Lord Buddha’s birth is a time of great happiness for many around the world. With the easing of restrictions, we wish to magnify this joyous occasion through the celebration of song, music and movement from diverse cultures.

The Hsing Yun Education Foundation, in its very first official collaboration with the Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture (ACIAC) at Western Sydney University, is proud to present a unique and uplifting concert featuring some of the finest artists from Sydney and Greater NSW.

The impressive line-up includes Sydney Conservatorium’s Chinese Music Ensemble and young classical virtuosos from the Rising Stars program, Dr Lulu Liu with the Australian Pipa Association, critically-acclaimed sopranos Shirin Majd and Carina Li, composers Dr Terumi Narushima (University of Wollongong) and Dr Nicholas Ng (ACIAC), and many more.

This multicultural event abides by one of the central precepts of Humanistic Buddhism—that of inclusivity and universal acceptance regardless of gender, race, creed, and class.

Hosted by Andy Trieu from SBS, we hope that this performance brings light, love and peace into the hearts of everyone present while instilling a sense of hope for the future.

Minimum Age of Admission: 10 years old

There are two concerts to choose from. Please peruse the Musical Programme below to see which session you would like to view. You may wish to join us for both.

Scroll further to read more about these world class musical artists.

Note: The programme below are tentative and subject to change if necessary.

About the Artists:

Billy Han

Billy Han 韓君禹 has been playing Chinese wind instruments for more than 15 years starting at age 7. From 2013 to 2017 he was the principal dizi of the Hong Kong Baptist University (Zhuhai Campus) Chinese Ensemble. He came to Sydney in 2017 and has since actively performed with other musicians and ensembles. He is a frequent guest of the Sydney Conservatorium Chinese Ensemble and has featured at the Floriade Festival (Canberra), the Sydney Sacred Music Festival and other events.

Kraig Grady

Kraig Grady is a US-Australian composer/sound artist. He has composed and performed with an ensemble of microtonal instruments of his own design and also worked as a shadow puppeteer, tuning theorist, filmmaker, world music radio DJ and concert promoter. Many of his compositions use unusual meters of very extended lengths.

Carina Li

Carina Li 李盈 was born in Shanghai. She graduated from Shanghai Normal University College of Music with a Master’s degree in singing. Carina runs the Sydney Jasmine Chamber Choir and West Region Chinese Association (Choir) in Sydney, where she maintains her work as a highly sought after vocal teacher and conductor. She is also a frequent guest of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Chinese Music Ensemble.

Dr Lulu Liu

Dr Lulu LIU 刘璐 is a pipa performer, educator and researcher. Commencing her pipa studies at the age of six, she graduated from Shenyang Conservatory of Music and the Central Conservatory of Music before receiving her doctorate from the University of Sydney in 2019. She has performed extensively in Australia, China, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong and has released two solo pipa albums, three collaborative albums in addition to performing in Christopher Gordon’s soundtrack to the movie Mao’s Last Dancer.

John Ling

John Ling Jing Dao 林敬道 is currently a postgraduate research student enrolled in a Master of Music (Performance) at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney under the supervision of Dr Catherine Ingram and pipa virtuoso Dr Lulu Liu. In 2016, John won the Bronze medal in the Qing Yue Cup Pipa Competition, Hong Kong and another Bronze medal in the Silk and Bamboo Jiangnan Sizhu Music Competition, Hangzhou, China. John is also the Event Coordinator of the Australian Pipa Association.

Julia Luo

Julia Ousiyu Luo 罗欧思宇 is the latest sensation in the Chinese classical music world. She began her studies on the guzheng (Chinese 21-string zither) at the tender age of 5 before training at the China Conservatory of Music. Julia has performed for the Governor of Sarawak, in the Melbourne Cup on Channel 9 and SBS, and is the winner of the Best Impact Award during the Sydney International Music Star Contest. Julia is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Music (Performance) at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Shirin Majd

Shirin Majd is a classical-pop singer and Artistic Director of Sweet Sound Ensemble based in Brisbane. She creates a fusion of music from diverse cultures around the globe and promotes awareness of women's issues. Shirin studied operatic performance in Austria, leading her to graduate with a Master of Music Performance and Master of Vocal Pedagogy at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. Shirin appeared on The Voice Australia and ABC TV and released her fifth album Secret in 2020.

