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Mr. Zhao Taisheng (Sanxian Principal) and Ms. Zhang Ying (Pipa Principal) of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra present a demonstration of traditional Chinese instruments. They bring with them various items from the HKCO’s collection belonging to the rich history of Chinese music with roots extending back 7000 years. Seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Social distancing measures will be in effect.    Register Here   THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY ONLY OPEN TO HKUST STUDENTS AND STAFF. CHECK BACK LATER AS SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES CHANGE. Zhao Taisheng  Zhao Taisheng is Sanxian Principal with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, a member of the Chinese Musicians’ Association and the China Nationalities Orchestra Society, and a committee member of the Central Conservatory of Music Alumni Association (Hong Kong). He graduated from the Conservatory where he trained in sanxian under Professor Xiao Jiansheng, Wang Zhenxian, and Tan Longjian at the Traditional Instruments Department. He was honoured by the Government of the Beijing Municipality for his meritorious achievements in culture. He was named one of the Ten Best Performers of Beijing in 1998. In 1996, his premiere of Demon from Heaven won an Outstanding Performance Award at the 3rd All China Folk Music Instrumental Music Showcase, and he was honoured by the Government of the Beijing Municipality for his meritorious achievements in culture. In his second year at the Conservatory, he won the Dunhuang Class One Award at the First International Jiangnan Wind and String Competition, a Class One Performance Award with A Festive Procession and another Class One Award for the new work Eulogy of the South.   In the 2018 concert ‘Heart for Home – Music that Evokes Nostalgia’, Zhao performed The Abacus Rondo using the Chinese abacus as a musical instrument. His vivid portrayal of a Chinese merchant’s spectrum of moods won the audience’s heart so much that it became the most popular item on the programme. In the 2017 concert ‘The Jiangzhou Connection’, Zhao joined hands with the drum virtuoso from Jiangzhou, Cai Lifeng, in performing the world premiere of Strings and Drums Resonating. It marked the first ever duo of its kind with the unusual sounds of sanxian and dagu, the big drum. In HKCO’s China Tour 2017 that celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR, covering Wuhan, Shenyang and Chengdu, his reprised performance of self-accompanied singing of Song of the Black Earth on the sanxian again won thundering applause. In 2013, 14 and 15, when he was on tour to Russia, Singapore and Estonia, his self-accompanied singing performance of Song of the Black Earth on the sanxian won standing ovations from the house. Back home in Shanghai, Dalian and Wuhan, this performance also brought the house down. He was a guest performer at Hacken Lee’s concert in 2011, in which he demonstrated the amazing potential and charm of the sanxian. He later went on Hacken’s world tour and wherever they went, the segment that featured Zhao in traditional Chinese costume playing the sanxian invariably won rave response from the audience. Zhao joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 2005 as a sanxian virtuoso.     In 2000, at the invitation of CCTV in Beijing, he appeared on a Chinese New Year show and performed Sending the Tiger Back to Its Mountain Hideout solo in a standing position. Audience response was phenomenal, and thus marked the beginning of the performing practice of playing the sanxian standing up. He has cut many recordings, and was the most frequently collaborated sanxian accompanist for the famous actor, Zhao Benshan, in such representative recordings as Liu Laogen and Marshall Ma. 
Zhang Ying  Zhang Ying is currently the Pipa Principal of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, a lecturer in the master’s program at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, in addition to teaching at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University, and the Education University of Hong Kong. She holds a master’s degree from the China Conservatory of Music where she was trained under Zhao Yinan, Li Guixiang, Wu Junsheng, Ren Hong, and Yang Jing.  Zhang was the winner of the Silver Award for Pipa Specialism, Youth Section, at the First Chinese Instrumental Music Competition organized by the Ministry of Culture in 2002; and the First Prize in the Youth Section at the 3rd ‘Longyin Cup’ International Ethnic Instrument of China (Pipa) in 2004.  Zhang has given several solo recitals, including ‘Zhang Ying – Favourites in Pipa Music’ in October 2009 in Hong Kong; a solo recital, ‘Shining Lute –Zhang Ying in Concert’ in the Zhongshan Hall of Taipei in June 2011; and ‘Zhang Ying’s Solo Recital II – Plucking at Your Heart’s Strings’ in Hong Kong in late 2012. More recent performances include a solo recital ‘Pipa Stories – Zhang Ying’ in June 2014 and a solo concert at the Music Salon of the Zhongshan Culture and Art Centre, China, in September 2015. She was an Artist-in-Residence of RTHK Radio 4 in 2016. In May of the same year, she was invited by the Xinghai Concert Hall of Guangzhou to give a pipa concert. In 2019, she gave a piano and pipa duo recital with Linda Yim at the City Hall Theatre. Zhang has released a solo album titled Dancing in the Wind, and a DVD of her graduation concert in Beijing. Her thesis was titled On the Role of the Pipa in the Chinese Orchestra.     Mak Ka Yin Acting Gaohu Assistant Principal of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Mak Ka Yin has been with the HKCO since 2015. Born in Hong Kong, Mak holds a Master of Music degree from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He received training in various kinds of huqin under Cheung Hiu-fai, Chan Yiu-sing, Prof Wang Guotong, Prof Yu Qiwei and Zhang Chongxue. While at the Academy, he was awarded the Exxon Mobile Scholarship, the Musicus Society Trey Lee Scholarship, and the Hong Kong Bank Foundation (Hong Kong – Mainland Exchange Scholarship on which he went to the Mainland to further his training in erhu under Yan Jiemin. Mak was awarded a Master of Arts in Music (with double major in erhu and gaohu) by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He gave two graduation solo recitals at the Academy’s Concert Hall, one in 2016 and the other in 2014. Mak is currently also a part-time huqin tutor at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He was formerly the concertmaster of the Yao Yueh Chinese Music Association and the Academy Chinese Orchestra, and Zhonghu Principal of the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed with many renowned conductors and virtuosi, including conductor Wang Fujian in Birds Returning to the Woods for gaohu and orchestra; in the erhu concerto A Journey across Time with Hong Kong pianist Leung Chi-hin; in the erhu and violin double concerto Tranquility and Purification with the renowned violinist Pekka Kuusisto; in the gaohu concerto The Legend of the Merlion conducted by Hong Xia; in the erhu solo The Great Wall Capriccio conducted by Liu Ju; in the double erhu concerto Ode to Hero • Ode to Love with the Yao Yueh Chinese Music Association; and in Mountain Ballad for double erhu and orchestra with the renowned erhu virtuoso, Zhao Hanyang. Apart from these, he has been on tour to Australia, Finland, Russia, Sochi, South Korea, Singapore, mainland China, Taiwan and Macao for performance and artistic exchange. Read more

