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[Event postponed due to Covid-19.] A jazz-chamber concert featuring the music of Ella Fitzgerald, headlined by singer Talie Monin and pianist Ted Lo. The 70-minute concert will explore Ella's life through her most-loved songs, in original arrangement for a unique ensemble of jazz musicians and Hong Kong Philharmonic members, and accompanied with narration. Performers: Talie Monin, vocals Ted Lo, piano Lorenzo Iosco, clarinet/bass clarinet/saxophone Chris Moyse, trumpet Vance Lee, bassoon Aziz Barnard Luce, drums/percussion Jeff Lehmberg, jazz bass Bios
Zulu South African contemporary jazz vocalist Talie Monin has enjoyed a spectacular rise among the top ranks of the global jazz elite after winning the Audience Choice Award at the 2018 Montreux Jazz Festival. In 2019, she released her wildly successful debut album 24 Strathay, of which the top American jazz critic and head of programming at JazzWorks in the US wrote: “Exuberant elegance! This is 21st-century musical alchemy that’s pointing jazz towards the future.” Monin also headlined a command performance in Beijing, China, as part of the global centennial celebrations commemorating Nelson Mandela’s birth. In 2019, she won the award for Best Female Jazz Artist at the Mzantsi Jazz Awards in South Africa. Backed by her highly talented band, the World Jazz Compendium, Monin has received widespread acclaim at numerous jazz festivals and club performances around the world.   Monin’s compelling vocal style seamlessly blends elements of her African heritage with the authentic heart and soul of American jazz to create a truly extraordinary musical expression of joy and excitement. Monin is currently in pre-production for her second album, which is scheduled for release in 2022. Songs from the album 24 Strathay are currently available on all major streaming platforms. In 1976, Hong Kong-born jazz pianist Ted Lo was the first Chinese graduate of Berklee College of Music in the United States. Lo began his career in jazz as a pianist in the Boston scene during the 70’s. He made his first recording session debut on Colors, an album featuring the legendary Brazilian trombonist Raul de Souza, percussionist Jack DeJonnette, and bassist Richie Davis. In 1977, Lo toured with the rock legend Al Kooper. In 1979, Lo moved to New York City and worked as a sideman for legendary flautist Herbie Mann, and subsequently, the renowned Ron Carter. By 1990, Lo collaborated with notable artists including, Special EFX, Michael Franks, Eric Gale, Astrud Gilberto, Gregory Hines, Stix Hooper, Noel Pointer, Airto and Flora Purim and Dave Valentin, among many others. While in the United States, Lo performed at the Blue Note in New York City, the Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and the Keystone Korner in San Francisco. Lo was featured internationally at North Sea Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, and Montreux Jazz Festival. Lo returned to Hong Kong in 1996 and has devoted his career to raising awareness about jazz music in his home city through his performances and community engagements. A frequent collaborator with local universities, Lo is committed to promoting the art and style of jazz among the next generation of Hong Kong musicians. Lorenzo Antonio Iosco holds the Bass Clarinet position at the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Previously, he was a member of the London Symphony Orchestra for eight years and of the Madrid Opera House (Teatro Real) in Spain for three years. Born in Potenza, Italy, in 1985, he studied at the Luigi Cherubini conservatory in Florence. As soloist Lorenzo has performed the most important repertoire for clarinet (Mozart, Weber, Rossini) several times in Europe and Asia, and made his London Wigmore Hall debut in collaboration with the London Conchord Ensemble. He studied orchestral conducting in Florence and Rome, and has been regularly invited to conduct ensembles at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Academy of Music of London, Royal Orchestra Society and Oxford University, Arezzo Youth Orchestra, Castelbuono Classica Symphony Orchestra and the Florence Sinfonietta.

