Chew Hee Chiat

Assistant Artistic Director and Resident Conductor

Assistant Artistic Director and Resident Conductor of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Chew was the Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Macao Chinese Orchestra (2023-24 season). Chew joined the HKCO in 2002 as Assistant Conductor and took his current position in September 2022. Chew plays an active and diverse role that covers assisting in orchestral season planning and preparation for numerous concerts. In recent years, Chew is committed to the cross-disciplinary cooperation between Chinese music and other different sectors and media, including ‘Hins Cheung X HKCO’ in 2021, and in 2018, Chew conducted the ‘Listening to Nature’ concert, which had brought the music of Malaysia rainforest into Chinese music. Chew was widely acclaimed when he  guest-conducted the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in the concert ‘A Nanyang Musical Voyage II’ in 2004, and the Taipei Chinese Orchestra in the concert ‘Zhuolu & Dreaming of Butterflies’ in 2023. 

To promote the development of local creations, Chew re-launched HKCO’s ‘Music from the Heart’, a stage for original composition, inspiring many outstanding local composers since 2015. Since 2007, Chew has conducted The Hong Kong Drum Festival concert for over 10 consecutive years. His work Let the Thunder of Drums Roll VII becomes the Festival standard repertoire. 

Conducting aside, Chew’s works have characteristic features that demonstrate his Southeast Asian cultural heritage. His work Harken Back to Zhou is selected as one of the ‘100 Chinese Music Classics Select’ by HKCO. He was second runner-up in the International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Compositions 2000 (HK) and winner of the Outstanding Composition Award in the Chinese Music Competition 2002 organised by the Council for Cultural Affairs in Taiwan. Graduated from the Southeast Missouri State University with a double bachelor’s degree in cello performance and computer science, and the University of South Carolina with a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting, Chew was formerly the Music Director of the Professional Cultural Center Orchestra of Malaysia.

Chew is also committed to the education and perpetuation of Chinse music. Since 2011, Chew has been giving lectures for The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts on Chinese orchestral conducting. In 2003 to 2010, he held a concurrent post of the conductor of the Hong Kong Junior Chinese Orchestra.