Women in Music

A concert celebrating women composers and women in the world of music in honor of International Women's Day. Some of Hong Kong's top musicians gather together to present a concert of rarely heard masterpieces by some history's greatest female composers from all around the world. The concert will feature music by Pui-shan Cheung, Alma Mahler, Amy Beach, Cécile Chaminade, Sofia Gubaidulina, Clara Schumann, Florence Price, and more. Don't miss this evening of beloved chamber music.

Performer:

Dr. Amy Sze, Piano

Dr. Natalie Tokar, Piano

Amelia Chan, Violin

Anna Kwan Ton-an, Cello

Dr. Etta Fung, Soprano

Biography:

Dr. Amy Sze, Piano

Dr. Amy Sze holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate, prior to which she had studied at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts since the age of ten. Her teachers include Gabriel Kwok, Nelita True and John Perry. She was the recipient of numerous scholarships including the Avis D. Vaughn Scholarship, the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Overseas Scholarship.

Amy Sze has won many prizes and awards, and performances have taken her to different continents over the years. She has appeared as a concerto soloist with various orchestras, including the Texas Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and the Eastman Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed in recital and as a chamber musician at major international festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, the Cliburn Piano Institute, the Harbin Summer Music Festival and the Salzburg Mozarteum Academy. She was featured in Hong Kong Sinfonietta's Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle, performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2, and in the Sinfonietta's CD release "This is Classical Music 3" performing Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. She was also invited to perform in the Beethoven Piano Sonatas Marathon in Vienna, along with other celebrated pianists from different parts of the world, which saw the first Hong Kong-Vienna Music Festival. In 2022, she had the privilege to participate in the 25th anniversary of the HKSAR and perform for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife during their visit to Hong Kong.

As an avid chamber musician, Amy Sze has collaborated with various distinguished artists, notably Derek Bermel, David Childs, Peter Cooper, Benedict Cruft, AmihaiGrosz, Yoshiyuki Ishikawa, Takako Nishizaki, Raphael Severe and John Williams. She was also a member of the Eastman Chamber Music Society, which engages in outreach projects and charity concerts in public schools and community centres. An active performer of contemporary music, she has appeared as featured artist in various festivals, including the Contemporary Song Festival of the Intimacy of Creativity, the Hong Kong New Generation Concert, the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival, and the French May Festival.

Amy Sze is currently on the faculty of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Baptist University. She was also previously a teaching assistant in piano studies, accompaniment and chamber music at the Eastman School of Music. She is a Trinity College London music diploma examiner and frequently serves on jury panels for scholarships and competitions and has been on the music advisory committee for her alma mater, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and St. Paul’s Co-educational College.

Dr. Natalia Tokar, Piano

Native of Russia, Natalia Tokar completed her masters and doctoral studies at the St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, Russia and Michigan State University, USA under the guidance of such prominent pianists as Nadezhda Eismont, Sean Botkin, Deborah Moriarty and Minsoo Sohn. She performed in numerous solo and collaborative concerts and as a soloist with orchestras in Russia, Germany, France, Italy, USA, Japan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. Her other professional engagements include serving as instructional assistant of collaborative piano in the St. Petersburg State Conservatory, instructional assistant at HKUST, pianist at the Mariinski Theatre and collaborative pianist for numerous universities, international competitions and festivals. Since moving to Hong Kong in 2014, Natalia has been an active member of the music community performing as soloist and collaborative pianist with various reputable organizations, such as HK MusicaViva, HKUST Music Alive, Bright Sheng’s Intimacy of Creativity international festival of contemporary music, Musica del Cuore, RTHK 4 Radio, and RTHK 31 TV, and others.

Apart from performance activities, Natalia contributes to educational environment of Hong Kong. She serves as adjudicator for a variety of music competitions in the Greater Bay Area and she has given presentations on Russian music and culture at the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She has organized a series of local young talent programs and educational concerts without any age restrictions accessible for families or people with disabilities.

Natalia is an award winning piano pedagogue and founder of the Russian Sound Music Academy, a reputable private music school in Hong Kong established in 2015 and offering training in a variety of music instruments conducted by graduates of prominent institutions in Russia. Besides piano performing and teaching, Natalia is also interested in composing piano arrangements and singing. She is an active vocal coach, as well as singer in various local musical theatre and opera productions and choirs.

Amelia Chan, Violin

Amelia Chan is currently concertmaster of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK).

She came to this position from her tenure as concertmaster of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (US). An experienced leader, Amelia has served in the concertmaster chair under acclaimed conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, Michael Tilson Thomas, Manfred Huss, Sergiu Commissiona, Anton Coppola, Zdeněk Mácal, Jorge Mester, Julius Rudel, and Gerard Schwarz. She has also performed with the New York Philharmonic extensively. As a chamber musician, Amelia has served as first violinist of the Montclaire String Quartet, and has collaborated with guitarist Sharon Isbin, accordionist Richard Galliano, violinist Lara St. John, the Ying Quartet, members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players (NYC), among others. She has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the West Virginia Symphony, the International Virtuosi Orchestra on tour in Central America, the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (NYC), the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra (NYC), and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. She has shared the stage as co-soloist with acclaimed flutist Sir James Galway, and frequently acts as director for the City Chamber Orchestra. She has performed at the Costa Rica Music Festival, the Guatemala Music Festival, Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival in New York and the Pacific Music Festival (Japan).