Lorenzo is Founder and Music/Artistic Director of Ensemble Ubertini, a chamber orchestra based in Tuscany with guest musicians from Hong Kong, Europe and United Kingdom. The ensemble has participated to several classic festivals in Italy (Festival delle Musiche and Castelbuono Classica) and given concerts with the Italian pianist Gilda Buttà (official pianist of Ennio Morricone) playing the first version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F. Future engagements will see Lorenzo conducting and playing in California, Italy, China and Australia. Christopher Moyse was appointed to the trumpet section of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra by Edo de Waart in 2005, following his studies at the Royal College of Music, Manhattan School of Music and Royal Academy of Music. His trumpet professors included Malcolm Smith, Andrew Crowley, Robert Sullivan, Paul Beniston, Paul Archibald, Howard Snell and James Watson. Born into a musical family, Chris began cornet lessons with his father at the Worthing Salvation Army brass band and progressed to become a member of the International Staff Band. His first experience of orchestral playing came through the Brighton Youth Orchestra with whom he toured Hong Kong in 2000. He has performed as guest principal trumpet with several other orchestras including the Hallé Orchestra, Macau Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony and Ulster Orchestra. Currently Associate Principal Bassoon, Vance Lee has joined the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since the 2000/01 season. He also served as Principal Bassoon with the Hartford Symphony and the Connecticut Opera, both in the United States, where he was born and raised. A native of Washington D. C., Aziz D. Barnard Luce joined the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) as Principal Percussionist in 2011. Aziz holds degrees from Boston University as well as the New England Conservatory, graduating with academic honours, and has twice been awarded a Tanglewood Music Center fellowship. Before joining the HK Phil, Aziz was the Principal Percussionist of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Florida and has performed with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras.
Jeff Lehmberg joined the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005. He then served as Principal Bass of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for one season before returning to the HK Phil in 2007. Besides his classical work, Jeff is also a freelance jazz bassist, and plays regularly with several groups around Hong Kong. Jeff was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, and grew up in the state of Kansas. He received his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy at Columbia University in New York City while also studying bass at The Juilliard School.  After teaching public school in Los Angeles as a member of Teach for America, he returned to New York City to study double bass performance at Mannes College of Music.  Read more

[Event postponed due to Covid-19.] Fresh from his noted performance at the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland, Aristo Sham brings what The Washington Post called his “boundless potential” to the Cosmopolis Festival. Presenting a program of virtuosic, Romantic staples that highlight the rich tradition of Russian pianism, Aristo is sure to thrill with this dynamic program. Program   Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943): Études-Tableaux, Op. 39 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), arr. Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943): Suite from Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major Alexander Scriabin (1871–1915): Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 70 Bio   Hailed by The Washington Post as a young artist with “boundless potential” who can “already hold his own with the best,” pianist Aristo Sham has dazzled audiences on five continents in countries ranging from Singapore and Argentina to Slovenia, Morocco, and throughout the United States. He recently performed as soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic conducted by Edo de Waart, the English Chamber Orchestra under Raymond Leppard, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra.   Mr. Sham won First Prize at the 2018 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. The Young Concert Artists Series will present his debut recitals in New York at Merkin Concert Hall and in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center Theater this season. He also won First Prize at the 2019 Alessandro Casagrande International Piano Competition in Italy, the Silver Medal at the 2018 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, First Prize at the 2018 Charles Wadsworth International Piano Competition, First Prize and the Bärenreiter Urtext Special Prize at Germany’s Ettlingen International Piano Competition, and First Prize at the New York International Piano Competition.   A native of Hong Kong, Aristo Sham was granted a BA in Economics from Harvard in 2019, and an MMus in Piano Performance from the New England Conservatory in 2020. He is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Ingesund Piano Centre, and has attended the Harrow School in the United Kingdom and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. Read more

[Event postponed due to Covid-19.] Three of Hong Kong’s most prominent operatic vocal talents and six of its outstanding instrumentalists will present a full-length performance of the rarely-heard one-act operetta by Jacques Offenbach, the timeless comedy Pomme d'api. Presented in collaboration with The French May of Hong Kong, this sixty-minute opera will bring a rare French treat to the Cosmopolis Festival. Program Pomme d’api Music: Jacques Offenbach
Libretto: Ludovic Halévy and William Busnach

