Series
From the 'People's Musician' who wrote the Yellow River Cantata to Hong Kong divas and a rock duo, Macau has produced many kinds of musical voice. This series gathers singers and musicians born in Macau — from Xian Xinghai, Jenny Tseng and Maria Cordero to the singer-songwriter Terence Siufay, the girl-group leader Aka Chio and the rock duo Soler.
Macau's musical story can begin with Xian Xinghai — born on a fishing boat off Macau, he went on to compose the Yellow River Cantata and earned the title "People's Musician". In popular music, became a Hong Kong diva of the 1970s–80s on the strength of her soaring voice, and the Macanese ("Fat Mama") topped the Cantopop charts as "Hong Kong's big lungs".
Xian Xinghai
Macau-born composer of the Yellow River Cantata. In a life cut short at 40, he wrote nearly three hundred works and earned the posthumous title "People's Musician".
Jenny Tseng
A Macau-born Mandarin and Cantonese pop singer who reigned over the Hong Kong and Taiwan charts in the 1970s and 80s. A six-time winner at Hong Kong's Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards, she remains best known for television theme songs and Cantopop standards still sung today.
Maria Cordero
A Macanese singer, actress and cooking-show host born in Macau, affectionately known as "Fat Mama" (肥媽). Her powerful, soaring voice made her a Hong Kong Cantopop star in the 1980s — earning the nickname "Hong Kong's big lungs" — and she appeared in many films before becoming a beloved cross-generational cooking-show host from the 2000s.
A newer generation of Macau singers carries on the city's musical line. Terence Siufay sang his way from the Macau group C-PLUS into the Hong Kong charts as a warm, understated singer-songwriter; Aka Chio led the girl group Super Girls; and the Macanese Louie Castro was already a Hong Kong teen-idol singer back in the 1970s. The youngest voice belongs to Hendery (Wong Kun-Hang), who carried Macau into K-pop as a lead rapper of SM Entertainment's Chinese boy group WayV and of NCT — the first Macau-born artist signed to the company.
Macau has its own rock sound too. The Macau-born identical twins Julio Acconci and Dino Acconci formed the rock duo Soler, debuting with a style blending rock, soul and folk and carrying the city's voice from Hong Kong to North America. Drawing on public sources, this series focuses on the origins and achievements of these voices of Macau.
Terence Siufay
A Macau-born Hong Kong singer and actor, born 徐智勇 and known by the stage name "Siufay". He started in a Macau group, C-PLUS, before moving to Hong Kong in 2007, signing with Gold Label and winning a JSG newcomer award, with songs including "A Song" (一首歌).
Aka Chio
A Macau-born Hong Kong singer and actress, a member and leader of the girl group Super Girls (debuted 2012, disbanded 2022). She has also acted in TV dramas, presented entertainment news on Cable TV, and pursued a solo singing career in recent years.
Louie Castro
A Macau-born Macanese singer, actor and radio host of Portuguese-Chinese descent. He emerged in 1974 via TVB's talent show Sharp Night and became one of the first teen idols of 1970s Hong Kong TV culture, later working in film, on the variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight, and as a radio DJ.
Hyper Lo
A Macau-born and -raised singer-songwriter and host, a member of the group MFM. He started in Macau's inter-school and songwriting contests, broke into the Hong Kong market with the 2013 single "蠢人", and has performed at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. As a genuinely Macau-based local artist, he is one of the representative figures of Macau pop music.
Chita
A Macau-born singer-songwriter and lyricist known as CHITA. She wrote lyrics for acts such as Twins (including "十八變"), won the Ultimate Song Chart Best New Female Singer gold in 2009, and has appeared at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala — a woman songwriter who went from Macau into the Hong Kong music industry.
Hendery
Hendery (Wong Kun-Hang), born in Macau in 1999, is a rapper and the first Macau-born artist under SM Entertainment. He was introduced as an SM Rookies member in 2018, debuted in 2019 with the Chinese boy group WayV, and formally joined NCT in 2020, serving as lead rapper of WayV and NCT U. Fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Korean, he is one of the new-generation figures born in Macau active on the international pop stage.
Julio Acconci
A Macau-born singer, actor and painter who, with his twin brother Dino Acconci, formed the rock duo Soler (known in Taiwan as 太陽系). The pair debuted in Hong Kong in 2005 and won a Best New Group gold award. Son of an Italian architect based in Macau and a Karen (Myanmar) mother, he also acts and holds solo painting exhibitions, and has been called "Macao's Renaissance man".
Dino Acconci
A Macau-born singer and guitarist who, with his twin brother Julio Acconci, formed the rock duo Soler (known in Taiwan as 太陽系). The pair debuted in Hong Kong in 2005 and won a Best New Group gold award. Son of an Italian architect based in Macau and a Karen (Myanmar) mother, he is multilingual and in recent years has been based in Canada, continuing to perform internationally.
Lio Kuokman
A Macau-born conductor and pianist, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Orchestra and a former Resident Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. A prizewinner at the 2014 Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Russia, he was the first Chinese conductor to serve as an assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and is active on the international stage.
Lam Bun-Ching
A Macau-born composer, pianist and conductor based in the United States, among the leading figures of contemporary Chinese-American art music. She won the Prix de Rome in 1991 and held a Guggenheim Fellowship; her work appears on the Grammy-winning Hilary Hahn album In 27 Pieces, and she was the Macao Orchestra's Composer-in-Residence from 2008 to 2016.
Kuok-Wai Lio
A Macau-born classical pianist, a graduate of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia under Gary Graffman. He received the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2013 and has collaborated with leading musicians such as András Schiff, active on the international concert stage.
