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¡§Electric Requiem: God Save the Queen¡¨, a joint pioneering effort of Samson Young from Contemporary Musiking and members of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, will present an extraordinary experimental music performance when it is staged in Hong Kong.
Samson Young, the first Bloomberg Emerging Artist Awardee in Hong Kong and a contemporary music-maker riding on the storm of electric guitar quartet madness he stirred up last year with ¡§Hong Kong Explode¡¨, sets out to again explore how to stretch music to its limits. Renowned film and TV star Helena Law Lan will also participate in the video performance.
This multi-media electro-acoustic show is about the Requiem Mass in 12 montages, with Helena Law¡¦s acting as the ¡§Holy Trinity¡¨ of a Queen: the space, the soul and the body, witness a deconstruction on stage.
In 2007 Young founded Contemporary Musiking, which is a Hong Kong-based arts organisation solely devoted to the promotion and creation of contemporary music and experimental music. It has impressed local and overseas audiences with its daring programming, and highly experimental productions that merge contemporary music with technology and new media resources. Past productions include ¡§Hong Kong Explode¡¨, a multi-media rendition of Bach's classic ¡§Two Part Invention¡¨, re-arranged for a quartet of electric guitars; and ¡§Box of Revelation¡¨, a unique performance of Messiaen's epic ¡§Quartet for the End of Time¡¨ that is housed inside a Facebook-inspired interactive installation. The troupe regularly invites overseas musicians to collaborate with local composers. In addition, through strategic partnership with arts organisations across genres, it provides a cross-disciplinary, multi-media platform for composers to experiment, explore and expand.
The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) holds a unique position as one of the most active chamber orchestras in the Asian region, comprising an international group of professional musicians. Currently in its 10th season, the CCOHK has performed with a number of distinguished artists including Sir Thomas Allen, Michala Petri, Alexander Rudin, Daniel Binelli, Cristina Ortiz, Gary Graffman, Catrin Finch, Kong Xiang-dong, Pascal Rogˆm, Roger Woodward, Thomas Bloch, Claude Delangle and Robert Bonfiglio. In 2003 the Hong Kong Arts Development Council honoured the CCOHK with the ¡§Rising Artist Award¡¨ in recognition of its outstanding contribution to music in Hong Kong. In 2008 the CCOHK entered a new and exciting phase under the direction of French conductor Jean Thorel.
Presented by Leisure and Cultural Services Department, ¡§Electric Requiem: God Save the Queen¡¨ will be staged at 8pm on October 30 and 31 (Friday and Saturday); and at 3pm on October 31 and November 1 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Black Box Theatre, Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre. Tickets priced at $160 (free seating) are now available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price concessions will be granted to senior citizens aged 60 or over, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. (Limited tickets for students and CSSA recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis.) For details of the booking schemes, please refer to the individual programme leaflets.
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7323; for ticketing enquiries and reservations, call 2734 9009. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk. For credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999. Visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp for more information on the programme.
A post-performance talk will be held after the show on October 31. Patrons are welcome to join and admission is free.
Ends/Friday, August 28, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:08
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