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   Synopsis An aging bachelor and sewing-machine manufacturer named Rabastens fires his maid, while waiting for a visit from his nephew,  Gustave, he himself having just fallen for a girl called Pomme d'api. Uncle Ravstens disapproves of the young women and has cut off Gustave’s allowance, but Gustave arrives, he reveals that he has dumped Pomme d'api in order to keep the money. Going to his room, the new maid, Catherine, arrives, and Rabastens is so happy and enchanted with his servant he invites her to dinner. At dinner Gustave recognizes Catherine as his love, Pomme d’api, whom he still loves, but she is still bitter over being cast aside. To test Gustave, Catherine flirts with Rabastens and tells him that she has been abandoned by her lover and that she will say yes to the first man to propose. Gustave is so hurt that he starts to leave, only to for Catherine see his devotion and embrace him. After a moment of anger, Rabastens gives his blessing to Gustave's marriage, and increases his allowance.   Bios Coloratura soprano Etta Fung is known for her "charm and verve" (Opera Today) and powerful stage presence. Etta made her European debut as Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel) at the Neue Eutiner Festspiele (2011) in Eutin, Germany and received critical acclaim in the Hamburger Abendblatt: "(Fung) acted with great enthusiasm, her powerful soprano voice underscoring the Wagnerian sounds of the score". Since then Etta has performed actively in Europe. She appeared as Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) in the Trentino Music Festival at Mezzano, Italy; and La Fée (Cendrillon) and die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) in the Siena Music Festival.   Etta made her American debut as Peep-Bo (Mikado) during her Apprenticeship with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City (2012-2013). Other roles she has performed in the United States include Musetta (La Bohème), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Lucia (Rape of Lucretia), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Atalanta (Serse) and Anne Trulove (The Rake's Progress) and the cover of Adele (Die Fledermaus) at Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance. Upon her return to Hong Kong, Etta has been cast as Aninna (La Traviata),  Musetta (La Boheme), Serpina (La Serva Padrona), Susanna (Il Segreto di Susanna) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni). She is best known for her portrayal of the Queen of the Night (Magic Flute) with Opera Hong Kong in 2018.   Etta is the creator of Opera Sull’Aria - aerial opera: an act in which she performs coloratura arias in the air combined with aerial silks. Being the only opera singer/aerialists in Asia, Etta was invited to perform the role of L'Amour on aerial silks in Gluck's Orphée in 2018 at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada.   Etta works closely with contemporary composers and regular makes world premieres of various vocal works. She created the role of Keiko in British-Russian composer Elena Langer's new opera Beauty and Sadness, working with renowned Oscar-winning designer Tim Yip (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and award-winning director Carolyn Choa. Etta sings regularly for the Asian Young Musician's Connection, premiering new vocal works such as "the Lotus Script -- a chamber opera" and "Bent Shadow -- Story of Hong Kong". She recently starred in the historical production of Rita-- an Opera Movie (Donizetti), filmed at the historical site of the Haw Par Mansion in Hong Kong. The movie was released on RTHK31 on Jan 31, 2021.   Etta was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera District Auditions (Kansas City) as well as the winner of the Vocal Division of the Naftzger Competition (Wichita, Kansas). She is the receiver of the Anton Rubinstein International Vocal Competition Award for best interpretation of chamber music in Düsseldorf, Germany.   After completing her Doctoral Degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Kansas, Etta was invited to make an appearance in American reality TV show The Little Couple as a musician in their Season 8 Finale in Houston, Texas; and act as guest judge in musical talent in the 46th Annual Miss Chinatown Houston Scholarship Pageant.   Tenor Chen Yong is the most notable lyrical tenor in Hong Kong classical music scene, well-known by his excellent performances in operas and concerts. Mr. CHEN has performed over 30 operatic roles. Leading roles including Roméo in Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette”, Ferrando in Mozart’s “Cosìfan tutte”, Ernesto in Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale”, Tonio in “La Fille du Régiment”, Nemorino in “L’Elisir d’Amore”, Alfredo in Verdi’s “La Traviata”, Rinuccio in Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi”, Rudolfo in Puccini’s “La Bohème”, Tebaldo in Bellini’s “I Capuleti e i Montecchi”, Almaviva in Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” etc. Tenor solo in concerts including Handel’s Messiah, G. Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. He has performed with Les Chorégies d'Orange, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera Shanghai, Opera Hong Kong, Le French May Arts Festival, ItaliaMia Arts Festival, Beijing International Comic Opera Festival, l'Opéra de Poche and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong etc. Chen Yong graduated from the Vocal Department of Universität für Musik und Darstellender Kunst Wien in Austria with full scholarship after obtaining a Master Degree in Performance from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Isaac Droscha, operatic bass-baritone, holds a Doctorate in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan and is currently a faculty in the Division of Humanities at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Isaac is also the artistic director and vocal coach of the HKUST Musical, which he also helps coordinate.   