Recital Series - Bowie Ma, Ison Cheung, Leo Choi and Sam Au YeungAmicis Sinfonia, Bach Studio of Music, Music Gallery

Hong Kong emerging musicians Bowie Ma, Sam Au Yeung and Zoie Tse collaborate with Ison Cheung the artistic director of Muse Gallery to have a recital at Lee Hysan Concert Hall of The Chinese University of Hong Kong on 31 July 2024.

Violinist and violist Bowie Ma is currently pursuing a master's degree at the Juilliard School under Professor Samuel Rhodes, with scholarships from both the school and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Foundation. At the Age of15, Bowie was admitted to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a full scholarship, becoming the youngest diploma student at the school. In 2019, Bowie was invited to join the Shenandoah Quartet at the Heifetz International Music Festival, where she performed with world-renowned musicians, including members of the Borromeo and Emerson Quartets. In the summer of 2023, she was invited to perform as a violin soloist with composer Prof. He Zhan Hao at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, presenting "Butterfly Lovers."

Saxophonist Sam Au Yeung is currently pursuing a master's degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he majors in Saxophone Performance and Literature under the tutelage of Prof. Chien-Kwan Lin. Sam graduated at The Chinese University of Hong Kong with First Class honours, where he majored in Saxophone under the tutelage of Dr. Wong Tak Chiu and Jacky Leung. During his undergraduate studies, he was the conductor of the CUHK Student Orchestra and principal saxophonist of the Chung Chi Wind Orchestra and Hong Kong Chamber Wind Philharmonia. Sam is the co-founder of the Cypher Quartet, the Eastman Saxophone Project ( ESP ) member and Eastman Conducting and Ensemble Department assistant.

Pui Wang (Leo) Choi has recently graduated from the Master of Music program at the Eastman School of Music, studying under the tutelage of Prof. Alexander Kobrin. A native of Hong Kong, Leo began playing the piano at the age of five and later at eight joined the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts junior music program, studying with Ms. Ling Hui and Ms. Tak Poon. In 2018, he was admitted into Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studying with Prof. Angela Cheng. As a performer, he has presented concerts in the United States and Hong Kong, including the PianoTexas festival, Oberlin's Danenberg Honors Recital, Barber Piano Concerto with Oberlin Orchestra, Sacred Heart Concert series, Children's Corner Debussy Mini Piano Marathon in Hong Kong Cultural Centre, as well as other public recitals held by HKAPA. He has won numerous competitions, including the Senior Concerto Competition, John Elvin Junior Prize Competition in Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the Sixth Asian Youth Music Competition. In addition, he is an awardee of the Bernard van Zuiden Music Fund. He has also attended several music festivals with the likes of Mozarteum and PianoTexas, where he studied with Prof. Fabio Bidini, Akiko Ebi, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Vanessa Latarche, Robert Levin, Jacques Rouvier, and Mikhail Voskresensky. He has attended the Oberlin-Como masterclasses taught by Maestro Robert Spano, Prof. Thai Son Dang, and Prof. Stanislav Ioudenitch. He will continue his study at Eastman as a doctoral student in the upcoming fall.

Ison Cheung, the Artistic Director of Muse Gallery, obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Queensland in Australia. He then pursued further music studies in Austria and the United Kingdom. He studied under Professor Klaus Kaufmann in Salzburg and American jazz pianist Jim Schneider. Subsequently, he completed his master’s degree in Hong Kong, specializing in piano pedagogy. Ison has taught bachelor's and tertiary courses at various Hong Kong tertiary institutions, including the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Ison has held the position of lecturers at several tertiary institutions and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

The repertoire covers classical music, jazz, tango and film music, including the first movement of ""Mozart Violin Sonata No. 18 in G major"", the third movement of ""Beethoven's Farewell Sonata""; Nikolai Kapustin and Paul Schoenfield's piano and saxophone works, Piazzolla's " Libertango "" and " La Muerte del Ángel" and film music by Ennio Morricone