Our International Artists & Faculty
World-Class Musicians. Inspiring the Next Generation.
Wong Ka Lap
Ka Lap Wong is a proven top cellist in Asia, having participated in orchestras like the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Malaysian Philharmonic.
He is also the Artistic Director and founder of innovative chamber ensemble The TimeCrafters, which had been playing for the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Shatou Piano Museum, the La French May Festival, the Hong Kong Art Museum, the Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District, Taipei Masters Academy Festival and Singapore Island Piano Festival.
Apart from active professional chamber and orchestral experiences, Ka Lap had also been playing as soloist, being invited to play the Haydn Cello Concerto in D, the Beethoven Triple Concerto, the Shostakovich Cello Concerto and Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante with various orchestras.
Ka Lap started playing the cello at age 10, and since then he had been winning various prizes. However he stopped playing music because of injuries, and studied Architecture. It was then he realized he should contribute himself in raising the artistic level of Hong Kong and decided to study music in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, following the first student of ledendary cellist Rostropovich, Stefan Popov.
He earned many praises from musicians all over the world, Vladimir Perlin decribe Ka Lap as “Big Talent”, Robert Saxton describe him as “fantastic cellist”, Popov and Richard Bamping both praise him as “a cellist who can play anything”, "Exquisite” - Evan Rothstein
Founder
Ruda Lee
Artistic Driector of The Hong Kong Danube FestivalInternationally acclaimed violinist Ruda Lee has established herself as a soloist, producer, and artistic director through major projects presented across Asia, the United States, Europe, and beyond, garnering recognition for her distinctive artistic vision.Ruda Lee made her concerto debut at age six as the youngest winner of the World Symphony Orchestra Competition. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she later received the Seoul President’s Award for her first composer-performer project at age twelve. Following her early triumphs, she swept top prizes at major competitions including the Strad Magazine Award, Music Journal, KCO, Korea Mozart, Music Education Newspaper, and Young Soloist Competitions. In 2014, she made her debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, followed by a performance at the 2015 J.F.Kennedy Center Honors Gala alongside Yo-Yo Ma, attended by President Obama and broadcast nationally in the United States.A full scholarship recipient at Yale University School of Music, Ruda served as Co-Concertmaster of the Yale Philharmonia and toured with John Adams at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. She has appeared under the baton of conductors such as Valery Gergiev, krzysztof Penderecki, and Andris Nelson. Ruda has appeared at leading festivals worldwide including Tanglewood, Kronberg, Norfolk, PyeongChang, Russia, Taipei, Singapore and Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival-Beare’s Premiere and Arts Festival. In 2023, she garnered great acclaim at the Vivaldi Festival in Venice for performing all four of Vivaldi’s concertos in a single program.Alongside her career as a globally active soloist and chamber musician, Ruda has created and led numerous innovative programs as artistic director and producer. Following two sold-out concerts in Hong Kong, she presented her landmark project Four Seasons: A Journey of 1725-2025 at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in November 2025, including two world-premiere, where she appeared as soloist to standing ovations and critical acclaim. Building on this success, she is set to expand the project worldwide under the title Global Seasons: A Journey Beyond 1725, bringing her vision to major stages in the other parts of the States, Europe, and across Asia.Her recent album My Home (2025) is a testament to how music can convey deeply personal memories and identity, connecting performer and listener across space and time. Ruda Lee currently serves as Artistic Director of Virtuoso Fiesta and Young Virtuosi, organizations dedicated to reimagining classical programming for contemporary audiences and mentoring the next generations, continuing her mission to bridge past and future while connecting people and cultures around the world through music.
Brian Choi
Hong Kong-born young Violinist Brian Kwan Yeung Choi, has become the first Hong Kong representative to ever participate in the 14th Edition Chinese National Golden Bell Violin Competition in 2023. Brian has won numerous international competitions, including the winner of the Musicus Society‘s Young Artist Audition program in 2018, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition First Prize in 2017, the New York International Artists Association (NYIAA) First Prize in 2017, the Third Prize in the Boston Pops Concerto Competition in 2017, Third prize in the Bales Violin Competition in 2015, and the Hong Kong Young Musician of the Year First Prize in 2006. Brian has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the Musicus Society. Brian is currently an avid violin soloist, chamber musician as well as Concertmaster of the Hong Kong String Orchestra, Guest Concertmaster of the In-heritage Philharmonic, Associate Concertmaster of the Opera Hong Kong.