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Members of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, the premiere ensemble of its kind, come to the campus of HKUST to present a concert of established repertoire and new works that display the unique beauty of this tradition. Program  Click Here     About Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Founded in 1977, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra has won accolades as “a leader in Chinese ethnic music” and “a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong”. It is regularly invited to perform at famous venues and festivals all over the world, having visited Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, and the Arctic Circle to date. It is acclaimed as a leader among full-sized Chinese music ensembles in the international arena today. The HKCO has an establishment of 91 professional musicians playing in four sections: bowed strings, plucked strings, wind instruments, and percussion. The instruments featured in the orchestra’s ine-up include both the traditional and their further developed, modern incarnations. The bowed string section has been using the Eco-Huqin series developed by the orchestra since 2009, which is suitable for both traditional Chinese music and contemporary, full-length works in a variety of musical formats and modes. The HKCO also explores new frontiers in music, having commissioned over 2,400 new works, both original compositions and arrangements, of various types and styles.  

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One of the foremost young pianists in Asia, born and raised in Hong Kong, Rachel Cheung is a graduate of the Yale School of Music and winner of awards from many of the most prominent competitions in the world, including the 2017 Audience Award at the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Musical America described her as having a “silken tone, subtle sense of colour,” and as “stunningly imaginative.” She brings her talent to HKUST for an evening of classical and contemporary piano music, including the Asian premiere of a work by HKUST’s composer-in-residence, Ilari Kaila.   Program Robert Schumann – Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 Ilari Kaila – Taonta Frédéric Chopin – Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22
Bio
Pianist Rachel Cheung is hailed as “a poet, but also a dramatist” displaying “the most sophisticated and compelling music-making” (The Dallas Morning News). She won over audiences and critics alike as a finalist at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition with “stunningly imaginative” (Musical America) interpretations marked by “flights of both beauty and virtuosity” (Theater Jones) and was awarded the Audience Prize by online vote. A Young Steinway Artist, she continues to build a reputation for an elegant stage presence, giving sensitive and refined performances across three continents. Rachel has appeared with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Sydney Symphony, London Chamber, and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras, collaborating with conductors including Edo de Waart, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jaap van Zweden, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Mark Elder, Christopher Warren-Green, and Nicholas McGegan. Rachel is also interested in play-conducting; following her Prix du Jury win at the 2017 Play-Direct Academy for her performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, she play-conducted the same concerto with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2019. She was also invited to return to the Play-Direct Academy in 2019 as a member of the jury. She has performed in recital at the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Steinway Hall in London, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto, the Philharmonie de Paris, and in other cities across the United States, Europe, and Asia. As an active chamber musician, Rachel has worked with world-renowned musicians including violinists Latica Honda-Rosenberg and Ning Feng, violist Vladimir Mendelssohn, cellists Jan-Erik Gustafasson and Trey Lee, mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänsen, clarinetist Michel Lethiec, the Brentano String Quartet, and Quatuor Leonis. She also enjoys community residencies and outreach events, which allow her to make a deeper connection with audiences and share her passion of storytelling through music. Recent and upcoming highlights include concerto performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden, National Philharmonic of Ukraine and Vitaliy Protasov, and on tour with the Asian Youth Orchestra and Joseph Bastian; two collaborations with the Hong Kong Ballet, her first experience with dance; residencies with RTHK Radio 4 and the Chamber Music Academy Heidelberger Frühling; and recitals throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. Rachel was featured in the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s first live broadcast concert in July 2020, and was invited to contribute performances to StageHub, a new online concert platform connecting artists with audiences worldwide. