Kai-Young Chan 

A Hong Kong-based composer, Kai-Young Chan focuses on the integration of nuance, relevance, and resonance in music that converses with societies and cultures, and he is particularly drawn to the musicality of Chinese literature expressed through the tonal Cantonese language. His music is performed around the world by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, PRISM Quartet, Daedalus Quartet, and Mivos Quartet, among other prominent performers. His selected works are released on Ablaze Records, PARMA Recordings, and Innova Recordings, with the scores published by Edition Peters (London) and Central Conservatory of Music Press (Beijing). 

Kai-Young is part of the first artist delegation of the American Composers Forum to the Havana Festival for Contemporary Music in Cuba, a historic tour documented by the National Public Radio. His music is also featured in two editions of ISCM World Music Days (Belgium and Slovenia), International Rostrum of Composers (Finland), International Forum of New Music Manuel Enriquez(Mexico), Valencia International Performance Academy and Festival(Spain), New Music Gathering(US), soundSCAPE Festival(Italy), Internationalen Ferienkurse Darmstadt(Germany), Chinese Composers Festival(Hong Kong), and other venues across the continents. 

A winner in composition competitions organized by the Emissary Quartet, Dolce Suono Ensemble, Cantando Quartet, Orchestra Seattle and Seattle Chamber Singers, Vocal Espoo Choral Festival, Association for the Promotion of New Music and Hong Kong Children’s Choir, Kai-Young also garnered the Keuris Composition Prize, Hilda K. Nitzsche Music Prize, Helen L. Weiss Composition Prize, CASH Music Scholarships, and other accolades. 

As a Benjamin Franklin Fellow, Kai-Young received his PhD in Music Composition from the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves as Assistant Professor at the Department of Music of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he earned his Master of Music in Composition and Bachelor of Arts with first class honours.