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Local arts group the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble will stage two "Scenes of Guangdong" concerts in September and October.
To be led by veteran conductor Kwok Hang-kei, the concerts will feature traditional tunes as well as new compositions in the genres of Chaozhou music and Han music, and their close connection to Cantonese music will also be revealed.
Chaozhou music and Han music, two musical genres associated with Chaozhou and Hakka people respectively, were inscribed onto the first National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. More recently, Chaozhou music was selected for the First Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Hong Kong in 2014.
The first concert will be held at 4pm on September 21 (Sunday) at the Theatre of Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre. The ensemble will join renowned musician Wang Peiyu to perform a series of Chaozhou music works, including "Travelling in Chaozhou", "A Joyful Song of the South China Sea", "How Bright Is the Spring Moon", "The Pink Lotus", "Ying Xian Ke", "Wild Geese on the Sandbank", "The Skipping Thrush" and "Fish Hawks Dabbling in the Water".
The second concert will take place at 4pm on October 12 (Sunday) at the Theatre of Sheung Wan Civic Centre. An array of Han music will be performed by Han music virtuoso Luo Dezai and the ensemble. The programme will include "Finding a Good Husband", "In Remembrance of the Past", "Green Water of Lake Deng", "Crying at the Mountain", "Night Rain on the Plantain-framed Windows" and "The Lotus Rising from the Water".
Kwok Hang-kei is a keen researcher in Chinese folk music. As a composer, he has a substantial oeuvre of more than 500 works that are recognised for their distinct ethnic style. Among them are many award-winning pieces. Kwok has frequently conducted orchestras from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, and all of the performances have garnered critical acclaim.
Wang Peiyu was trained at a young age in wind, bowed-string, plucked-string and percussion instruments. Over the years, he has been dedicated to the perpetuation and development of Chaozhou music, and has made headway in interpreting the classical genre as well as in contemporary songs sung in the Chaozhou dialect. Many of his works have won major awards at provincial and ministerial levels.
A virtuoso of the dizi, the xiao and the Hakka zheng, Luo Dezai has been exposed to music since he was young. His musical lineage comes directly from the Han music masters Luo Xiehong and Luo Jiuxiang. He has been appointed as a representative at national and international conferences on music, and has presented many papers on those occasions.
The Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble is a professional ensemble founded in 2003. It aims at promoting Chinese music culture in Hong Kong and showing the unique charm of Chinese instrumental ensemble music genres, known for being small but elegant and simple yet refined. Its members all graduated from institutes in Hong Kong, having majored in music or performance, and hold rich performance experience. The ensemble's formation is versatile and flexible for both traditional and contemporary repertoire. The ensemble has more than 20 commissioned and premiered works.
"Scenes of Guangdong" is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Tickets priced at $120 and $180 are now available at URBTIX. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first-come, first-served basis). A maximum discount of 20 per cent is offered for group booking packages.
To tie in with the concerts, two free pre-concert talks (to be conducted in Cantonese and demonstrated by Wang Peiyu and Luo Dezai) will be held at 7.30pm on September 19 (Friday) and October 9 (Thursday) at AC1, 4/F, Administration Building of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. A limited quota is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/program_616.html. Ticketing enquiries can be made on 3761 6661 and telephone credit card booking on 2111 5999. Tickets can also be booked online at www.urbtix.hk.
Ends/Monday, August 11, 2014
Issued at HKT 12:05
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