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Renowned pipa virtuoso Wong Chi-ching and the Wuji Ensemble will bring "Wild Strings" concert to Hong Kong next month (October) featuring traditional Chinese melodies and Cantonese music with pipa and ruan.
Artistic director Law Wing-fai will infuse the concert with a blending of tradition and modern music. Erhu musician Shao Lin and pipa narrative-singing artist Qu Jinnan are special guest performers at the concert.
Together they will play pipa ensemble "The Great Ambuscade", "Dragon Boat", and new music pieces made up by local young composers, including ruan ensemble "Voices of Vividness", "Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind", "Flying Spiral", erhu and ruan ensemble "Song Before a War" and more.
Wong Chi-ching is currently the Section Leader of Plucked-strings and Pipa Principal of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the Music Director to the Wuji Ensemble. Wong was invited to perform as soloist with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra and Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
Law Wing-fai is one of the leading local composers, who was awarded with an honour certificate as one of the "20th Century masterpieces by Chinese Composers" by the Chinese Culture Promotion Society in Beijing in 1993. Law was a multiple winner of the CASH Golden Sail Music Award between 2001 and 2005 and won the Best Original Music Award for his score for "Peach Blossom Fan".
Young erhu artist Shao Lin graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and served as an instrumentalist at the Shanghai National Music Orchestra. Well-versed in giving full play to the delicate timbre and sensitivity of erhu, Shao performs with a unique artistic appeal.
Vocalist and pipa musician Qu Jinnan graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, and won many prizes in the China Pipa Competition and a Beijing collegiate music competition of original songs. She is currently studying for a masters degree at the Central Conservatory of Music.
Wuji Ensemble was founded in 2003, specialising in the plucked string music of pipa and ruan. Its missions are to develop multi-dimensional creativity, promote Chinese and local culture and explore the possibility, variability, versatility, and potential of the plucked string music. The ensemble presented its first concert in 2005. Its two multi-media concerts, "Air Elengaza" and "Wuji Classic Insights" in 2006 and 2007 respectively achieved great success.
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, "Wild Strings – Wong Chi Ching with Wuji Ensemble" will be staged at 8pm on October 17 (Wednesday) at the Theatre, Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $140 and $280, are now available at URBTIX outlets. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients (limited tickets for students and CSSA recipients available on a first-come, first-served basis). A 10% discount applies to Friends of LCSD performing venues.
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservations, call 2734 9009; for credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999; for Internet bookings, visit www.urbtix.hk; for more information, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp.
Ends/Monday, September 17, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:06
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