Praised by the American press as ‘a startling conducting talent’ for his ‘grace and assurance’ and his ‘beautiful sense of control’, Lio Kuokman is equally sought after as a conductor, piano soloist and chamber musician.  He was a laureate at the 3rd Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in France. Out of 450 international applicants Lio as awarded with Second Prize (First Prize vacant), Audience Prize and Orchestra Prize. Lio has served as assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 2014-2016, the first Chinese conductor in this position in the history of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and currently serving as the orchestra’s Asia Residency Artistic Advisor and Conductor. Lio Kuokman has worked as conductor in both the symphonic and operatic genres, having conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, St.Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Philharmonique de Radio France, Seoul Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Russia Yekaterinburg Ural Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Poland Sinfonia Varsovia, Shanghai Philharmonic, Shenzhen Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Virtuosi, Taipei Philharmonic and Macau Orchestra. His appearances at music festivals include the Beijing International Music Festival, Cabrillo New Music Festival, Great Mountain Music Festival (Korea), Hong Kong Arts Festival, and Macau International Music Festival.  In opera, Lio has conducted Turandot, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Carmen, L’elisir d’amore, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and the Hong Kong premiere of Donizetti’s La fille du règiment with Musica Viva in 2010 and premiere of Chan Hing-Yan’s chamber opera Heart of Coral and Datong.