Brian started learning the violin at the age of six. Brian entered the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) at the age of eight as a preparatory student under the tutelage of violinist Leung Kin Fung, and he obtained the Certificate of Music at HKAPA at the age of seventeen. He recently completed a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree at the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston, where he studied with violin masters Paul Biss, and pedagogue Donald Weilerstein. He has participated in several international competitions, including as a semi-finalist in the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition in 2017, the 11th Wieniawski International Violin Competition for Young Violinists, as well as the 6th Tchaikovsky International Youth Violin Competition.
He has frequently performed as a soloist and in chamber music concerts. He often collaborates with famous musicians, including famous cellist Trey Lee, Hong Kong Pianist Colleen Lee, Rachael Cheung, Vanessa Wong, KaJeng Wong, and Hong Kong Violist Born Lau. In 2021, he has invited by the famous cellist Trey Lee to perform Vivaldi Double Concerto with him at the Hong Kong City Hall at the “ Musicus International Festival”. In the same year, he performed Vivaldi's Winter from "The Four Seasons" Concerto with the famous pianist Colleen Lee at the Hong Kong City Hall. He has been repeatedly invited by the Music Society to perform for Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong. In Jan of 2022, he was invited by the Hong Kong Orchestra to perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. In 2019, he was invited to perform with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist and was highly praised by Maestro Fu. In 2017 he performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto as a soloist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, and the festival Paesaggi Musicali Toscani as a guest artist in the same year performed a recital in Italy with the legendary pianist Bruno Canino in late August and made his debut recital in Carnegie Hall as the winner of the NYIAA in September 2017.
Brian has extensive chamber music experience, studying with renowned artists including Joel Krosnick, Laurie Smukler, Katherine Murdock, Mai Motobuchi, Yeesun Kim, Roger Tapping, Donald Weilerstein. He has also performed in masterclasses including for members of the American String Quartet, Pacifica String Quartet, Juilliard String Quartet, Emerson String Quartet, Parker String Quartet. He attended the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival summer of 2016 and 2017 and was part of the Aspen Summer Music Festival Center for Advanced Quartet Studies, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar with the Ceres Quartet 2018.
Brian is currently an avid violin soloist, chamber musician as well as Concertmaster of the Hong Kong String Orchestra, Guest Concertmaster of the In-heritage Philharmonic, Associate Concertmaster of the Opera Hong Kong.
Board Member 
Evan Robinson
Evan Robinson is an award-winning violinist and violist whose career spans prestigious concert stages and chamber music festivals. He has performed multiple times at Carnegie Hall with the New York String Orchestra Seminar and throughout Asia, including appearances at Tokyo’s City Opera Concert Hall with Music Masters Course Japan and in Hong Kong as a guest artist for the Hong Kong Arts Festival. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and a Master of Music from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. Evan has served as principal of the McGill Symphony Orchestra as well as Indiana University’s Philharmonic, Concert, and Baroque Orchestras, performing under renowned conductors such as Carl St. Clair, David Effron, Paul Nadler, Kent Nagano, and Naoto Otomo.
As a member of the Milton String Quartet, Evan won the Senior String Division Gold Medal and Grand Prize at the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Competition—North America’s largest chamber music competition. He was also a semi-finalist in the Golden Violin Competition, Canada’s largest collegiate music prize. Evan has had the privilege of working with members of today’s most preeminent chamber ensembles, including the Alban Berg, Ébène, Escher, Hagen, Jupiter, and Tokyo Quartets, as well as notable artists such as Jinjoo Cho, Kim Kashkashian, and Wolfgang Redik. His talent has been recognized by CBC Music, appearing on their "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30" and "Montreal’s 10 Emerging Acts to Watch" lists.
An accomplished educator, Evan has taught students of all ages globally. His experience includes teaching for Indiana University’s pre-college program—incorporating the Suzuki method under the guidance of Mimi Zweig—serving as a graduate instructor at McGill University, and working as a teaching artist for the Noel Pointer Foundation in Brooklyn. In Hong Kong, he has taught at top music academies and for the University of Hong Kong’s Music Society. Evan enjoys both helping young students establish solid fundamentals and mentoring advanced students pursuing professional music careers.
Beyond his musical career, Evan is an active tournament chess player, an avid cook, and a martial arts enthusiast. He is now charting a new path in the legal field, bridging creative thinking with legal innovation. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Pennsylvania.
Graceful Arts Charitable Society Limited
is privileged to work with an exceptional community of internationally acclaimed musicians, educators and cultural leaders. Our faculty brings together world-class artists from Hong Kong, Europe, Asia and beyond — each committed not only to the highest standards of artistic excellence, but also to the mentorship, development and inspiration of the next generation of young talent. We believe that the most powerful gift we can give a young person is the opportunity to learn from, perform alongside and be inspired by the very best. Our international faculty is the heart of that belief.