Lio Kuokman

Conductor

Programme Director, Macau International Music Festival
Resident Conductor, The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Biography

Born in Macao and educated as a pianist and a conductor at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory, Lio Kuokman is praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “a startling conducting talent”:

Lio Kuokman is Resident Conductor with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and has previously served as assistant conductor to music director Yannick Nézet-Seguin with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Programme Director of the Macao International Music Festival since January 2020, in the recent years Lio Kuokman has successfully collaborated with some of the leading orchestras across globe. Engagements over the past seasons in Europe, Northern America and Asia have included debuts and re-invitations with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, Seoul Philharmonic, NHK, Tokyo Metropolitan, Hiroshima and Kyoto Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Russian National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille, Latvian National, Philadelphia Orchestra (regular series and at the Vail Festival) and Detroit Symphony among many others. Recent distinguished appearances include a celebration concert with Hong Kong Philharmonic in the presence of the President of China Xi Jinping. Lio Kuokman enjoys a special relationship with Sinfonia Varsovia whom he conducted in a number of concerts featuring Nelson Goerner, Nicholas Angelich, Nelson Freire and Anne Queffélec during the 38^th Festival International de Piano de la Roque d’Anthéron, He also collaborated with Sinfonia Varsovia at the La Folle Journées Festival in Nantes, Japan and Warsaw.

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Reviews

“A startling conducting talent.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer

“…At the helm was the gifted young conductor Lio Kuokman who handled the baton with a grace and ease that matched the aesthetic of the musical landscape he sought to craft. The performance was a swirling milieu of orchestral color that left the listener just this side of paradise. As dream-inspired as Coleridge’s original reverie, between Kuokman’s clear interpretation and the evocative playing of the orchestra, the constantly shifting orchestral landscape was awash with color and light.”

The Blade

Lio Kuokman and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Announce Dynamic Hong Kong Week 2021@Guangzhou Programme

Jul 21, 2021

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is delighted to take part in Hong Kong Week 2021@Guangzhou, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) of the HKSAR Government. Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, this year’s Hong Kong...

Lio Kuokman Conducts World Premier of Chan Kai-Young’s “Glimmering Lights, Cascading Heights” with Hong Kong Philharmonic 26 June

Jun 24, 2021

Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman direct the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in the world premiere of Glimmering Lights, Cascading Heights by Hong Kong composer Chan Kai-young. The programme also features Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 26 with soloist Colleen Lee, and...

HK Phil Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman Returns to Conduct the Orchestra for Four Weeks Beginning with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

Jun 11, 2021

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) Resident Conductor Lio Kuokman will conduct the HK Phil in four exciting and diverse programmes to conclude the 2020/21 season, beginning with two Russian masterpieces by Prokofiev and Rimsky-Korsakov in the Hong Kong...

Conductor Lio Kuokman Named Musical America New Artist of the Month

Mar 3, 2021

Conductor Lio Kuokman is named Musical America’s New Artist of the Month for March 2021. The “startling conducting talent” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Lio Kuokman is Resident Conductor with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and has previously served as assistant...

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Appoints Lio Kuokman Resident Conductor

Nov 30, 2020

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) today announced the appointment of Lio Kuokman as Resident Conductor, effective 1 December 2020 and covering the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons. Lio Kuokman, aged 39, has worked with many leading orchestras around the world....

Lio Kuokman to Conduct Hong Kong Philharmonic Season Opening Concert

Oct 6, 2020

Lio Kuokman will take to the podium at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall to conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s season opening concerts on 9 and 10 October. Kuokman will play-direct from the piano for the concert’s centrepiece, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto....

IMG Artists Welcomes Conductor Lio Kuokman to its Roster for General Management

Jun 23, 2020

IMG Artists is delighted to welcome conductor Lio Kuokman to its roster for general management. He will be represented by Artist Manager Elena Kostova from the company’s London office. “A startling conducting talent” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Lio Kuokman is the...