• Doctor of Philosophy (Education), University of Auckland
• Master of Music, New York University
• LTCL (Distinction), Trinity College London

Music Teaching

Before relocating to Auckland, New Zealand, Barry was Teaching Fellow at the Education University of Hong Kong (formerly known as the Hong Kong Institute of Education). He acted as the coordinator of the instrumental programme; taught classical piano, keyboard improvisation, music theory, performance pedagogy; and managed the Bachelor of Music in Education (Honours) programme. He has been repeatedly invited as a competition adjudicator and speaker for music exam seminars. His students have progressed to study in leading music universities such as the University of Melbourne, the Royal College of Music (UK) and Indiana University (Bloomington)(USA).

Since his relocation in 2015, Barry continues to teach piano and music theory in Auckland. A significant proportion of his students have achieved Distinction in ABRSM and Trinity College London music exams. Some have accomplished to enter the Finalist Round in the 2016 New Zealand Youth Piano Competition.

Music Performance/Composition

As a pianist, Barry has been actively performing in classical, pop, jazz and sacred music concerts for thousands of live audience. As a composer, his works for choir, orchestra and jazz band have been premiered in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and the US. He composed the theme song for the documentary Unjust directed by Josefina Bergsten, which has been endowed with the Creative Media Award by the Asia Human Rights Committee in 2010. Leading a multifaceted music career, Barry has also held conductor roles and directed many concerts. He co-founded and led the University Orchestra for four years, and was the choral/orchestral conductor for two Christian churches in Hong Kong for ten and seven years respectively.

Music Research

As a music researcher, Barry has presented his research on ‘improvisation’ and ‘music career’ at international music education conferences in the past. He has been awarded the Doreen Bridges Prize for the best postgraduate research paper at the 2016 Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Research in Music Education.