Fifth Int'l Conducting Competition for Chinese Music Opens in Wuxi

The Fifth International Conducting Competition for Chinese Music, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the Wuxi Chinese Orchestra, concluded its preliminary round today. Recognised as a UNESCO “City of Music”, Wuxi hosted the event at the headquarters of the Wuxi Chinese Orchestra.

The competition is co-chaired by Yan Huichang, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Life of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and Deng Jiandong, Artistic Director of the Wuxi Chinese Orchestra. Jury members of the preliminary round include Qu Chunquan, Quek Ling Kiong, Liu Sha, Chew Hee Chiat, Cai Jingdong and Sun Peng, winner of the inaugural edition in 2012. The jury is chaired by veteran conductor Bian Zushan.

A record 78 contestants entered this year’s competition, including 15 women and 63 men. Participants came from the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Venezuela, Singapore and China.

With no age restrictions for the first time, the youngest candidate is 13 and the oldest 61. With an average age of 28, fifteen contestants have advanced to the second round which will be presented in Wuxi in June, 2026. They are:

• Ma Tai Cho Genesis (Hong Kong, China)

• Fang Hsin-yuan (Taiwan, China)

• Wong Kangtong (Mainland China)

• Chu Che-min (Taiwan, China)

• Wu Jhih-Kuei (Taiwan, China)

• Xiao Zhenting (Mainland China)

• Lin Tianhao (Mainland China)

• Lo Fei (Taiwan, China)

• Huang Dou (Mainland China)

• Wong Chun Yin (Hong Kong, China)

• Wong De Li, Dedric (Singapore)

• Zhang Siqing (Mainland China)

• Chang Yang (Taiwan, China)

• Chen Yi-chuan (Taiwan, China)

• Chen Yu-chia (Taiwan, China)

The preliminary assessment was conducted through independent scoring of video submissions, monitored onsite by six observers and Celina Chin to ensure fairness and transparency.

According to Bian Zushan, chair of the jury of the preliminary round, the overall standard of participants has risen noticeably, with a higher proportion of conductors specialising in Chinese music compared with previous editions.