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"Echoes of Home - Music of Greater Guangdong" by the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble, one of the programmes of the Guangdong Music Series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will be staged in mid-April. The concerts will feature the vernacular charm of Guangdong music, a recognised part of China's cultural heritage.
Under the baton of Artistic Adviser Ho Man-chuen, the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble will give a concert featuring Dr Tong Kin-woon, a renowned narrative-singing artist in nanyin, and the premiere of a new arrangement of "A Wanderer's Autumn Grief". Rising suona performer Ma Wai-him will perform the famous duet from the Cantonese opera "Romance of the Phoenix Chamber" with suona and kaqiang (playing the suona while resonating a special reed placed inside the mouth through throat whistling) to imitate the singing style of Cantonese opera. Other performances in the repertoire are Lam Lan-chee's new wind and percussion ensemble work "Fire - Dragon Dance" capturing the boisterous celebration in Tai Hang on Hong Kong Island during festivals, as well as the houguan solo piece "Lively Chatter in the Spring Breeze" and the world premiere of Chen Ning-chi's composition for five-piece combo and orchestra, "Those Gilded Days of Yore".
Founded in 2003, the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble aims to demonstrate the unique charm of the Chinese instrumental ensemble music genre. The Ensemble's resident musicians are all graduates majoring in music or performance from various institutes in Hong Kong and have rich experience in concert performance.
Ho Man-chuen is a renowned music educator and conductor, and is currently an instructor at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Resident Conductor of the Academy Chinese Orchestra, Artistic Adviser of the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble, and Artistic Adviser and Principal Conductor of the Hong Kong Music Lover Chinese Orchestra.
Dr Tong Kin-woon learned Cantonese operatic singing from two renowned artists in Hong Kong, Tsui Lau-sin and Wong Yuet-sang. He also learned nanyin from the blind artist To Woon and acquired the technique of accompanying himself on the zheng when singing nanyin songs, beating time with a clapper in his left hand and playing the instrument with his right hand. Apart from singing these two song art forms, he also scores music, repairs and reconstructs guqins and teaches the guqin, Cantonese operatic songs, nanyin, oracle bone script and Chinese tea studies.
Ma Wai-him is currently a full-time musician (suona and guan) with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and a part-time player of these two instruments at the Music Office and with the acid jazz band, Majestic G. He is also studying for a Master in Music degree at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, taking double majors in suona and guan under Xia Boyan and Lo Wai-leung.
"Echoes of Home - Music of Greater Guangdong" by the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble will be staged at 8pm on April 18 (Saturday) at the Theatre of Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre, and at 4pm on April 19 (Sunday) at the Auditorium of North District Town Hall. Tickets priced from $100 to $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 are available on a first-come, first-served basis). Group booking and "Guangdong Music Series" package booking discounts are also available. Please refer to the programme leaflet for details.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/program_730.html. For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For Internet bookings, please visit www.urbtix.hk.
A pre-concert talk in Cantonese, "The Evolution of the Musical Genres of Nanyin, Cantonese Operatic Songs and Cantonese Music", will be held at 7.30pm on April 16 (Thursday) at AC1, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, with Dr Tong Kin-woon as the speaker and a live demonstration. Admission is free.
Ends/Thursday, April 2, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:47
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