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rachel graduated with first class honors at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the tutelage of Eleanor Wong, and later studied with Peter Frankl at the Yale School of Music, where she was awarded the Elizabeth Parisot Prize for outstanding pianists. Additional competition honors include prizes at the Leeds, Chopin, Horowitz, Gina Bachauer, and Geneva International Piano Competitions. Her first concert DVD was released by VAIMUSIC in 2007, and her first CD, under the Alpha Omega Sound label of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong, was released in 2009. Her next recording project, a CD featuring the Chopin preludes, will be released by IMC Music. Rachel was awarded Artist of the Year (Music) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2019. Rachel is also an amateur photographer; she documents her travels with her analog camera, particularly enjoying the ability to capture the character and feeling of each moment.  

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Hong Kong Jazz Guitarist Teriver Cheung gives a workshop on approaches to jazz improvisation and performance at HKUST. He will work with selected HKUST students who have formed an impromptu jazz combo for this event. The event is open to the public – join us if you want to learn the basic building blocks of jazz and to hear more about the Hong Kong jazz scene! Seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Social distancing measures will be in effect.    Register Here   THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY ONLY OPEN TO HKUST STUDENTS AND STAFF. CHECK BACK LATER AS SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES CHANGE. Teriver Cheung 
Jazz Guitarist, Composer & Curator 
According to JazzTimes, “Teriver Cheung demonstrates an impressive command of his instrument and reveals a mature, composerly approach”. Born in Hong Kong, the jazz guitarist and composer has frequently collaborated with musicians including Latin Grammy Award winner Eddie Gómez, Billy Drummond, Jean-Michel Pilc, George Garzone and Antonio Hart. As the leader of his ensemble, he tours with his group and appears at major music festivals such as Jazz Marathon for the International Jazz Day, Jazz W Ruinach Festival (Poland) and Taichung Jazz Festival. In 2015, Cheung curated the multimedia concert Hong Kong Episodes and co-wrote an original work in collaboration with the classical music composer Fung Lam. As a project commissioned by the World Cultures Festival 2015, Hong Kong Episodes received critical acclaim. In 2017, the Hong Kong Episodes was invited to do a world tour and was presented at “The Hong Kong Music Series” in London and “Hong Kong Week 2017 @ Taipei”. As a cultural touring programme to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, Hong Kong Episodes was also performed in the Mainland cities of Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Nanning.   
In 2017 Cheung established "Ensemble Transience". Their recent project "Composition & Improvisation", supported by Home Affairs Bureau Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme, aims to explore more creative collaborations and musical possibilities between Jazz and classical musicians, and to promote musical education to the younger generation. In 2019, he curated and performed for the “Jazz Gala- The Legend and Beyond” at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, as part of the celebration activities for the Cultural Centre 30th Anniversary. With his unique sound and rich musical background, Cheung has become one of the most active composers, performers and curators in Hong Kong. As a collaborating jazz artist, he has performed with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, and participated in various productions in the mainstream music industry. As a educator, he is the guest tutor and lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Education University of Hong Kong, as well as doing music workshops and guided concerts at different universities and secondary school, introducing Jazz and improvisation to the young generation. 
Teriver Cheung is an endorsed artist for the D’Angelico Guitars and Fender In-Ear Monitors.    Read more

