Bassoon & Baton

Sophie Dervaux

Sophie Dervaux enjoys an exceptionally outstanding career as a solo bassoonist, orchestral and chamber musician, conductor and recording artist. Since 2015 she has held the principal bassoon chairs at the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestras. Previously, she was contrabassoonist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a prize-winner of the prestigious ARD International Music Competition Munich (2013) and the Beethoven Ring Bonn (2014). Born in France, Sophie Dervaux began her musical education on the guitar and clarinet and has been playing the bassoon since 2003. After training at the Music Conservatory of Versailles, she studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (Conservatoire de Paris) in Lyon and at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. She then joined the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Academy (Karajan Academy). Her performing career has brought her to many of the world's most iconic concert halls, including the Philharmonie de Paris, Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall Tokyo, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in London. She has appeared as soloist with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2021 she recorded her debut solo album for the Berlin Classics label with pianist Sélim Mazari and received the German Record Critics’ Award. This was followed by a project to record Vivaldi’s entire catalogue of 39 bassoon concertos with La Folia Barockorchester. She has also recorded the Beethoven Trio with Daniel Barenboim and Emmanuel Pahud on the Warner Classics label. Sophie Dervaux made her conducting debut in 2019 with the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia and has since conducted the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Ensemble Kanazawa, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, the Orchestra National Capitole Toulouse and the Wermland Opera. She currently teaches bassoon at the Music and Arts University of The City of Vienna and plays on a Püchner bassoon.

​​“the orchestra that best expresses the diversity of Hong Kong itself”

Interlude

City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong 

City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) holds a unique position as one of Asia’s leading chamber orchestras. Founded by oboist Leanne Nicholls in 1999, CCOHK has performed with many of the world’s most celebrated artists and composers including Sir James Galway, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Dame Emma Kirkby, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Neville Marriner, Michala Petri, Christian Lindberg, Sarah Chang, Julian Lloyd Webber, Barry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, Branford Marsalis, Sir Karl Jenkins, Ney Rosauro, Richard Galliano and Alma Deutscher. The orchestra has also collaborated with celebrities including Dame Edna Everage, Hayley Westenra, Richard Clayderman, Robin Gibb and Canto-pop stars Sandy Lam, Hacken Lee, Hins Cheung, Ivana Wong and Jacky Cheung. Additional highlights include concerts with the Vienna Boys’ Choir, the Warsaw Boys’ Choir, The American Boychoir, the Swedish Voices Chamber Choir, the King’s Singers and The Swingle Singers. CCOHK’s progressive programming has been internationally recognized with tour invitations to festivals in London, L’Aquila, Taipei, Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai. At home CCOHK has performed for French May Arts Festival, Hong Kong Ballet, RTHK’s televised Christmas Concerts in the Park, the 2017 World Harp Congress, The Hong Kong Composers’ Guild and The Hong Kong International Piano Competition. Cinema and anime performances include Howard Blake’s The Snowman & The Bear, the Harry Potter series, Final Fantasy, Attack on Titan and One Piece Music Symphony. CCOHK is also a keen supporter of contemporary music and has commissioned works by Mao Yuan, Samson Young, Joyce Tang, Dobrinka Tabakova and Richard Harvey. The orchestra’s CDs include world premiere recordings on the NAXOS, Orchid Classics and OUR Recordings labels with Michala Petri, Dame Evelyn Glennie and bandoneón/piano duo Binelli-Ferman. CCOHK’s passion for building young audiences for music has inspired the creation of several award-winning productions and musicals. Credits include Magnificent Mozart, The Star Bach, The Bonn Man, Haydn & The Prince, Bug Symphony (winner of the Public Choice Award at the YAMawards in Portugal 2017), WILD (The Musical) (winner of the Public Choice Award at the YAMawards in Belgium 2022) and Shark Symphony. In 2023 CCOHK garnered five-star reviews for the London premiere of WILD (The Musical), and in the same year was voted into RTHK Radio 4’s Top Ten Music Headlines. Armenian French piano virtuoso Vahan Mardirossian serves as chief conductor (since 2019), succeeding French conductor Jean Thorel (2008 to 2016). CCOHK is currently a Venue Partner of Tsuen Wan Town Hall (since 2026) and the recipient of HKADC’s Eminent Arts Group Scheme (since 2024).