He has performed a number of roles with various companies in the United States, including the Des Moines Metro Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera New Jersey, and Arbor Opera Theater. His performances have received numerous positive reviews, including: “Isaac Droscha is ingenious in his portraying of Falstaff;” and “Isaac Droscha, in the same role, was blessed with an extremely robust and agile voice, and behaved onstage like a true commedia dell’arte clown” and “Droscha really hit his stride when revealing his character's true identity near the end of the opera in a riveting performance.”   Some of his notable roles performed include roles in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le Nozze di Figaro, The Rake’s Progress, Madama Butterfly, L’Elisir d’Amore, Die Zauberflöte, Die Fledermaus, Falstaff, and Airadne auf Naxos. He was also recently featured in two films produced by RTHK based on the operas La Serva Padrona and Rita. He is frequently collaborator with Hong Kong Musica Viva.   He is a prolific concert performer of oratorio and art song and frequently lends his vocal talents to radio and television at RTHK. He is the co-artistic director of the Cosmopolis Festival at HKUST. Read more

[Event postponed due to Covid-19.] Following the performance of Jacques Offenbach’s operetta Pomme d’api live at HKUST, the artistic team comes to discuss their approach to staging an opera in Hong Kong and reviving this forgotten Romantic classic. They will discuss their creative process as well as the challenges and rewards of making opera. 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

The pride of the city, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, returns to HKUST in a chamber orchestra line-up under the baton of conductor Peter Biloen (Netherlands). The concert showcases the power and diversity of colors that the ensemble is capable of projecting, with repertoire ranging from early Romanticism to the present day. The program includes the Asian premiere of a new work by Augusta Read Thomas, and world premiere by HKUST’s Composer-in-Residence, Ilari Kaila. REGISTER Program Richard Wagner (1813–1883):  Siegfried Idyll Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964): Dance Mobile (Asian premiere) Ilari Kaila (b. 1978): Veden väki (world premiere) Arthur Honegger (1892–1952): Pastorale d'été The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Peter Biloen, conductor   Musicians   Anders Hui, violin
Zhao Yingna, violin
Li Jiali, viola
Richard Bamping, cello
George Lomdaridze, double bass
Megan Sterling, flute
Michael Wilson, oboe
Wang Yu-Po, oboe/English horn
Andrew Simon, clarinet
John Schertle, clarinet
Benjamin Moermond, bassoon
Lin Jiang, horn
Russell Bonifede, horn
Christopher Moyse, trumpet
Jarod Vermette, trombone
Aziz D. Barnard Luce, percussion
Samuel Chan, percussion
Linda Yim, piano   Bios   Peter Biloen was the first Dutch conductor to reach the finals of London’s international Donatella Flick Conducting Competition of 2004, directing the London Symphony Orchestra in concert. He was awarded the Anton Kersjes Foundation’s national conducting prize and the prestigious Academy Conductor Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. An expert interpreter of both classic and modern repertoire, he has been hailed by the press for his precise interpretations as well as his adventurous and groundbreaking programming.   In much demand as a guest conductor, Biloen’s recent engagements have included appearances with the Orchestre National de Montpellier, deFilharmonie, the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Het Gelders Orkest, and Philharmonie Zuidnederland. Passionate about opera, Biloen conducted Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Summer Opera of Alden Biesen in 2009, Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel at the Royal Theater in The Hague in 2011, and operas by Haydn, Marschner, and Pashkevich in the Grachten Festival of Amsterdam from 2008 to 2012.   Biloen has conducted world premieres and collaborated with numerous renowned composers, including Witold Lutosławski, John Cage, and Pierre Boulez in performances of their works in Europe, the United States, Russia, and China. World premieres he has conducted include works by Ron Ford, Fung Lam, Reza Namavar, and Marijn Simons. An accomplished violist, Biloen draws on his rich experience performing under such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Sanderling, and Evgeny Svetlanov.   After earning degrees at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1992 and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 1998, Biloen continued to study with such mentors as Jorma Panula, Yuri Simonov, David Zinman, Ed Spanjaard, Jac Van Steen and Hans Vonk.   One of the most widely performed living composers in America today, Augusta Read Thomas (“a true virtuoso composer” —The New York Times) has won the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and was featured on a Grammy-winning CD by Chanticleer. In 2016, Thomas was named the Chicagoan of the Year. Championed by such luminaries as Barenboim, Rostropovich, Boulez, Eschenbach, Salonen, Maazel, Ozawa, and Knussen, she rose early to the top of her profession. The American Academy of Arts and Letters described Thomas as “one of the most recognizable and widely loved figures in American Music.”   Recent and upcoming commissions include those from the Santa Fe Opera in collaboration with the San Francisco Opera and other opera companies, PEAK Performances at Montclair State University and the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington D.C., the Indianapolis Symphony, Tanglewood, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, Boston Symphony, Utah Symphony, Wigmore Hall in London, JACK quartet, Third Coast Percussion, Spektral Quartet, Chicago Philharmonic, Eugene Symphony, the Danish Chamber Players, Notre Dame University, Lorelei Vocal Ensemble, and the Fromm Foundation.   