China Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra

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       China Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra    Conductor - Dr. Anton D. Luiten

Born in Melbourne, Anton D. Luiten’s musical talent was recognized at a young age, eventually studying French Horn through the musically gifted program offered throughout schools in Perth, Western Australia. At the age of 14, Dr. Luiten won a scholarship to study music at the elite Perth Modern School, which led him, in 1986, to undertake a Bachelor’s degree in performance at the University of Western Australia. In the final years of study, he became a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra and he also won the Margaret Bello chamber music prize in 1989. Although an accomplished performer in both piano and French Horn, Dr. Luiten turned his attention to education in 1992, when he was offered a music teaching post in a school in Hong Kong.

Dr. Luiten excelled in the role, becoming the Head of the Music Department in 1996. The following year, he enrolled in the University of Hong Kong Certificate of Education program graduating with distinction in the teaching of English and English Literature.

In 1998, he returned to Australia, and began work on a Master’s degree in musicology at the prestigious Sydney Conservatorium of Music. After a year of study, Dr. Luiten was offered a teaching post there, delivering lectures in music history, advanced harmony and aural skills. By 2001, it was apparent that the scope and depth of his academic inquiry was deemed worthy of a higher degree and, as such, transferred to the Ph.D. program in 2001. After spending a year at the University of Texas in Austin, guided by the great Bartókian scholar Professor Elliott Antokoletz, Dr. Luiten had solidified his topic and returned to Sydney to continue work on Bartok’s last string quartet. Grateful that Bartok’s younger son, Peter, had furnished him with his father’s sketch book, Dr. Luiten was able to gain invaluable insight into the process of Bartók’s compositional journey.

After returning to Asia again in 2002, this time Japan, Dr. Luiten grew interested in language and decided in 2005 to embark on a Master’s degree in Linguistics (TESOL), offered through the distant learning program at Macquarie University. Completed in 2006, Dr. Luiten decided to return to Hong Kong and he was offered a teaching post at the Australian International School.  Dr. Luiten was the orchestral director at the school and runs both the Higher Schools Certificate and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses in music. 

In demand as a lecturer and scholar, Dr. Luiten delivers papers at international conferences on 20th century music analysis and he is also the Asia Pacific representative for IB music teaching, frequently delivering workshops abroad.

China Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra @ 2024