John Lo

Born in Hong Kong, John Lo began studying trombone at the age of eight under the tutelage of Jackson Tse. Having earlier earned an MMus from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and a BA (Hon.) in Music from the Hong Kong Baptist University, John graduated from the Artist Diploma program at the Texas Christian University (TCU) as a full-scholarship student. An award-winning candidate, he received generous support from the TCU Artist Diploma Scholarship Scheme, The Society of APA Scholarships, SAR Philharmonic Scholarships, Ng Ching Fai and Angeline Ng Scholarship, Hong Kong Baptist University Alumni Music Society Scholarship, HKSAR Government Talent Development Scholarship and the Self-financing Post-secondary Scholarship Scheme - Outstanding Performance Scholarship from the HKSAR government.

John’s trombone teachers have included Jackson Tse, Jarod Vermette, Ben Pelletier, Pieter Wyckoff, Zachary Bond and Dr. David Begnoche. In 2015 summer, he premièred a solo work “A Concert Piece for Trombone and Piano” which was a dedication from composer Augustina Au at HKBU. After the première concert in Hong Kong, he subsequently performed the work again in Lanzhou and Xinjiang during a delegation tour with HKBU. In 2015 autumn, he performed Launy Grøndahl’s trombone concerto with the HKBU Symphony Orchestra at The Great Hall of Zhuhai.

John is an experienced orchestral player. He was the principal trombone of the HKBU Symphony Orchestra and HKBU Wind Symphony during his 4-year time at HKBU. At present, he is the principal bass trombone of the Hong Kong Festival Orchestra (HKFO). He is an active freelance bass trombonist with the Macao Orchestra, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and Opera HK Orchestra. John has also performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Bach Choir Orchestra, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, Gustav Mahler Orchestra, Patrick Lui’s Jazz Orchestra and Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra. In 2017 summer, he was invited to embark upon a world tour with the Asian Youth Orchestra, a premier pre-professional orchestra in Asia.

Aside from his trombone performance career, John is a passionate chorister. With over 10 years’ choral experience, John is currently a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus and Hong Kong Bach Choir. He has also worked with other choirs including the Asian Youth Orchestra Chorus, Hong Kong Voices and Hong Kong Bach Chamber Choir.

As an educator, John has been a conductor in different local schools, including PLK Luk Hing Too Primary School, PLK Chee Jing Yin Primary School, PLK Grandmont Primary School and Asbury Methodist Primary School. He enjoys working with different kinds of ensemble groups. The ensembles he has worked with comprise orchestra, wind band, choir and e-orchestra. Since 2021, he has been invited to be the adjudicator of the Hong Kong Joint School Music Competition.

Source: John Lo