One of the foremost young pianists in Asia, born and raised in Hong Kong, Rachel Cheung is a graduate of the Yale School of Music and winner of awards from many of the most prominent competitions in the world, including the 2017 Audience Award at the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She comes to HKUST ahead of her upcoming solo recital to work with selected HKUST students in an open masterclass where she will cover technique and interpretation. Seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Social distancing measures will be in effect.    Register Here   THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY ONLY OPEN TO HKUST STUDENTS AND STAFF. CHECK BACK LATER AS SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES CHANGE. Bio  Pianist Rachel Cheung is hailed as “a poet, but also a dramatist” displaying “the most sophisticated and compelling music-making” (The Dallas Morning News). She won over audiences and critics alike as a finalist at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition with “stunningly imaginative” (Musical America) interpretations marked by “flights of both beauty and virtuosity” (Theater Jones) and was awarded the Audience Prize by online vote. A Young Steinway Artist, she continues to build a reputation for an elegant stage presence, giving sensitive and refined performances across three continents.  Rachel has appeared with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Sydney Symphony, London Chamber, and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras, collaborating with conductors including Edo de Waart, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jaap van Zweden, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Mark Elder, Christopher Warren-Green, and Nicholas McGegan. Rachel is also interested in play-conducting; following her Prix du Jury win at the 2017 Play-Direct Academy for her performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, she play-conducted the same concerto with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2019. She was also invited to return to the Play-Direct Academy in 2019 as a member of the jury.  She has performed in recital at the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Steinway Hall in London, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto, the Philharmonie de Paris, and in other cities across the United States, Europe, and Asia. As an active chamber musician, Rachel has worked with world-renowned musicians including violinists Latica Honda-Rosenberg and Ning Feng, violist Vladimir Mendelssohn, cellists Jan-Erik Gustafasson and Trey Lee, mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänsen, clarinetist Michel Lethiec, the Brentano String Quartet, and Quatuor Leonis. She also enjoys community residencies and outreach events, which allow her to make a deeper connection with audiences and share her passion of storytelling through music.  Recent and upcoming highlights include concerto performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden, National Philharmonic of Ukraine and Vitaliy Protasov, and on tour with the Asian Youth Orchestra and Joseph Bastian; two collaborations with the Hong Kong Ballet, her first experience with dance; residencies with RTHK Radio 4 and the Chamber Music Academy Heidelberger Frühling; and recitals throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. Rachel was featured in the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s first live broadcast concert in July 2020, and was invited to contribute performances to StageHub, a new online concert platform connecting artists with audiences worldwide.  Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rachel graduated with first class honors at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the tutelage of Eleanor Wong, and later studied with Peter Frankl at the Yale School of Music, where she was awarded the Elizabeth Parisot Prize for outstanding pianists. Additional competition honors include prizes at the Leeds, Chopin, Horowitz, Gina Bachauer, and Geneva International Piano Competitions. Her first concert DVD was released by VAIMUSIC in 2007, and her first CD, under the Alpha Omega Sound label of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong, was released in 2009. Her next recording project, a CD featuring the Chopin preludes, will be released by IMC Music. Rachel was awarded Artist of the Year (Music) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2019.  Rachel is also an amateur photographer; she documents her travels with her analog camera, particularly enjoying the ability to capture the character and feeling of each moment.    Read more

The concert will be streamed on the Cosmopolis Festival YouTube channel. Please access the concert via the button below, starting at 7:20 PM HKT. The concert will begin at 7:30PM HKT. VIEW THE CONCERT HERE

Ranjani and Gayatri are among the most highly acclaimed South Indian Carnatic vocalists in the world. Known for concerts that thrill both lay audiences and connoisseurs, the two sisters have been featured on numerous recordings, television, radio, concerts, lectures, and international festivals. They will be accompanied by an ensemble of preeminent performers from Chennai, India.   Program Traditional Carnatic concert or kutcheri, the elements of which will be explained to the audience during the performance.   Bios
Ranjani and Gayatri are world-renowned performers of South Indian classical Carnatic music. They have performed in prestigious venues and festivals, including the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., Southbank Centre in London, Ravenna Music Festival in Italy, Cross Culture Festival in Warsaw, Poland, Bengal Music Festival in Dhaka, and Esplanade Theatre in Singapore, to name a few. In addition to performances in India and around the globe, they regularly release studio recordings, appear on television and radio, give lecture-demonstrations, and work as composers, educators, and ambassadors of Indian classical music.

