PhD in Composition · 2011
University of Salford
BA (Hons) Music and PhD in Music Composition
Composer · Music Educator · Music Technology
Between East and West,
composing contemporary Macao.
Dr. Kim Kuok Ip connects the concert stage, classroom and research through composition, arrangement, music technology and education.
- Professional focus
- Composition · Education · Music Technology
- Education
- University of Salford · PhD in Composition (2011)
葉劍國
01 Profile
Music is both a body of work
and a way of understanding the world.
Dr. Kim Kuok Ip is a Macao-born composer and music educator. He studied music at the University of Salford and completed his PhD in Composition in 2011.
His compositions and orchestrations have been performed by orchestras, symphonic bands, British brass bands and contemporary a cappella ensembles. From 2016 to 2021, he was an Assistant Professor at BNU-HKBU United International College, where he managed the recording studio and MIDI Lab and taught composition, film music and recording production.
After returning to Macao, he taught on the PhD in Arts Studies (Musicology) programme at City University of Macau in 2022–2023 and at Macao Polytechnic University in 2024–2025.
He served as President of the Macao A Cappella Association from 2011 to 2015, has been Artistic Consultant to the Macao Cheong Hong Chinese Orchestra since 2013, and gained the Global Career Development Facilitator certificate in 2023.
Teaching across levels
Assistant Professor at UIC (2016–2021); part-time instructor at City University of Macau and Macao Polytechnic University
Certification & service
Global Career Development Facilitator (2023), Beisen Career Facilitator; Artistic Consultant since 2013
Selected Academic Journey
From foundational teaching
to postgraduate study.
- Macao Polytechnic University · Part-Time InstructorMusic / Film Appreciation; Chinese and Western music, film theory and production
- City University of Macau · PhD Programme InstructorModern compositional techniques, pitch-class set theory and Schenkerian analysis
- BNU-HKBU United International College · Assistant ProfessorComposition, music theory, film music, recording production and counterpoint
- University of Macau CCE · TutorBasic aural training, music theory and music composition
- Sacred Heart Canossian College of Macau · Music TeacherMusic, choirs and composition activities from kindergarten to secondary level
Publication · 2015Never Sing Alone — Songbook Collection of Macao A Cappella
02 Practice
From the full score to the classroom,
turning ideas into audible experience.
Creative work, research and teaching form one interconnected musical practice.
Composition & commissions
New work for orchestra, wind band, chamber ensembles, choir, Chinese and Western instruments, and multimedia.
Original musicArrangement & orchestration
Music tailored to performers’ technical levels, ensemble identities and specific performance contexts.
Made for the stageMusic education
Composition, music theory, film music, counterpoint, recording production, and music and film appreciation.
Teaching & mentoringResearch & technology
Contemporary classical music, wind-band history, a cappella, soundtrack production, music and artificial intelligence.
Scholarship & innovation03 Selected Works
Different forces,
different ways into listening.
Selected compositions · 2007—2026
Play ↗
Featured / 2024
Seven Poems by Yi’an Jushi
For mixed choir (SATB), piano, clarinet and erhu, bringing voices and Chinese and Western instruments into a richly layered sound world.
Mixed ChoirPiano · Clarinet · Erhu- 2007Dragon FanfareBritish Brass Band01
- 2007FantasiaAlto Saxophone & Guzheng02
- 2010PimentaAlto Saxophone & Symphonic Band03
- 2010Clarinet Sonata — DukkhaB♭ Clarinet & Piano04
- 2010Themes from Pátio do MungoDizi, Erhu, Guzheng & Symphonic Band05
- 2014Let There Be AccompaniedContemporary A Cappella06
- 2024A Tender DreamGuzheng & Piano07
- 2024Variations on Für ElisePiano Eight Hands08
- 2025VibrationClarinet, Alto Saxophone, Erhu, Cello, Percussion & Piano09
- 2025The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12)Mixed Choir (SATB) & Piano10
- 2025Guess How Much I Love YouMixed Choir (SATB) & Piano11
- 2026Old Shanghai FantasyPiano Six Hands12
04 Arrangement
Reimagining familiar sounds
for every stage.
Dr. Ip’s arrangements span wind band, British brass band, jazz big band, percussion ensemble, orchestra, choir, a cappella and mixed ensembles. His portfolio includes hundreds of arrangements for professional soloists, youth groups and community ensembles.
He has created large-scale outdoor symphonic arrangements for popular artists with the Macao Youth Symphonic Orchestra, and collaborated with Encore Percussion Ensemble and the Macao Percussion Association to reinterpret film and animation music for virtuosic percussion.
Watch selected arrangement ↗
05 Pre-Concert Talks
Before the music begins,
open a door into listening.
Long-form guides that connect musical history, structure and practical listening landmarks. Full articles are presented in Traditional Chinese.
Read the Chinese guide ↗
13 · 06 · 2026 · Macao Cultural Centre
From Symphonic Dialogue to a Heavenly World
Centred on Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in D minor and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, this guide compares an inwardly concentrated symphonic logic with an outwardly embracing vision of the world.
Read the Chinese guide ↗
14 · 03 · 2026 · Macao Cultural Centre
Classics on Strings: Will, Dialogue and Landscape
From the Coriolan Overture and Sinfonia Concertante K. 364 to the Scottish Symphony, hear strings move from conflict to equal dialogue, then become landscape and memory.
06 Event Archive
06 · 09 · 2026 · SUN · 4:00 PM
A Tribute to
Macao Composers
- Time
- Sunday, 6 September 2026, 4:00pm
- Venue
- 3J Generative Space
3J, Dynasty Plaza, NAPE
World Première 世界首演
- 01A Brand New StartEnglish version of《新的一天》
- 02Guess How Much I Love YouEnglish version of《猜猜我有多愛你》
- 03Caminho《路》
- 04O Triciclo《三輪車》
- 05Sinestesias de Macau《澳門組曲》
07 Contact
Have a musical idea?
Let’s write it into being.
Artists, ensembles, schools and cultural institutions are welcome to discuss new compositions, arrangements, score editing, talks and educational collaborations.
kimkuokip@hotmail.com ↗