Eugene Lai is a clarinetist, bass clarinetist, composer, and curator. He earned his Master’s degree in Bass Clarinet Performance from the Prins Claus Conservatorium Groningen (Hanze University of Applied Sciences), and remains the only Taiwanese musician to complete this specialized program. Inheriting the Dutch contemporary bass clarinet tradition founded by Harry Sparnaay, Lai studied clarinet under Chih-Ning Kao, Eugenia Jin, and Pei-Yun Lin, and bass clarinet under Ji-Hsi Chang and Fie Schouten.

His years in Europe allowed him to engage deeply with international artistic networks. Collaborating with composers, soloists, and ensemble musicians helped shape his distinct performance vocabulary across classical, contemporary, and improvised music.

Lai maintains an active international presence across Europe and Asia, performing as a soloist and chamber musician at platforms such as ClarinetFest®, the European Clarinet Congress, and the Sound of Music Festival (Netherlands). He also performs as a guest musician with major orchestras, including the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, and Guiyang Symphony Orchestra.

A recipient of the Hsing-Tian-Kong Award (Taiwan) and shortlisted for the Messina International Clarinet Competition (Italy), Lai was named a OneBeat Taiwan Artist-in-Residence in 2024. Expanding into contemporary curation, he is the founder and Artistic Director of Quintette Les Jeux d’Anches and a member of Ensemble TMAP. His multidimensional practice—spanning composition, performance, and curation—seeks to explore cultural memory, artistic reflection, and cross-cultural dialogue through sound.