The sisters started their joint career as a violin duo, having studied the instrument under the tutelage of Sri TS Krishnaswami Iyer, and learned singing from Sri PS Narayanaswamy. Their parents, Sri N Balasubramanian and Smt Meenakshi, have also guided them throughout their musical journey.

Ranjani and Gayatri’s concerts take the listener into a world of color, beauty, and transcendental bliss. Their performances are a testament to the conservation of an ancient tradition through innovation, imagination, and originality, which has inspired many musicians to follow their style.       BACK Read more

An evening of jazz featuring an eclectic combination of instruments that celebrates Hong Kong’s multicultural tradition, led by acclaimed guitarist Teriver Cheung.  
  REGISTRATION   According to JazzTimes, “Teriver Cheung demonstrates an impressive command of his instrument and reveals a mature, composerly approach”. Born in Hong Kong, the jazz guitarist and composer has frequently collaborated with musicians including Latin Grammy Award winner Eddie Gómez, Billy Drummond, Jean-Michel Pilc, George Garzone and Antonio Hart. As the leader of his ensemble, he tours with his group and appears at major music festivals such as Jazz Marathon for the International Jazz Day, Jazz W Ruinach Festival (Poland) and Taichung Jazz Festival. In 2015, Cheung curated the multimedia concert Hong Kong Episodes and co-wrote an original work in collaboration with the classical music composer Fung Lam. As a project commissioned by the World Cultures Festival 2015, Hong Kong Episodes received critical acclaim. In 2017, the Hong Kong Episodes was invited to do a world tour and was presented at The Hong Kong Music Series in London and Hong Kong Week 2017 @ Taipei. As a cultural touring programme to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, Hong Kong Episodes was also performed in six cities in the Mainland, including Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Nanning. In 2017 Cheung established Ensemble Transience. Their recent project, Composition & Improvisation, supported by Home Affairs Bureau Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme, aims to explore more creative collaborations and musical possibilities between Jazz and classical musicians, and to promote musical education to the younger generation. In 2019, he curated and performed for the Jazz Gala—The Legend and Beyond at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, as part of the celebration activities for the Cultural Centre 30th Anniversary. With his unique sound and rich musical background, Cheung has become one of the most active composers, performers and curators in Hong Kong. As a collaborating Jazz artist, he has performed with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and participate in various production in the mainstream music industry. As a educator, he is the guest tutor and lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Education University of Hong Kong, as well as doing music workshops and guided concerts at different universities and secondary school, introducing Jazz and improvisation to the young generation. Teriver Cheung is an endorsed artist for the D’Angelico Guitars and Fender In-Ear Monitors.Ensemble Transience Formed by Teriver Cheung in 2017, Ensemble Transience is a chamber group focuses on contemporary music with hybrid of modern jazz and classical music languages,incorporate improvisation into composed materials. His debut album The Episodes, recorded in Taipei, is expected to be released in 2018.   BACK Read more

Ranjani and Gayatri are among the most highly acclaimed South Indian Carnatic vocalists in the world. Known for concerts that thrill both lay audiences and connoisseurs, the two sisters have been featured on numerous recordings, television, radio, concerts, lectures, and international festivals. Following their concert streamed from Chennai, India, they will hold this interactive Q&A to discuss their performance and the fundamentals of South Indian classical music performance. Join us for this online event where we connect with Ranjani and Gayatri live from India.    Join the zoom session here (you should download the zoom application in order to join) Bio:   Ranjani and Gayatri are world-renowned performers of South Indian classical Carnatic music. They have performed in prestigious venues and festivals, including the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., Southbank Centre in London, Ravenna Music Festival in Italy, Cross Culture Festival in Warsaw, Poland, Bengal Music Festival in Dhaka, and Esplanade Theatre in Singapore, to name a few. In addition to performances in India and around the globe, they regularly release studio recordings, appear on television and radio, give lecture demonstrations, and works as composers, educators, and ambassadors of Indian classical music.     The sisters started their joint career as a violin duo, having studied the instrument under the tutelage of Sri TS Krishnaswami Iyer, and learned singing from Sri PS Narayanaswamy. Their parents, Sri N Balasubramanian and Smt Meenakshi, have also guided them throughout their musical journey.     Ranjani and Gayatri’s concerts take the listener into a world of color, beauty, and transcendental bliss. Their performances are a testament to the conservation of an ancient tradition through innovation, imagination, and originality, which has inspired many musicians to follow their style.      Read more

