Po Hang Yuen

Po Hang Yuen is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Music in Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studies with Julian Anderson, Malcolm Singer, and Raymond Yiu. His research-led practice, An Exploration of Chinese Cultural Symbols in a Composer’s Practice, examines the dynamics of cultural identity, symbolism, and cross-cultural encounter in contemporary music-making.

Yuen’s works have been performed internationally by ensembles and soloists such as the BBC Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, PHACE, Psappha, Avanti Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Sofia Philharmonic, and many distinguished soloists. His music often negotiates the tension between inherited Chinese cultural traditions and the shifting contexts of globalisation, memories, and migration, producing works that are at once personal, and socially reflective.

He has presented talks and lecture-recitals at institutions including the University of Manchester, University of Aberdeen, and University of Hong Kong, addressing topics such as tradition as a form of constrain or creativity, instruments in Chinese music, as well as Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera and the Chinese New Wave.

Yuen is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including the Mendelssohn Scholarship for Composers (2025), the MAP-IMC 2023 Composition Competition (3rd Prize), and the New Melodies II International Composers Competition (I degree diploma). He has also been a finalist for the Royal Northern College of Music Gold Medal and the Samuel ColeridgeTaylor Prize. His doctoral studies at Guildhall are supported by a Postgraduate Research Fee Bursary.

Beyond composition, Yuen has contributed to the wider community as a board member of the Asian Young Musicians Alliance (AYMA), as a juror for new music competitions, and as a teacher in both professional and educational settings.

Through his work, Yuen aims to question how cultural symbols are mobilised, reimagined, or erased in contemporary society, and to offer fresh perspectives on cross-cultural music-making in both scholarly and artistic domains.