Yiu-kwong Chung is Taiwan's best known and most often performed composer.. His musicYiu-kwong Chung is Taiwan's best known and most often performed composer.. His music, distinguished by its profound Chinese philosophical background and expressive range, has won large and enthusiastic audiences all over the world. He has written for every conceivable type of music ranging from the grandest orchestral work, Chinese opera, musicals, to the most intimate piece in New Age style. In March 2000, The Eternal City for Chinese Orchestra captured the 1st prize of the 21st Century International Composition Competition held by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. His another 1st-prize winning chamber work in 1986, Chariots Ballad for Solo Marimba and 7 Percussionists, quickly entered the repertory, with performances by the Prague Percussion Ensemble and over 50 different percussion ensembles of many leading universities in USA and Japan. Festive Celebration for Wind Orchestra, now published by Musikverlag Johann Kliment KG in Vienna, has been performed by many orchestras throughout the world and is recorded on the 7th and the 8th WASBE Conference CD sets. His two bold and energetic pieces Dance of the Earth and Taiwanese Children Song , performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, are recorded on SONY-Taiwan's Super Charm Yo-Yo MA Album. Following Chung's move to Taiwan in 1991, his music began to receive much wider recognition and has been performed throughout the world at many major international festivals such as Prague Spring Festival, ISCM World Music Days, Shanghai Music Festival, Festival of the Asian Composers' League, and WASBE International Band Festival. Numerous recent commissions and collaboration with international renowned artists, such as Yo Yo Ma, Cho-liang Lin, Wu Man, Christian Wirth, Eva Fampas, Emphasis Saxophone Quartet, the Berlin Philharmonic 12 Cellists, and Elsner String Quartet, have confirmed the growing interest in his music throughout the world. Commissioned works in 2006 included Four Studies on Themes of Pablo Picasso for Wind Ensemble, Concerto for Wind Orchestra, Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble, Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, Big Dippers Formation for Suona Solo and Small Chinese Ensemble, Pestle Song for Alto Saxophone and Percussion, Concerto No. 2 for Marimba and Strings, Orchestral Suite Echoes in Mountain Valleys, Postmodern Psalm for Choir, Multi-vector for 10 Percussionists, and Taiwanese Opera Who Is My Bride. His recent most important world premieres include the Hakka Sketches by Cho-liang Lin and International Sejong Soloists in November 2006 at National Concert Hall, Taipei; Taiwanese Opera Who Is My Bride by Tang Mei Yun Opera Company in April 2006 at National Theater, Taipei; Guitar Concerto For Eva by Eva Fampas in October 2004 at Melina Mercury Cultural Center, Athens; and Musical Butterfly Lovers by Tafen Musical Company in September 2003 at National Theater, Taipei. His most recent CD/DVD releases include a National Chinese Orchestra recording of The World of Chinese Painting, a Ju Percussion Group 20th Anniversary DVD recording of Drumming No. 5, a Tafen Musical Company's VCD recording of Butterfly Lovers. Enrich recording of Cantos II for Saxophone Quartet and Happy Hour for 2 Saxophone Quartets performed by the Emphasis Saxophone Quartet from France and Diapason Saxophone Quartet from Taiwan, a Hugo recording of Under the Red Eaves for Orchestra. Yiu-kwong Chung was born in Hong Kong, 1956. He received formal percussion training at the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and Brooklyn College, City University of New York where he studied percussion with Nicolas D'amico and Morris Lang. He also studied marimba with Leigh Howard Stevens and Keiko Abe. From 1980 to 1986, he served as the Assistant Principal Percussion at the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. As a composer he was basically self-taught until in 1986 he was awarded the 1st prize at the 13th Percussive Arts Society Composition Competition in USA which enabled him to study composition formally in the Ph.D. program of the Graduate Center, City University of New York with Robert Starer and David Olan. He received his Doctoral of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree in percussion in 1991 and Ph.D. degree in composition in 1995 from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. His D.M.A. dissertation Hans Werner Henze's Five Scenes from the Snow Country: An Analysis (available at UMI Dissertation Information Service) was granted the Barry Brook Dissertation Award. In 1995, based on structures, orderly sequence, and symbolism of the 64 hexagrams, Chung invented I-Ching Compositional System (ICCS) which is now regarded as the most successful exemplar of integrating fundamental Chinese Yin-yang philosophy into Western contemporary compositional and analytical theories. Chung is currently the General Director of the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, the foremost traditional Chinese orchestra in the world., distinguished by its profound Chinese philosophical background and expressive range, has won large and enthusiastic audiences all over the world. He has written for every conceivable type of music ranging from the grandest orchestral work, Chinese opera, musicals, to the most intimate piece in New Age style.