In the lead-up to the performance of the opera Rita live at HKUST, the artistic team comes to discuss their approach to staging an opera in Hong Kong and reviving this forgotten Romantic classic. This rarely heard one-act opera by Gaetano Donizetti received its Asian premiere with the same artists in November and was featured on RTHK TV.  Rita is a delicious farce in the best traditions of Italian opera buffa. It was written at the end of Donizetti’s life while he was living in Paris. Donizetti’s music and Gustave Vaëz’s French libretto result is an Italian take on French opéra-comique with a story so familiar that it could be set anywhere — even Hong Kong!  Register Here THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY ONLY OPEN TO HKUST STUDENTS AND STAFF. CHECK BACK LATER AS SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES CHANGE.   Artistic Team:   Marco Iannelli, Music adaptation and Direction   Peter Gordon, English dialogue and Stage Direction   Etta Fung, soprano   Chen Yong, tenor   Isaac Droscha, baritone    Bios  Marco Iannelli is an award-winning Italian composer, musicologist and educator living in Hong Kong. He has worked with Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence), the Opera Berlioz (Montpellier), and Deutsche Oper (Berlin). His compositions have been played around the world: Milan, Rome, Paris, San Francisco, the Athens Olympics and Hong Kong. He was most recently music director for the Italian Cultural Institute’s October 2019 production of Waitress on Top, a Hong Kong retelling of Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona.  Peter Gordon has been active in Hong Kong opera, drama and literary circles for two decades, including a previous Le French May outing in 2015. He wrote the dialogue and directed Waitress on Top, as well as two one-act operas, including Wolf-Ferrari’s Il Segreto di Susanna, at Macau’s Teatro Dom Pedro V. He has been named Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia for his work in local opera.  Etta Fung is one of Hong Kong’s leading coloratura sopranos. Known for her acting as well as her singing, she recently created the roles of Serpina in the Italian Cultural Institute’s production of Waitress on Top and of Keiko in the world premiere of Elena Langer’s Beauty and Sadness. She has sung widely in both Europe and the United States.  Chen Yong has performed leading roles including Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata, and Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème. He has performed with Opera Hong Kong, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Hong Kong Arts Festival as with Les Chorégies d’Orange and Opera Shanghai.  Isaac Droscha frequently performs leading baritone roles in Hong Kong, most recently Uberto in Waitress on Top, Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow, and Conte Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. He frequently performs in recital and teaches at HKUST.    Read more

Three of Hong Kong’s most prominent operatic vocal talents and six of its outstanding instrumentalists will present the full-length performance of the rarely-heard one-act opera Rita by Gaetano Donizetti, a comedic treat for all ages. Presented in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Hong Kong, this fifty-minute opera, which was premiered in Asia by the same cast in November 2020, will be remounted for HKUST’s inaugural Cosmopolis Festival.   REGISTER NOW!

  Program Rita by Gaetano Donizetti
Music: Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto: Gustave Vaëz

Music adaptation: Marco Iannelli
English dialogue: Peter Gordon
Director: Peter Gordon
Music Director: Marco Iannelli
Producer: Lorna Chan, Let Me Plan It Co.
Custom Artwork: Adolfo Arranz

Soprano: Etta Fung
Tenor: Chen Yong
Baritone: Isaac Droscha

Piano: Hsu Wei-en
Flute: Angus Lee
Clarinet: Calvin Leung
Violin: Patrick T.S. Yim
Viola: Sun Yu
Cello: Anna Kwan  
Rita is a delicious farce in the best traditions of Italian opera buffa. It was written at the end of Gaetano Donizetti’s life, while he was living in Paris. Donizetti’s music and Gustave Vaëz’s French libretto result is an Italian take on French opéra-comique with a story so familiar that it could be set anywhere — even Hong Kong!

Rita is a innkeeper who happens to have two husbands. She believes the first husband died in an accident, when in reality, he has run away to Canada. During their time together, he hadn’t treated her very well, something which — with her newfound freedom — she now takes out on her timid second husband.

As far as husband #1 knows, Rita is dead, too. He is returning to get a hold of her death certificate and be free to marry again.

Husband #2 witnesses the reappearance of his predecessor, clearly very much alive and married, and sees it as a chance to escape his marriage to the tyrannical Rita. The two men meet and agree to play a special game: the winner will keep Rita as his wife forever. It goes without saying that both will try hard to lose BACK Read more