"Stephen Yip has an extraordinary way of creating a post-Darmstadtian modernism that incorporates his Chinese roots with a subtlety that gives us a vivid experience of the inner colors of an advanced spatial sense. It leaves us with a feeling of focused tranquility. He is a genuine voice in new music today."

—Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

“Stephen Yip’s splendid ear and sophisticated technique stand him in good stead, along with his avoidance of stock-in-trade ‘atmospheric’ clichés (for the most part). One assumes that the composer was involved in the preparation of this disc’s uniformly first-rate and responsive performances, all gorgeously served by the superb engineering.”

—Gramophone music review

Stephen Yip was born in Hong Kong and now living in U.S.A. He received his doctor of musical arts (D.M.A.) at Rice University and bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.  He has attended major music festivals including: Wellesley Composers Conference, Aspen Music Festival, International Summer Course for New Music Darmstadt, Asian Composers’ League, ISCM World Music Days, Chinese Composers’ Festival, Music X, June in Buffalo, IMPULS Ensemble Akademie, California E.A.R. Unit Composer Seminar, the 13th International Summer Program, Czech Republic, International Composers’ Workshop, Luxembourg, the International Summer Course for New Music, Darmstadt, Germany, Wellesley Composers’ Conference. Residencies include: the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Florida, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts , Yaddo Colony, NY and the MacDowell Colony, NH.   

Yip’s works have been performed in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Philippines.  He has received several composition prizes, included “Earplay”, “Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award”, “Taiwan Music Center International Composition Prize”, “Robert Avalon Interantional Prize”, “Singapore International Composition Competition for Chinese Orchestra”,  “Haifa International Composition Prize”, First International EPICMUSIC Composition Prize, Italy, International Biennial composition competition, the Debussy Trio Music Foundation, Molinari Quartet’s Third International Composition Competition, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Emerging, the ALEA III composition Competition, the fourth NACUSA Texas Composition Competition, the International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition 2010, by the National Academy of Music, Thessaloniki, Greece, and the 2010 Alvarez Chamber Orchestra Freestyle Composition Competition, London, England . 

His works have been performed by major ensembles and players such as Alarm Will Sound, Earplay New Music, Mivos String Quartet, New York New Music Ensemble, Great Noise Ensemble, North South Consonance, Brno Philharmonc Orchestra, inFLUX Duo, Windpipe Chinese Orchestra, Little Giant Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, St. Paul Chambr Orchestra, Curious Chamber Players, TIMF Ensemble, Ensemble El Perro Andaluz, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Avanti, Ensemble Kochi, Moscow New Music Ensemble, etc.

 

Yip’s works are recorded in the ERM-Media, PARMA, Capstone, North South recording, Ablaze records, ATMA Classique, and Beauport Classical labels.  Yip is a member of the SCI, NACUSA, and ASCAP. Currently, he is on the music faculty at Houston Community College and works as a freelance composer.

葉樹堅出生於香港，現居美國。畢業於香港演藝學院及美國賴斯大學. 他曾參加Aspen音樂節、亞洲作曲家聯盟、Music X、水牛城六月、IMPULS樂團學院、加州E.A.R.作曲家研討會及捷克第十三屆國際夏日節，亦曾於佛羅里達州的亞特蘭大藝術中心、內布拉斯加州的甘姆哈丁尼爾遜藝術中心及弗吉尼亞州創意藝術中心擔任駐場藝術家。

他的作品曾於美國、歐洲及亞洲演出。曾獲得的作曲獎項包括Salvatore Martirano 紀念國際作曲獎, 新加坡中國樂隊國際作曲獎, 2011 臺灣音樂中心TMC國際作曲大賽, Isang Yun國際作曲比賽入選獎，海法國際作曲獎、德布西三重奏音樂基金作曲比賽獎、莫利那尼四重奏的第三屆國際作曲比賽、聖保羅室樂團比賽、及ALEA III作曲比賽等。他的作品經ERM-Media、PARMA、North South recording、ATMAClassical及Beauport Classical等品牌灌錄發行。

葉氏曾跟多個著名樂團合作。包括香港中樂團，香港小交響樂團，香港無極樂團，新加坡中樂團，台灣十方樂集，美國Wellesley composer conference ensemble, 美國north/south consonance, 美國聖保羅室樂團, 瑞典Curious chamber players, 德國Ensemble El Perro Andaluz，韓國TIMF ensemble, 盧森堡Sinfonietta, 俄羅斯新音樂團等。

葉樹堅是作曲家協會 (SCI) 及香港作曲家及作詞家協會成員，現任教於侯斯頓社區學院音樂系及自由作曲家。