Begonia Chan

Begonia Chan (b.Hong Kong, 1997) started her musical journey with the violin at the age of 4 and the piano at 5. However her passion soon turned to the cello at the age of 9 and she began her pursuit as a cellist. Within 2 years of playing, she was successfully admitted into the Shenzhen Arts School in 2008, studying under Prof. Yi Hao Zhang. After being scouted in 2013, she began her undergraduate studies in the class of Lucia Swarts at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague in the Netherlands, completing her Bachelor’s degree by the age of 20. She went on to complete her Master’s degree in Germany under the tutelage of Ramón Jaffé at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden, graduating in 2021 with high full marks across the board.

As an all-rounded musician, Begonia has performed with orchestras, ensembles, and as a soloist in venues such as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kozerthaus Berlin, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, De Doelen Rotterdam, and the Hong Kong City Hall with conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Manfred Honneck, Krzysztof Urbański, Omir Meir Wellber, Antony Hermus and Benjamin Zander. In the summer of 2019 she was selected to play as a soloist with the Baden-Baden Philharmonie as part of the closing concert of the Carl Flesch Academy. She also had the privilege of performing Stockhausen’s Orchester Finalisten as solo cellist at the Holland Festival 2017 under the guidance of Kathinka Pasveer.

She has participated in several competitions, winning first prize at the Hong Kong Youth Strings Competition under the Senior Class category in 2010, and first prize in both Open Class and Bach Division of the 6th Hong Kong Virtuosos Music Competition in 2015. She also received an honorable mention at the Princess Christina Competition in the Netherlands in 2013, and an incentive prize in 2014. In 2016 she was selected to participate in the first round of the National Cello Concours of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam.

Begonia’s additional artistic inspiration comes from her participation in a number of summer festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany, International Summer Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, PyeongChang Music Festival in Korea, and masterclasses with acclaimed cellists Jian Wang, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Laurence Lesser, Troels Svane, Julian Lloyd Webber, Hans Jensen, Louise Hopkins, and Wolfgang Boettcher among many others.

Since moving home to New Zealand in late 2021, Begonia has been invited to perform as a Young Artist at the 2022 Whakatipu Music Festival in Queenstown, and offered a fellowship with the Auckland Philharmonia as well as a casual position with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Following her fellowship, she recently won her first full-time position and will be joining the Auckland Philharmonia as tutti cello starting in their 2023 season.