Chan Wai Chon wins IC prize at Young Musician Competition

IC president Mok Ian Ian presented the prize to Chan Wai Chon

The special prizes competition for the 36th Macao Young Musician Competition was held earlier this month at the Institute for Tourism Studies, where Chan Wai Chon was awarded the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) Prize during an evening of musical performances from local students.

Aged 18, Chan is the first prize winner of both the saxophone advanced category and the woodwind concerto advanced category. He began learning how to play the saxophone at the age of 10 and subsequently joined the Macau Youth Symphonic Band.

According to the IC, Chan performed a difficult concerto during the competition, “with a subtle and precise interpretation of tones as well as a rich sense of rhythm and musicality, receiving high acclaim from the jury.”

Chan will receive a scholarship from the IC for first year of tuition fees for a related undergraduate or pre-college music course.

Various other winners of the competition may collect their award certificates in mid-September at the IC building, located in Tap Seac Square.

The jury of the special prizes competition was comprised of the music director and principal conductor of the Macao Orchestra, Lu Jia, the principal conductor of the Chinese Orchestra of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Dai Luqing, and the conductor of the Taipei Youth Chinese Orchestra, Chen Ju-Chi.