2026 Gurrena Fellow: Hiu Sing Fan
In October 2025, the Meadowmount School of Music awarded the fourth annual Gurrena Fellowship, worth $50,000, to Hong Kong violinist Hiu Sing Fan. Hiu Sing was most recently a semi-finalist in the 2025 Paganini Violin Competition and the Second Prize and Audience Choice Award winner at the 2025 Dallas International Violin Competition, as well as a recent prize winner at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. Hiu Sing is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University under Gerardo Ribeiro and holds degrees from The Juilliard School and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in Germany.
“We are delighted to award the 2026 Gurrena Fellowship to violinist Hiu Sing Fan. Hiu Sing’s playing is not only technically brilliant, but also elegant and thoughtfully compelling and it’s exciting to see him already establishing his mark on the international stage.”
– Janet Sung, Artistic Director
2026 Calendar of Performances and Engagements
UPCOMING
November 6, 2026 | Madison, WI
Friday Musicale Series at First Unitarian Society
Works by Messiaen, Stravinsky and Sarasate
November 7, 2026 | North Bethesda, MD
The Mansion at Strathmore
Works by Messiaen, Stravinsky, Schumann, Milstein and Sarasate
November 8, 2026 | Washington, DC
Levine Music
Mini-Performance and Master Class
November 15, 2026 | New York, New York
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Works by Messiaen, Stravinsky, Schumann, Milstein and Sarasate
PREVIOUSLY
February 10, 2026 | Westport Library, Westport, NY
Recital featuring works by Vivaldi, Schumann, Wieniawski, Milstein and Elgar
June 7, 2026 | Whallonsburg Grange Hall, Whallonsburg, NY
Recital featuring works by Mozart, Schumann and Wieniawski
June 28, 2026 | Meadowmount’s Campe Concert Hall, Westport, NY
Performing Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor with Meadowmount Faculty
July 1, 2026 | Meadowmount’s Campe Concert Hall, Westport, NY
Performing Wieniawski, Ysaÿe, and Paganini on the Violin Channel Livestream
July 2, 2026 | Meadowmount’s Campe Concert Hall, Westport, NY
Performing Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht with Meadowmount Faculty and Guest Artist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt
July 22, 2026 | Meadowmount’s Campe Concert Hall, Westport, NY
Performing Poulenc on the Violin Channel Livestream
August 2, 2026 | Meadowmount’s Campe Concert Hall, Westport, NY
Performing Vivaldi with a Meadowmount student ensemble at the Benefit Concert.
About Hiu Sing Fan
Hong Kong violinist Hiu Sing Fan ranked among the top six at both the Premio Paganini and the George Enescu international violin competitions.
Praised by The Dallas Morning News for his “cool refinement and fine focus,” he is also the Second Prize and Audience Choice Award winner of the 2025 Dallas International Violin Competition and the 2026 Guerrena Fellow of the Meadowmount School of Music.
As a soloist, Fan has performed with Camerata Salzburg, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and the Dallas Chamber Symphony, and has served as Guest Concertmaster of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra in Germany. He has appeared at international festivals including the Verbier Festival, Meadowmount School of Music, Marvão Music Academy, Verão Clássico, and the Great Mountains Music Festival and School.
Fan has worked with artists including Leonidas Kavakos, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Ferenc Rados, Aaron Rosand, Quatuor Ébène, and the Emerson String Quartet, and has performed under the batons of Christoph Poppen, Peter Bay, and Wing-Sie Yip.
Fan studied at The Juilliard School with I-Hao Lee and Hyo Kang, where he was the recipient of the Cordelia Lee Beattie Foundation Scholarship and the Betty and Daniel Bloomfield Fund Scholarship. He earned his Master’s and Artist Diploma degrees at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, studying with Julia Fischer, Christoph Poppen, and Lena Neudauer. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University under Gerardo Ribeiro, while maintaining active teaching responsibilities at the Bienen School of Music.
“Hiu Sing Fan is an exceptional and dedicated musician whose poise and presence on stage distinguish his performances. We are grateful to Linda Gurrena Barnebl for her vision and generosity in supporting outstanding young artists.”
– Genevieve Twomey, Executive Director
Hiu Sing Fan in Performance
The Gurrena Fellowship
Created in 2022, in memory of David A. Barnebl, an educated, passionate music lover, by his wife, Linda Gurrena Barnebl, the purpose of The Gurrena Fellowship is to support and encourage exceptional young artists to become abundantly successful in their professional journey. This generous fellowship of $50,000 enables its recipients to continue to pursue their careers with vigor and passion without the burden of financial constraint.
Past Gurrena Fellowship Recipients
Guidelines & Requirements
The Gurrena Fellowship is awarded each year to a Meadowmount School of Music student or alum who is dedicated to becoming successful as a performing artist.
The ideal recipient is an exceptionally talented musician who demonstrates vigor and unrelenting passion in their pursuit of a distinguished career within the field of music. Funds from this fellowship are typically reserved to support postgraduate students, whenever possible, who will benefit from financial assistance as they transition from their musical training to independent careers in performance, composition, or as master teachers within the field of music. Exceptions are made with the support of the donor.
Fellowship funds are administered by Meadowmount and typically allocated to scholarship support, recital tours, management and publicity advisors, housing allowance, travel stipend, tuition and training contribution, and other expenses as requested and approved.