Cheung Chau is Music Director of Sinfonietta Polonia in Poznań, Poland, and resident conductor of the Changsha Symphony in Hunan, China. He is Director of Orchestral studies at Utah Valley University and Music Director of the Utah Valley Youth Symphony in Orem, Utah. He served as Music Director of the Bloomington Symphony in Minnesota, the Central Pennsylvania Symphony in Pennsylvania, and the Manchester Symphony in Connecticut. He was principal guest conductor of the Lublin Philharmonic Orchestra in Lublin, Poland, and held director of orchestra positions at the Haverford College and the University of Connecticut.
As guest conductor, Chau conducted the Moscow Symphony in Russia, the Nordhausen Philharmonic in Germany, the Filharmonica Marchigiana in Italy, the Gavle Symphony and the Royal Stockholm Philhamonic Orchestra in Sweden, the Vassa Symphony in Finland, the Williamsport Symphony, the Charlottesville Symphony, the Ballet West Orchestra, the Utah Valley Symphony, and the Utah Chamber Orchestra in the United States, the Białystok Philharmonic, the Kielce Philharmonic, the Lublin Philharmonic, the Sudecka Philharmonic, and the Olsztyn Philharmonic in Poland, and the Vidin Sinfonietta in Bulgaria.
In China, he conducted the China National Symphony, the Tianjin Philharmonic, the Wuhan Philharmonic, and the Xiamen Philharmonic. He was named permanent guest conductor of the Inner Mongolia Orchestra in 2007. Invited by Edo de Waart, Chau served as assistant conductor to the Hong Kong Philharmonic, conducting the orchestra in projects including the 2007 live world broadcast opening ceremony of the 10th anniversary celebration of Hong Kong’s Handover, with Chinese President Hu Jintao in attendance. As resident conductor of the Changsha Symphony, Chau conducted nationally broadcasted projects including the “10,000 Miles of Changsha”, a work celebrating 2000 years of Changsha’s historical and cultural heritage.
As ballet conductor Chau conducted productions of Giselle and Nutcracker with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the Ballet West at the Harrisburg Whitaker Center and the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City. He is a regular guest conductor at the Grand Opera and Ballet Theater in Poznań, Poland, where he conducted the world premiere of Alice in Wonderland in 2014. Chau also led the world premiere performance of Snow Queen in March of 2016 at the Grand Theater in Poznań. Since then, Chau led Alice in Wonderland and Snow Queen regularly in Poznań and at the prestigious Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Poland. In 2017, the world premiere recording of Snow Queen with leading Polish label Acte Prealable was awarded a Global Music Awards Silver Medal.
An American Prize finalist in Conducting and a conducting fellow at the American Academy of Conducing in Aspen, Chau conducted concerts in venues including at the Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg, Beijing Concert Hall, Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, and the Adam Mickiewicz University Concert Hall in Poznań, Poland.
Chau received the first double doctorate from the New England Conservatory in wind ensemble conducting and cello performance. He studied orchestral conducting with Jorma Panula at the Royal Conservatory of Sweden. Chau is a National Arts Associate in conducting with Sigma Alpha Iota in the USA.
“Cheung Chau led an impressive symphony concert in Sondershausen…and showed a powerful rendition of his skill…A musical firework unfolded before the audience, between the sinking softness and the euphoric feeling of youth. This interpretation made the greatness of the work (Schubert “Great” Symphony) understood instantly.”
—Ronald Urlig, Thueringer Allgemeine, Erfurt, Germany
“The tableaux (in Lithuanian Rhapsody by Karlowicz) are doubtlessly difficult to interpret, as they are emotionally dense, complex. However, the orchestra under Chau’s baton painted them in dark hues so very desirable in the first tableau, brightening the color spectrum accordingly in the subsequent episodes—in the subtle Andante tranquillo, dance-like Allegretto giocoso, all until the return of the initial nostalgia. One found great satisfaction and pleasure in listening to the “Lithuanian Rhapsody” precisely thanks to Chau’s consistent construction and progression of moods, apt graduation of emotions and logical narration.”
—Dorota Gonet, Gazeta.Wyborcza, Lublin, Poland
Cellist Cheung Chau received top prizes in Hong Kong including winning the Commercial Radio Prize at age twelve, the youngest musician to win this prize. At fourteen he was soloist, performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. The Sing Tao Daily described him as “a rare gem in the musical field”. He also performed as soloist with the Macao Chamber Orchestra, the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra, the Vidin Sinfonietta in Bulgaria, the Hemet Symphony Orchestra, the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony Orchestra, and Sinfonietta Polonia in Poland. Chau holds the first double doctorate from the New England Conservatory in wind ensemble conducting and cello performance. He studied with Colin Carr, Eleonore Schoenfeld, Aldo Parisot and Johanne Perron, and performed in master classes for Yo-Yo Ma, Ralph Kirshbaum and Lawrence Lesser.
Chau performed as soloist and chamber musician in the USA, Hong Kong, Macao, China, Germany, Poland, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden, Finland and Bulgaria, performing at the Merkin Hall and the Yale Club in New York City, the Jordan Hall in Boston, the Fine Arts Recital Hall in Ambassador College in Pasadena, the Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City and the Beijing Concert Hall, with artists including Stephanie Chase, Jeffrey Solow, John Novacek, Simon Gallo, Paul Rosenthal, Peter Sirotin, Monte Belknap, Doris Stevenson, amongst others. He performed for the Hong Kong Radio and Television Corporation, the China Central Television, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Irish Radio, Polish Radio Merkury, TVP Poznan and Utah Highway 89 Radio. He is a member of Atma Piano Trio, with pianist Slawomir Dobrzanski and violinist Blanka Bednarz. The ensemble performed in Germany, Sweden, Italy, Lithuania, China, US, and toured extensively in Poland. Chau can be heard as cellist and conductor on Polish label Acte Préalable in works by Roman Palester, Paul Kletzki, Maria Szymanowska, Mendelssohn, Ravel and in ballet works by Kaczmarek. His 2017 recording as conductor of ballet music Snow Queen by Gabriel Kaczmarek with Sinfonietta Polonia won a silver medal from Global Music Awards.
“Cheung Chau reminded us that he is not only a superb conductor but also an excellent cellist—he did so performing David Popper’s Hungarian Rhapsody.”
—Marek Zaradniak, Glos Wielkopolski, Poznań, Poland