Po Hang Yuen is a composer whose work explores the integration of Chinese cultural symbols into contemporary compositional practice through the lens of a 21st-century multicultural identity. Currently undertaking a Doctor of Music in Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he is mentored by Julian Anderson, Malcolm Singer, and Raymond Yiu. Yuen’s musical journey spans diverse educational environments, having previously earned two Master of Music degrees with distinction—from the Royal Northern College of Music and King’s College London—following his undergraduate studies at the University of Hong Kong.
Yuen’s music has been performed internationally by leading orchestras and ensembles, including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, PHACE, the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, and the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble. His works have featured at various festivals and schemes such as the 12th St. Petersburg International New Music Festival, Vienna Summer Music Festival, Sofia Symphonic Summit, Sävellyspaja, and the Britten Sinfonia’s Opus 1 programme.
Recent commissions reflect Yuen’s growing international presence. His chamber work Journey to the West will receive dual premieres in Russia (May 2025) and Hong Kong (August 2025), performed by the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble and the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble respectively. In 2024, his chamber work Heterophony was premiered in Dijon, France, and later scheduled for a South American performance with Cénit Ensamble in Colombia. His zheng and mixed quartet piece Whispering Orchid in the Silent Valley, premiered in Manchester in June 2024, represents his ongoing exploration of Chinese cultural aesthetics in a contemporary sound world. Other recent works include Cosmic Embrace, performed under Unsuk Chin at the Avanti! Summer Sounds Festival (2023), and Lunar Eclipse, performed by the BBC Philharmonic in 2023 under the baton of Elena Schwarz.
His artistic development has been enriched through participation in workshops, including the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation, SEED 2024, Sherborne Summer School of Music, and the ICEBERG Institute. He has received mentorship from influential composers such as Chen Yi, Ramon Lazkano, George E. Lewis, Klaus Lang, and Sarah Nemtsov, among many others.
Po Hang Yuen’s work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Mendelssohn Scholarship for Composers (2025), third prize in the MAP-IMC Composition Competition (2023), and finalist positions in both the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Prize and the Royal Northern College of Music Gold Medal Competition. His early accolades include the University of Hong Kong’s Jao Yu Tsong Memorial Prize in Music.
Blending traditional references with contemporary techniques, Yuen’s music seeks not only to question and reframe notions of cultural identity, but also continues to shape his voice as a composer committed to both innovation and intercultural dialogue.
