The Beginning
Premiere Performances was founded as a registered charity in March 2007 by Andrea Fessler. Having lived in Hong Kong since 2004, Ms. Fessler perceived a strong demand for classical music concerts but there were few choices of solo recitals, and even less of chamber music. Ms. Fessler founded Premiere Performances to fill that gap.
In 2007, Premiere Performances launched the first Rising Stars Piano Series with four concerts in the Sheung Wan Civic Centre.
The Great Performers Series
Premiere Performances had the Great Performers Series featured four world-renowned artists at City Hall Concert Hall and Theatre.
First Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival
Premiere Performances launched its first Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival in June 2009. The annual event features concerts by world-class chamber artists, plus dozens of free workshops, lectures, master classes and concerts around the city.
The festival brings Hong Kong audiences the richness of chamber music and its endless variety of instrumental combinations, performed at the highest international level.
Birth of Chamber Music in Schools & Family Series
Premiere Performances launched its Family Series, and the extraordinary Chamber Music in Schools (CMIS) programme in collaboration with Musica Viva Australia. The CMIS programme brings live performances, workshops and teacher training to schools across Hong Kong. Thanks to this programme, Hong Kong school children have significantly greater access to classical music.
Premiere Performances has secured important government funding, beginning in 2012 with the first-ever Springboard Grant of the Home Affairs Bureau and continuing in 2016 with the Art Development Matching Grants Pilot Scheme.
10th Anniversary Gala Concert
Premiere Performances of Hong Kong celebrated a significant milestone in 2017 – its 10th anniversary as a presenter of the world’s best performers of classical music and chamber music in Hong Kong. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary, Premiere Performances held the Gala Concert at the Cultural Centre that was free to the public for over 2000 audience members.
10th Anniversary of the Chamber Music Festival
For the 10th Anniversary of the chamber music festival, a new name “Beare’s Premiere Music Festival” was launched, as J&A Beare’s signed on to the be the long-term Title Sponsor
Premiere Performances Jazz Series
Premiere Performances launched its Jazz Series in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Centre!
The Final Edition of the Beare’s Premiere Musical Festival
Since its inception in 2009 as the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival, the Beare’s Premiere Music Festival has been a cornerstone of the city’s classical music scene. Over the course of 14 vibrant editions—plus two affected due to COVID—it has showcased world-class chamber music performed by some of the finest musicians globally. The 2026 Beare’s Premiere Music Festival celebrate this remarkable legacy with a spectacular musical farewell.