Pianist-composer Elena Chiu is a highly versatile and vibrant musician. The eminent British composer-pianist Douglas Finch praised her performance as ‘a compelling recital by a real musician’. Her adventurous composition pursuits are honed by performing a diverse repertoire at various international platforms.
Highlights of Elena’s recent concert include: having two new commissioned choral works performed at the Hong Kong Oratorio Society’s Christmas concert under the baton of Prof. Chan Wing-Wah in December 2015, and having her commissioned work for piano and live electronics performed the ‘Royal Academy of Music Summer Piano Festival 2015’. Alongside her life as a composer, Elena gave a piano lecture-recital on J. S. Bach’s Keyboard Suites at the 2015 Hong Kong Bach Festival. In 2014, Elena was invited to perform at the ‘John Rutter Festival’ in December at the Dugdale Theatre London, a joint piano and violin recital with Simon Blendis, leader of the Schubert Ensemble, in the London Enfield Choral and Orchestral Festival in May, and a piano recital in Munich at the Korbinian-Aigner Gymnasium’s 10th Anniversary Summer Festival. Elena has become a trainer for young singers as resident pianist-composer, namely at The Children’s International Voices (London) since 2013, where she also works with the patron of choir, John Rutter.
After graduating with Master of Music degree with distinction at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Elena is currently pursuing her doctorate studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, under the supervision of Professor Victor Chan. Elena received funding awards for all her study programmes, including the King’s College London Hong Kong Foundation Scholarship and the RAM Second-Study Scholarship. During her studies, her Piano Suite won the Christian Carpenter Recital Prize (among post-graduate recitals at RAM) in 2013; her Tango won the Italy (Treviso) International Contemporary Music Competition in 2012, she also received the RAM Foundation Award in the same year. Elena is the winner of the University of London Concerto Competition in 2009.
Elena’s musical craftsmanship is enriched through working with distinguished artists, including Stephen Hough, Michael Finnissy, Freddy Kempf, Yevgeny Sudbin, Vanessa Latarche, Kathryn Stott and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, amongst others. She has performed at main concert venues including St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. John Smith Square and the cathedrals of Chichester and Winchester. She also participated in notable music festivals such as the BBC Proms and Aldeburgh Festival. Elena’s sacred choral works are published by the Alpha & Omega Company (HK).
Website: http://www.elenachiu.com
Composition Samples: https://soundcloud.com/elenachiu/sets/composition-samples
Video Sample: Three Short Pieces for Organ Solo: I Arise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IufGbCVIYcM