Artistic Director and Conductor

Dr Henry Shek

Artistic Director and Conductor

Dr Henry Shek was brought up in an artistic atmosphere and studied both the violin and piano from an early age. His desire to become a conductor was inspired by internationally-acclaimed conductor Sir Malcom Sargent.

After graduated from high school, Shek won a scholarship to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied piano, theory, composition and conducting. Upon graduation with distinction in Orchestral Conducting, Shek was immediately engaged by Maestro Yasushi Akutagawa to be his assistant conductor at the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the New Symphony Orchestra in Japan. After winning conducting prizes at the San Remo Opera House (Italy), the Besançon (France) and the Herbert von Karajan (West Germany) competitions, Shek embarked on a career of conducting over 80 prestigious orchestras, opera houses and ballet companies across Europe, the United States and Asia.

Shek has been promoting music tirelessly. He was appointed the Music Director of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra from 1993 to 1997 and continued to be its Principal Conductor (Promotional Series) until 1999. During his tenure, Shek had made great strides to internationalise and promote Chinese symphonic music and had made a series of CDs under the Marco Polo International label. His other recordings with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Shanghai Symphony and the Moscow Symphony have been international best sellers.

Shek was awarded the “Most Outstanding Chinese of the World” together with an honorary doctorate degree in 2006. In 2009, he was awarded his second honorary doctorate degree. Shek conducts in places all over the world and strives to promote music in Hong Kong. His music ranges from Broadway musicals, opera, symphony, pops to jazz. Shek is dedicated to nurture young musicians in Hong Kong and to develop Hong Kong into an international cultural metropolis.