Beecroft Orchestra Guest Conductor and Soloist Cho Ki (Jacky) Wong
Jacky was our guest concert pianist and co-conductor of concert 1 on the 3rd of April 2011.
Cho Ki (Jacky) Wong is the first person to conduct and play the complete Beethoven piano concertos from keyboard in Australia. The concerts were held in March 2012 at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Currently a student in Master degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Wong is studying orchestral conducting under Professor Imre Pallo with full scholarship – the George Henderson (postgraduate) Scholarship offered by the Conservatorium. Wong was appointed as the principal conductor of the Hong Kong Grandmaster Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kwai Tsing Youth Orchestra in between the seasons of 2007 – 2009. He also participated the Conductors Retreat at Medomak 2009 and studied with Kenneth Keisler. In Sydney, He has conducted the Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, the Beecroft Orchestra and Eastern Sydney Chamber Choir. He has served as assistant conductor to Maestro Pallo in the production of Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera.
As an active pianist, Wong graduated from a Master of Piano Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studied with Mr. Gerard Willems. The masters degree is supported by a full scholarship – the Molly McAulay Memorial Scholarship 2009 – given by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he studied as a visiting student after graduating from the Hong Kong Baptist University in 2008. His piano teachers included Prof. Gabriel Kwok, Mr. Cui Shi-guang and Mr. You Da-chun. He is the winner of the HK (Asia) Piano Open Competition in 2002, the ASKM Gold Coast Open Piano Competition in 2010 and City of Wollongong Eisteddfod Open Piano Scholarship in 2011.
He has appeared regularly as soloist with numerous orchestras such as the Youth Musician Philharmonic Orchestra (HK), the Baptist University Symphony Orchestra (HK), Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra (Sydney), the Beecroft Orchestra (Sydney) and the Eastern Sydney Chamber Orchestra on repertoire including Mozart Piano Concertos, Beethoven Piano Concertos, Chopin Piano concerto no. 1, Dohnanyi Variations on a nursery theme and Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 3.
Besides appearing as conductor and soloist, Wong has performed as harpsichordist with the Collegium Musicum Hong Kong at Harlaxton International Chamber Music Festival, Ely Cathedral and Southwark Cathedral in the UK, Central Conservatory of Music, and University of Beijing. He works with Jane Rutter in “An Australian in Paris” national tour.
Wong has been interviewed by the “Life Monthly” magazine and RTHK Radio 4. For more information and upcoming concerts, please visit his website: chokiwong.wordpress.com
Daniel Macey – Baritone
Daniel is a 23 year old baritone currently studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and completing an Advanced Diploma of Opera. He graduated from the Conservatorium High School in 2007 as a violist, gaining a string scholarship to the UTAS Conservatorium of Music, completing his B.MUS in 2010.
Since taking up singing full time in 2011, he gained a place in the Advanced Opera Diploma course at the Sydney Conservatorium, at which time he began studying with Dr. Rowena Cowley. Last year, Daniel played the roles of Der Calender from Der Pilger von Mekka by Gluck, and Jupiter from Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach. Daniel also had his professional debut in Sydney Chamber Opera’s production of The Lighthouse in November last year,
“Daniel Macey confidently executed passages of sustained high-register singing”, “Daniel Macey’s (voice) floats evenly and beautifully through tricky terrain both in the score and the inner dialogues of both his roles.”
This year, Daniel has performed the role of Il Conte from Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera New England and with Pacific Opera, and has also performed the role of Conte Robinson in Il Matrimonio Segreto by Cimarosa.
Harpist Margaret Curtis
T.Mus.A; F.T.C.L
Originally from Sydney, Margaret began her musical studies on piano at the early age of 4. She achieved her Associate diploma at the age of 16 and continued her studies until, at the age of 26, she achieved her Performance Fellowship with the Trinity College of Music, London. Her musical passion continued and in 2000 she added the harp to her focus and commenced studies with Louise Johnson, principal harpist for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Margaret is now well known as an accomplished performer and accompanist on the harp and piano. She has performed in the Sydney based TOPS orchestra, was the resident harpist of the Beecroft Orchestra for two years, as well as participating in musical society performances, solo recitals, choir accompaniment as well as setting the musical ambience at weddings.
She is a member of the Lismore Symphony Orchestra, a freelance harpist and pianist and accompanist on both instruments. Margaret is now based in Bangalow in the hinterland of Byron Bay.