured soloist. She performed at Boston’s WGBH Radio and at Hong Kong’s radio station. Ms. Law has recorded Wing-Fai Law’s “Phantasm” with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra for the Hugo label.
A recipient of numerous awards, Ms. Law has received the Juilliard InterArts Award, first prizes in the Juilliard Cello Concerto Competition, National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Kingsville International Competition, Fischoff National Competition (as a member of the Amaryllis String Quartet), the Harvard Musical Association Achievement Award, as well as local and national prizes in the American String Teacher’s Association Competition and the Boston Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition.
Ms. Law began her cello studies with Ge Wu at the Hong Kong Academy of the Arts.At the age of 12, she moved to the US to study with Mark Churchill at Boston’s New England Conservatory Preparatory School as well as the Walnut Hill School. Ms. Law received her Bachelor of Music with Distinction from the New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser, and her Master of Music and the prestigious Artist Diploma Program from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Joel Krosnick and Tim Eddy. In addition to her active performance schedule, Ms. Law is a Teaching Artist at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and founder and Artistic Director of Classical Jam.
Sheryl Lee (piano)
Sheryl began her piano studies with Katherine Lu and Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She made her debut with the Utah Symphony at age 13 under the baton of the late Joseph Silverstein, resulting in her move from Utah to New York City to attend the Juilliard School. She went on to pursue her education at Yale University and New York University, studying with esteemed mentors including Peter Frankl, Eduardus Halim, Christopher Elton, John Perry and Maria Curcio. Sheryl has graced the stages of prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Aspen Music Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Centre d’arts Orford, and the Sarasota Music Festival. She regularly collaborates with esteemed artists from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, and the New York and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras. Currently, Sheryl serves as artist-in-residence at the Education University of Hong Kong.
Sheryl is the Deputy Director & Head of Advancement at Asia Art Archive. Previously, she was the Executive Director for the revitalization of the Grade 1 heritage site, the former Haw Par Mansion, under the Revitalizing Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme of the HKSAR Government. Other positions held include General Manager at Naxos Music Group (Far East), the world’s leading classical music label and distributor, Artistic Development Manager at the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Marketing Director at Carl Fischer Music Publishing in New York. Through her own arts consultancy, Sheryl has curated interdisciplinary programs and festivals exploring artistic collaborations, innovations, and practices for both public and private sector clients.
Sheryl currently serves on the Boards of Directors for The Fringe Club, the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, the Music Children Foundation (as Chairman from 2018-2023), and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She also serves as the Artistic Advisor to HKUST’s Shaw Auditorium.