Hin-Sing
(James) Au

Biography

Born in Hong Kong in 2001, Hin-Sing (James) Au emerged as a promising talent when he was selected for the Young Pianist Program at Hong Kong GMC Music Academy in 2016 under Principal Rizzo Chung. During this period, he established his presence through numerous solo and duo performances at prominent venues, including the Tsuen Wan Town Hall. His artistic journey gained momentum in 2019 with a sold-out solo recital at the Chinese Christian Church Concert Hall. That same year marked his acceptance into the Cleveland Institute of Music with distinguished scholarship recognition. There, he completed a rigorous five-year dual degree program under Antonio Pompa-Baldi, graduating in 2024 with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Following this achievement, Au embarked on doctoral studies at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a full scholarship and teaching assistantship under Arnaldo Cohen. While pursuing his Doctor of Music in Piano Performance with double minors in Music Theory and Computer Science, Au serves as a Piano Instructor at the institution, teaching private students and group piano classes.

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Praised by legendary Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires for his “exquisite artistry and nuanced performance,” Au has established an international career spanning performances across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Serbia, Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore. In 2024, his artistic excellence was highlighted through a victory at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Concerto Competition, culminating in a performance with the school’s orchestra under renowned French conductor Mélisse Brunet. That same year, he served as a featured artist in the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival (RPPF) Satellite Concert Series, presenting an acclaimed recital at the historic First United Church of Middlebury. His competition achievements include a bronze medal at the 19th Asian International Chopin Piano Competition; first prizes at both the Vanke Meisha Music Academy Steinway Youth Piano Competition and the 8th Shenzhen Piano Open Competition (Concerto Division); and second prize at the New Orleans International Piano Festival Concerto Competition.

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In 2024, he co-founded the D Festival Young Pianist Program and simultaneously founded Hong Kong Fantasia International Music Management Ltd. (HKFIMM) and serves as its Executive Director. The company provides international and local concert tour management, as well as professional recording opportunities, by directly signing outstanding participants and competition winners as featured FIMM artists. To date, HKFIMM has signed over fifteen young pianists, working closely with them on career development, performance engagements, and strategic social media promotion. He is also the founder of Fantasia Music Space, a collaborative music studio in Hong Kong. Designed in collaboration with his father, an architectural engineer, the studio features professionally engineered, acoustically insulated grand piano practice rooms built to recording-studio standards. The space serves a community of dedicated professional and amateur musicians and music educators. His creative work extends into photography, website and graphic design, music production, recording engineering, and vlogging, culminating in the establishment of Fantasia Studio in the United States. The studio provides professional services in music recording, recital live streaming, and event photography. Most recently, he founded Atelier Fantasia, a pianist-led media company dedicated to promoting music festivals and cultural institutions worldwide through high-quality media production.

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With a commitment to uncovering synergies between sports and music, he aspires to empower his piano students to excel in both disciplines. He has a keen understanding of challenges faced by athletes and musicians alike, particularly injury risks and peak performance stress, and explored these themes through his literature review titled “Building Better Performance Routines: Adapting Pre-Performance Protocols from Sports Psychology for Music Education,” published in IJSRET.

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