Praised by the Philadelphia Enquirer as ‘a startling conducting talent’, Lio Kuokman was the laureate at the Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Paris. He has served as assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra and is the Principle Conductor of the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. Lio has worked with many leading orchestras around the world including the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Philharmonique de Radio France, Seoul Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony, NHK Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and Detroit Symphony. Lio is scheduled to debut with the Moscow Philharmonic and the Kyoto Symphony in the coming season.

As an opera conductor, Lio has been Music Director of numerous opera projects of Musica Viva and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. He was invited by Valery Gergiev to guest-conduct at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and will debut at the Spoleto Festival in the United States next year.

A graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Lio completed his advanced studies at the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory. He is a founding member and President of the Macao Chamber Music Association and has received cultural awards from the Government of Hong Kong and Macao.