In March 2000, The Eternal City for Chinese Orchestra captured the 1st prize of the 21st Century International Composition Competition held by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. In 1986, he was awarded 1st-prize with chamber work, Chariots Ballad for Solo Marimba and 7 Percussionists, which quickly entered the repertory, with performances by the Prague Percussion Ensemble and over 50 different percussion ensembles of many leading universities in USA and Japan. Festive Celebration for Wind Orchestra, now published by Musikverlag Johann Kliment KG in Vienna, has been performed by many orchestras throughout the world and is recorded on the 7th and the 8th WASBE Conference CD sets. His two bold and energetic pieces Dance of the Earth and Taiwanese Children Song, performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, are recorded on SONY-Taiwan's Super Charm Yo-Yo MA Album.

Following Chung's move to Taiwan in 1991, his music began to receive much wider recognition and has been performed throughout the world at many major international festivals such as Prague Spring Festival, ISCM World Music Days, Shanghai Music Festival, Festival of the Asian Composers' League, and WASBE International Band Festival. Numerous recent commissions and collaboration with international renowned artists, such as Yo Yo Ma, Cho-liang Lin, Wu Man, Christian Wirth, Eva Fampas, Emphasis Saxophone Quartet, the Berlin Philharmonic 12 Cellists, and Elsner String Quartet, have confirmed the growing interest in his music throughout the world. Commissioned works in 2006 included Four Studies on Themes of Pablo Picasso for Wind Ensemble, Concerto for Wind Orchestra, Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble, Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, Big Dippers Formation for Suona Solo and Small Chinese Ensemble, Pestle Song for Alto Saxophone and Percussion, Concerto No. 2 for Marimba and Strings, orchestral suite Echoes in Mountain Valleys, Postmodern Psalm for Choir, Multi-vector for 10 Percussionists, and the Taiwanese opera Who Is My Bride.

His recent most important world premieres include the Hakka Sketches by Cho-liang Lin and International Sejong Soloists in November 2006 at National Concert Hall, Taipei; Taiwanese Opera Who Is My Bride by Tang Mei Yun Opera Company in April 2006 at National Theater, Taipei; Guitar Concerto For Eva by Eva Fampas in October 2004 at Melina Mercury Cultural Center, Athens; and Musical Butterfly Lovers by Tafen Musical Company in September 2003 at National Theater, Taipei.

His most recent CD/DVD releases include a National Chinese Orchestra recording of The World of Chinese Painting, a Ju Percussion Group 20th Anniversary DVD recording of Drumming No. 5, a Tafen Musical Company's VCD recording of Butterfly Lovers. Enrich recording of Cantos II for Saxophone Quartet and Happy Hour for 2 Saxophone Quartets performed by the Emphasis Saxophone Quartet from France and Diapason Saxophone Quartet from Taiwan, a Hugo recording of Under the Red Eaves for Orchestra.

Yiu-kwong Chung was born in Hong Kong, 1956. He received formal percussion training at the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and Brooklyn College, City University of New York where he studied percussion with Nicolas D'amico and Morris Lang. He also studied marimba with Leigh Howard Stevens and Keiko Abe. From 1980 to 1986, he served as the Assistant Principal Percussion at the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. As a composer he was basically self-taught until in 1986 he was awarded the 1st prize at the 13th Percussive Arts Society Composition Competition in USA which enabled him to study composition formally in the Ph.D. program of the Graduate Center, City University of New York with Robert Starer and David Olan. He received his Doctoral of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree in percussion in 1991 and Ph.D. degree in composition in 1995 from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. His D.M.A. dissertation Hans Werner Henze's Five Scenes from the Snow Country: An Analysis (available at UMI Dissertation Information Service) was granted the Barry Brook Dissertation Award. In 1995, based on structures, orderly sequence, and symbolism of the 64 hexagrams, Chung invented I-Ching Compositional System (ICCS) which is now regarded as the most successful exemplar of integrating fundamental Chinese Yin-yang philosophy into Western contemporary compositional and analytical theories. Chung is currently the General Director of the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, the foremost traditional Chinese orchestra in the world.