Chapel Lates: Cyrus Yuen and Hugh Rowlands
Monday, 1 June 2026, 8.30pm
New College Chapel
Music for violin and piano: Cyrus Yuen and Hugh Rowlands perform an intimate, late-night chamber concert inside New College Chapel.
Programme
Henri Wieniawski: Polonaise de concert, Op. 4
Gabriel Fauré: Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 13
Reserve tickets for this concert here.
Cyrus Yuen is a 25-year-old London-based violinist from Hong Kong whose performance career spans Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He has appeared as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in prominent venues including the Wigmore Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall, Bechstein Hall (London), Victoria Music Centre (Barcelona), the Great Hall of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Hong Kong City Hall, and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Notable highlights include his performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra (USA) and a feature in the Roman Music Festival’s Young Artist Spotlight series.
Cyrus is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Violin Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studies under Professor David Takeno (Eugène Ysaÿe International Chair of Violin). He was a finalist in the 2025 Victoria BCN International Violin Competition, a 3rd prize winner in the 2025 Luigi Nono International Chamber Music Competition, and the 1st prize winner of the 2025 Essex Young Musicians Award.
In April 2026, Cyrus made his solo debut at the Barbican Hall in London performing Shostakovich First Violin Concerto Op.77 with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra (GSO) for reaching the finals of the prestigious ‘Gold Medal’ competition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
His development has been supported by masterclasses with distinguished artists including Tasmin Little CBE and Nancy Zhou. He is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the EYMT Norman Harper Prize, and support from the Essex Young Musician Trust, the Brian and Julie Cue Trust, the Guildhall Trust, and the Harrison-Frank Family Foundation.
Cyrus currently performs on a fine 1750 Tommaso Carcassi violin, generously loaned to him by the HarrisonFrank Family Foundation in London.
Hugh Rowlands is Assistant Organist at New College, Oxford. Previously he has been Assistant Master of Music at the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London, and Acting Director of Music at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University.
As a soloist, he has given recitals at major venues in the UK, including Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, and the St Albans International Organ Festival. Hugh has worked with a broad range of leading groups and performers, appearing across the UK and Europe, including at Wigmore Hall, the Barbican Centre, and the Paris Philharmonie. Recent engagements include collaborations with the Grange Festival Opera, English Chamber Orchestra, Alamire, London Choral Sinfonia, the London Contemporary Orchestra, and Icelandic duo, Jònsi and Alex. As a pianist, he has worked with Roderick Williams, Graham Johnson and Iain Burnside. He has recorded on the SOMM and Albion labels, and performed on BBC Radio 3. In 2024, he made his first solo recording of the Klais organ at Haileybury, as well as a CD of choral music with Haileybury Chamber Choir. A regular member of the James McVinnie ensemble, he has performed at the Barbican Centre, Saffron Hall, Bold Tendencies, and the Southbank Centre.
Hugh is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. He has held organ scholarships at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, King’s Voices, King’s College, and the Royal Hospital Chelsea. From 2021–2024, he was Deputy Director of Music at Haileybury College.
