Past ACCFs

Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra

Yan Huichang was conferred the title of National Class One Conductor at the First Professional Appraisal of China in 1987. He was appointed Music Director of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in June 1997, and was involved in the development of the Orchestra through its incorporation and in preparation for its Silver Jubilee season. He was retitled Artistic Director and Principal Conductor in October 2003.

Yan received five years of professional training in Chinese Music Conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he was a pupil of the renowned conductor Xia Feiyun, and the famous composers Hu Dengtiao and He Zhanhao. He was appointed Principal Conductor-cum-Artistic Director of the Chinese National Orchestra of China upon graduating with a Bachelor's degree cum laude in 1983. It was followed by other positions in his music career, including as Guest Conducting Professor of the China Conservatory of Music, Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra and National Orchestra of the Beijing Concert Hall, Conductor and Head of the Research Centre, Department of Operatic Music of the Shaanxi Academy of the Arts, Resident Guest Conductor of Kaohsiung City Chinese Orchestra and Executive Committee member of China Nationalities Orchestra Society. As a conductor who has worked with all professional Chinese orchestras in Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, Yan has won the acclaim of the music circles in China and abroad for his artistic and conducting talents. In addition to playing an active role on the Chinese music scene, Yan has also been involved in music of other genres. The professional orchestras he has worked with include the Philharmonic Orchestra of Beijing Concert Hall, China National Symphony Orchestra, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra of China. Yan is also actively engaged in composition. His representative works include the symphonic poem The Sound of Water which won a Class One Prize in the Composition Contest of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Class Two Prize in the Third National Music Composition Competition; and the pipa solo work Nostalgia which won a Class One Award at the First National Pipa Contest of Contributing Works.

Among the many recordings he has made, the symphonic piece, Buddha's Story, and A Collection of Modern Erhu Music conducted by him won the Gold Tripod Award in Taiwan. Under his baton, and in collaboration with the famous composer Zhao Jiping, the Symphony Orchestra section of the China National Symphony Orchestra made the soundtrack recordings for such award-winning films as Raise the Red Lantern, Ballad of the Yellow River, and Five Girls and a Rope. In 1992, he resettled in Singapore and was the Music Director of Naxos (Singapore) Pte Ltd.. Between 1992 and 1993, Yan wrote and produced for recording release Clouds, The Moon, A Music Journey on the Yellow River and Song of the General. He was also highly commended for his conducting of the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra in a Chinese music recording released by BMG of Japan in 1994. He also conducted the China Broadcasts National Music Orchestra of Beijing, the Chinese National Orchestra, the Shanghai National Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra and the Kaohsiung City Chinese Orchestra in their recordings. Under his baton, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has cut more than ten recordings, which include the world's first ever SACD live recording by a full-scale Chinese orchestra entitled The HKCO Silver Jubilee Concert, The Magic Notes of Zhao Jiping, Golden Chinese Classics of the Century – The Award Winners Concert, Majestic Drums series, and The Silk Road Fantasia Suite.

Yan was awarded the 'Cultural Medallion (Music)' by the National Arts Council of Singapore in September 2001. His achievements were simultaneously documented in The Famous Figures of the Contemporary Arts Circles in China. In 2000, he was a member of the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation, and an Examiner and Arts Advisor of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council for Grants. Since 2004, he has been a Visiting Professor in many music conservatories. Yan was awarded a Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) by the Chief Executive of HKSAR in 2004 in recognition of his remarkable achievements in Chinese music as well as his efforts in promoting Chinese music.