Amelia has been heard on WQXR, New York; WQED, Pittsburgh; West Virginia Public Broadcasting; BBC Radio Scotland, Scotland; and RTHK Radio 4, Hong Kong.

As an educator, Amelia approaches the teaching of technique through the lens of whole-body biomechanics, and on the principle that techniques of playing an instrument need to be relational to the body, and to how it moves, instead of relying on a static one-size-fits-all method. She believes in a focused and deep education that goes beyond rote training, where the student learns discernment and critical thinking, while sifting through the layers of intellect needed to decipher the depths of the musical art, to get to the natural, joyful simplicity of music-making.

Amelia holds undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees from the Mannes College of Music and Manhattan School of Music (NY). She began her violin studies in the junior school at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Her major teachers included Thomas Wang, Alice Waten, Albert Markov, Shirley Givens, Lisa Kim, Yoko Takebe, Sheryl Staples, Glenn Dicterow, and double-bassist Julius Levine.

For more information on Amelia, please go to her Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/ameliachanviolin/

Anna Kwan Ton-an, Cello

Anna Kwan Ton-an started learning the cello when she was ten at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and has won scholarships including the Hong Kong Bank, Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Stanley Knight and Yale School of Music.

While studying for her Bachelor Degree at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, she worked with members of the Vermeer, Emerson and Colorado string quartets, furthering her studies at Yale University, where she was coached by Claude Frank, Peter Frankl and members of the Tokyo String Quartet.

As a soloist, Anna was invited by the LCSD “Young Soloist Series” to play a solo recital in 1999. She was also invited to perform as a representative of Wells Cathedral School, England while she was a student there to perform at the Governor’s House for Sir Chris Patten. She was principal cello of the Asian Youth Orchestra 1995 and a member of the Jeunesses Musicales World Youth Orchestra, orchestra in residence of the Verbier Music Festival, Switzerland in 1996 and 1997.

Anna joined the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 2001. As the member of the Hong Kong String Quartet, she has given concerts in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau, and is currently a member of the Anonymous Quartet.

Dr. Etta Fung, Soprano

Coloratura soprano-aerialist Etta Fung is known for her "charm and verve" (Opera Today) and powerful stage presence. Etta made her European debut as Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel) in Eutin, Germany and received critical acclaim: "(Fung) acted with great enthusiasm, her powerful soprano voice underscoring the Wagnerian sounds of the score". (Hamburger Abendblatt).

Etta is one of the very few soprano-aerialists in the world and the only one in Asia. She was invited to perform the role of L'Amour on aerial silks in Gluck's Orphée+ in 2018 at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada and was hailed by the press as "brilliant", "Show-Stealer" and "Cirque-du-Soleil meets opera". She reprised the role at Edmonton Opera in 2023 with critical acclaim, and was consequently nominated for the 2022/23 Elisabeth Sterling Haynes Awards for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role. She recently made her debut aerial-act at the Hong Kong Clockenflap Music Festival 2025 in , a unique theatrical experience at the Central Harbourfront.

Performing new repertoire and exploring new roles is one of Etta’s main pursuits as an artist. She created the role of Keiko in British-Russian composer Elena Langer's new opera Beauty and Sadness, working with award-winning directors Carolyn Choa and Tim Yip.

Etta sang the roles of Queen of the Night (die Zauberflöte) with Opera Hong Kong, a reprisal of the role with Hong Kong Grand Opera, and Musetta (La Bohème) with Musica Viva. She became a resident singer of Opera Lab Asia, and performed the title role of Rita in Rita-- an Opera Movie (Donizetti) (IMDB/Spotify), filmed at the historical site of the Haw Par Mansion in Hong Kong. She also played Serpina in Waitress on Top (IMDB), another new opera movie loosely based on La Serve Padrona by Pergolesi, which was filmed at the Hong Kong Peninsula. Other notable roles include Catherine in Jacques Offenbach's Pomme d'api, Susanna in Il Segreto di Susanna, Laurette in Offenbach’s Le docteur Miracle, Mimì in La Bohème and Micaëla in Carmen.

​Etta was selected as a featured artist in one of the episodes of the artist documentary “Art Like There is a Way" by RTHK 31, Hong Kong. She also made a guest appearance on Hong Kong ViuTV's Popcorn Show with talk show host Vincent Kwok. She is regularly interviewed by local and international media on her aerial-opera endeavours and OSA Academy (HK), where she trains young talents to perform singing and aerial silks.

Etta was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera District Auditions (Kansas City) as well as the winner of the Vocal Division of the Naftzger Competition (Wichita, Kansas). She is the receiver of the Anton Rubinstein International Vocal Competition Award for best interpretation of chamber music in Düsseldorf, Germany.

​Etta holds a Doctoral Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Kansas.

• Free admission. Tickets will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
• Age range is 6 years and older.
• Online registration is required; each registration admits one person regardless of age.
• Registrant who successfully made the booking will receive a confirmation email with intrusctions to access the ticket, either by using the Eventbrite app or website.
• Please arrive 15 minutes before the show time.
• The organizer reserves the right in its sole discretion to make changes to the event program without prior notice.
• Registrants are encouraged to take public transportation to HKUST.

For enquiries, please contact: Mr. Lorenzo WAN lorenzo@ust.hk / infoshsscae@ust.hk