We recently had the chance to connect with Tsun-yuet Emmanuel Kwok and have shared our conversation below.
Tsun-yuet Emmanuel, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
All of them! Yet what matters most is the willingness to act and the discipline to truly live out the life of a musician.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, my name is Tsun-yuet Emmanuel Kwok. I’m a concert cellist, music arranger, recording artist, and educator. I was born in Hong Kong and now call the Dallas–Fort Worth area home. Over the years, music has become more than just a career for me—it’s truly a calling shaped deeply by my faith. These days, I perform regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral cellist. I also serve as a cello professor at the Nelson University and Tarrant County College, direct some youth orchestras, and work with students of all ages and backgrounds.
I really believe that being a well-rounded musician isn’t just about playing notes cleanly or perfectly. It’s also about having a heart for mentorship and being willing to share generously with others. For me, music is a powerful language. It brings people together, crosses cultures, and lights up even the darkest spaces. I believe that everyone holds the potential to fall in love with the cello. Whether I’m performing on stage or teaching in a lesson, my deepest goal is to share joy, meaning, and connection through music.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Of course, I didn’t always think this way. My view of music and the world has changed more than once over the years. When I was a kid? Oh, I was not humble. Music was basically my secret weapon to win trophies and feel like a star. I practiced like crazy, entered competitions, won a few, and somehow ended up as principal cellist in more youth orchestras than I can count back in Hong Kong.
Then college came along and delivered a much-needed reality check. I ran into some walls, mostly thanks to my teenage attitude, and that pushed me into my “deep artist” phase. I started rethinking what music really meant to me. Was it just about sounding impressive? Or was there something more? Gradually, I began to see music as a way to serve — something that could bring joy, meaning, and energy to others. That’s when I started asking myself, “Do I love music, or do I just love how I feel when I play it well?”
A major turning point arrived in 2019. I witnessed the Hong Kong extradition bill protests firsthand, and it broke my heart to see the city I loved filled with fear and tension. And then, as we all remember, 2020 brought the pandemic. The world came to a halt. People were hurting, grieving, and searching for hope. In the midst of all that chaos, something shifted in me. Music stopped being only about performance; it became a calling. I came to understand that being a musician means stepping into broken spaces and offering something healing — comfort, connection, beauty, and the reminder that there is still hope, especially when words are not enough.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Looking back, I didn’t have a strong cello teacher growing up. There was little direction or opportunity, and my parents couldn’t afford consistent private lessons. I didn’t begin formal study until the summer before college, and by then I felt far behind. For a while, that left me deeply discouraged.
College, however, sparked something within me. Whether it was desperation or grace, I began practicing with greater focus and intensity than most of my peers. That determination became the foundation of everything that followed. From undergraduate studies through my doctorate, and even now, I’ve learned that success doesn’t always belong to the most talented—it often belongs to the most committed. I may not have been the best cellist in the room, yet I was almost always the most persistent.
I often joke that if I had been my own teacher back then, I would have made great progress—because I was the kind of student who never came to a lesson unprepared and always practiced diligently. Most of the time, I didn’t even need to hear a teacher’s comment twice before putting it into action. And if I could speak to that younger version of myself, I would say: ‘My friend, be kind to yourself. You truly did your best with the cards you were given.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Being on stage? Yes, that really is me! Or maybe it’s the truest version of me, finally free. Some people talk about having different sides to themselves, but that’s never really been the case for me.
Life as a musician is full of hard work. After a concert, we pack up, drive home, and go back to regular life like everyone else—spending time with friends, paying bills, chasing deadlines. But when I step onto the stage, something shifts. In that moment, I get to forget how tough life can be and just be. I’m fully present with the music, with my fellow musicians, and with the audience. There’s something about the stage that strips everything else away. It’s the one space where I feel real, honest, and completely myself.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If immortality were real, what would you build?
Very interesting thought! I’ve actually thought about this before. I grew up watching Dragon Ball and used to wonder, if eternal life were real, what would I do with it? Then I became a follower of Christ and came to see that eternal life is real. So… what would I build or pursue with that kind of time? Honestly, I don’t know! I think I’d just keep living day by day, pretty much like I’m doing now.
Being a cellist isn’t just my calling or profession, it’s also my hobby. When I have free time, I just pick up my cello and play whatever’s on my mind, sometimes pop, sometimes classical, sometimes a Bach suite or a folk tune. If you ask me what I’d do with immortality, I guess I’d want to keep making music with others who share the same gift. Maybe jam with Beethoven or Bach someday? That wouldn’t be too bad!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emmanuelkwok.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/etykwk/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmanuelKwokCellist
Image Credits
Carnegie Hall
McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra
Mesquite Symphony Orchestra
Nelson University
New Life Symphony Orchestra
Prime Music Institute
Texas Cello School
The Greater North Texas Youth Orchestra
Prime Music Institute
