ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Dr. Brian Chatpo Koo

Founding Conductor and Artistic & Executive Director Dr. Brian Chatpo Koo is a Sydney-based musician. Having studied music at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Sydney, Brian was the first person in Australia to receive a Ph.D. Degree in music composition. Supported by the Hong Kong University Grant, Brian also studied music at the International Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt, Germany. He obtained his Licentiate and Fellowship Diplomas from the Trinity College of Music in London.

He founded the Sydney Contemporary Orchestra in 2013. Together with about 100 of the finest Sydney professional musicians and a strong volunteer management team, Brian is dedicated to creating a platform where more new orchestral works can be written, performed, heard, recorded, published, and become a part of our music culture, as he believes music development history is written by composers’ creativities. To encourage and to reach the pinnacle of this creativity and art, Brian believes that it must be through devotion, perseverance, determination, and most importantly constant performance. Since 2013 the SCO has held 19 concerts and performed 100 new works of composers from 55 countries up to 2023.