Born in Macau, pianist Kuok-Wai Lio began his studies at the age of five, was awarded a scholarship to study at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts at the age of nine, and made his concerto debut at the age of ten with the Macao Orchestra in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Macao Arts Festival. In 2006 he entered Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2013.