Dr Terumi Narushima

Terumi Narushima is a senior lecturer in music at the University of Wollongong. She is a composer, performer and sound designer who specialises in alternative tuning systems. Her works include Tritriadic Chimes, a sound installation for LA MicroFest, Hidden Sidetracks, a composition for custom-made instruments premiered by Ensemble Offspring at the Sydney Opera House, and Mizu No Rin, a commission for Synergy Percussion. She has worked on various film and theatre collaborations.

Dr Nicholas Ng

Dr Nicholas Ng 黄建文 is a composer, performer and Research Fellow at the Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture (Western Sydney University). On the erhu, Nicholas has toured to festivals around Australia, New Zealand, North America, Canada and Europe such as the KunstenFESTIVALdesarts (Brussels) and Sydney Festival. He has composed for The Song Company, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles.

Jade Park

Jade Park is a dual soloist, playing both the oboe and trumpet. Since 2018, she has been a scholarship holder in the Open Academy Rising Stars Program at Sydney Conservatorium on both instruments and has made incredible progress in the music world, winning scholarships and competitions awards across the globe. Jade was the recipient of the 2020 International Trumpet Guild’s Young Artist Award and has been invited to perform in Rome and Carnegie Hall, New York.

Mahesh Radhakrishnan

Dr Mahesh Radhakrishnan is an anthropological linguist and ethnomusicologist with a broad research interest in many aspects of language, music, culture and performance. With a PhD in Linguistics from Macquarie University, they are currently an Honorary Associate at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a collaborator at Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa (CLUL), and is also a Research Affiliate at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence of the Dynamics of Language. Mahesh’s most recent research has been on the káfriinha music of Sri Lanka‘s Portuguese Burghers. They have also researched Irish sean-nós and South Indian Carnatic singing.

Isabella Sun

Isabella Sun began learning the violin at the age of 6 and has been in the Open Academy Rising Stars program at Sydney Conservatorium since the age of 8. Isabella has been a prize winner of numerous violin competitions in Australia. In 2019, Isabella was selected to participate in the 3rd Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians in China. Isabella’s first solo recital in Sydney at the age of 11 was a great success. As a chamber musician, Isabella enjoys playing in many ensembles and orchestras to expand on her repertoire.

Jack Theakston

Jack Theakston, aged 14, is currently studying cello at Sydney Conservatorium, having received a full scholarship to their Open Academy Rising Stars Program at 9 years old. Jack has won various local and international competitions and has been a keen participant in various orchestras and chamber ensembles.

Gary Watson

Gary Watson holds a Master of Music degree in Performance of Balinese Gamelan from The University of Sydney, and has made regular visits to Bali since 1988 to advance his skills. In 1992, Gary’s advocacy prompted The Australian Museum to purchase Sydney’s first set of Balinese gamelan instruments, allowing him to establish the city’s first performing Balinese gamelan ensemble. In 1999, Gary was offered a post at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, teaching gamelan to students of diverse academic disciplines, which continues to the present day.

Jennifer Yeh

Jennifer Yeh started learning the piano at the age of 3 and was awarded
several scholarships throughout her pre-tertiary years to major equally in piano and bassoon. She graduatied from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music (Performance) and Master of Music (Performance) from New England Conservatory (NEC) in the United States.Jennifer has since toured and performed in many parts of the world including Russia, China, Spain, Italy and Argentina and was crowned the winner of the 2005 Mozart Concerto Competition at NEC. Jennifer continues to work as a freelance musician in Sydney, playing in orchestras and chamber ensembles and is a highly regarded instrumental teacher.

Your MC: Andy Tieu

Andy Trieu is an Australian actor of Vietnamese and Chinese ancestry. He graduated from a double degree in Business and International Relations at the Australian National University (2009). Originally a martial artist, Andy Trieu expanded his repertoire from competing in tournaments to performing in roles across stage and screen. You may recognise him from his roles on the Nine network, SBS and ABC. Currently a host of SBS PopAsia Andy is also an advocate and ambassador for All Together Now Australia, and the National Stroke Foundation.

Contact the host of Buddha's Birthday Multicultural Concert