Thomas is a University Professor of Composition in Music and the College at the University of Chicago. Thomas was the longest-serving Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for conductors Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez (1997–2006). She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.   Ilari Kaila is a Finnish-American composer whose music has been described with words such as “haunting”, “intriguing”, “engaging … soulful” (The New York Times), “nearly unbearable beauty… A modern masterpiece” (The WholeNote), “melodically euphoric” (Rondo Classic), “hypnotic… trancelike… fascinatingly colorful” (New York Music Daily), “I kept coming back to it… the music is so beautiful, and I want to experience it again and again” (Orchestergraben—5 Best New Music Albums of 2020), “magnificent and glistening” (Amfion), “powerfully resonating” (Helsingin Sanomat), “haunting” (The New Yorker), and “Kaila brings with him an exciting message of rebirth built upon classical foundations” (Percorsi Musicali—Best of 2020).   His work has been presented by the MATA Festival in New York City, including the inaugural composer portrait concert in the “MATA Continued” series (“offering return engagements by some of its brightest discoveries” — Steve Smith, The New Yorker); as the Composer-in-Residence of the Chelsea Music Festival in New York and Taipei; at the American Music Festival in Albany; the Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong; the Metropolis Festival in Australia; the Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival in Canada; and the New York International Fringe Festival. Artists and ensembles Kaila has worked with include the Escher String Quartet, Aizuri Quartet, Tanglewood New Fromm Players, Alcott Trio, Kamus Quartet, Uusinta Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Emil Holmström, Melinda Masur, Rachel Cheung, Olli Mustonen, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Avanti Chamber Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Joensuu Symphony Orchestra, Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra’s chamber ensembles. An album of Kaila’s chamber music, recorded by the Aizuri Quartet and pianist Adrienne Kim, was released on the Innova Recordings label in March 2020.   Program notes   Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll. The Siegfried of the work’s title has many faces. He is the hero of Wagner’s mythical The Ring of the Nibelung, an epic cycle of four operas, and the titular character of the third one. Siegfried was also the name of Wagner’s son, and the intimate Idyll was originally written as a birthday present for Wagner’s wife, Cosima, soon after Siegfried’s birth in 1869. Though it is a standalone work—intended originally as a private piece of music for the family—Wagner reused some of its materials in the opera Siegfried, premiered seven years later at the Bayreuth Festival Theatre. In 1906, Siegfried Wagner went on to manage the annual festival of his father’s works in Bayreuth, where the Ring cycle has been performed almost every year to this day—currently under the directorship of Katharina Wagner, Siegfried’s granddaughter.   Augusta Read Thomas: Dance Mobile — In memoriam Oliver Knussen. The word “mobile” denotes both the noun: a decorative structure that is suspended so as to turn freely in the air, as well as the adjective: lively, sprightly, spry, energetic, vigorous; animated, traveling, flexible, versatile, changing, fluid, on the move. On this mobile, three circa-4-minute dances are hanging. Between them are moments floating in the air until the suspended mobile is activated and set into motion. To be performed with dancers when feasible. Dance Mobile is a spin-off of material Augusta developed in an earlier work.   Commissioned by the Howard Hanson Institute for American Music in Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Eastman School of Music. Dedicated with admiration and gratitude to Brad Lubman, Musica Nova, and the Eastman School of Music. Duration 14 minutes.   Ilari Kaila: Veden väki. I composed this work at the same time as I was co-writing, with Tuomas Kaila, the first sketches for an as yet unfinished children’s opera. The mermaid at the center of our story brought with her images of an entire nation of elusive undersea creatures. In Finnish mythology, veden väki refers not only to the supernatural creatures populating the waters but their particular magic—the word “väki” meaning both “people” and “power”. I was also inspired by the minimalist classics that Veden väki was originally programmed with at the Minimalia Festival.   This work was co-commissioned by the Uuden Ajan Ensemble led by conductor Tapio von Boehm and the Minimalia Festival in Helsinki, with funds from the Madetoja Foundation and Teosto. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the premiere in Finland was postponed, and by kind permission of the commissioning parties, the work receives its first performance by the Hong Kong Philharmonic.   Arthur Honegger: Pastorale d'été (Summer Pastoral). Unlike many symphonic poems, Honegger’s Pastorale is not an attempt to evoke a story, a poem, or a picture, but to convey the peaceful, meditative atmosphere of an early morning in the Swiss Alps. His first notable orchestral work, written in 1920, Pastorale d'été is often compared with Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, dating more than 25 years earlier. But whereas Debussy’s music was, already in the late 1800s, iconoclastic and shockingly modern, Honegger represents the latest stages of Romanticism in the 20th century. The composer inscribed the score with a quote from the French Romantic poet Arthur Rimbaud: “I have embraced the summer dawn.” Read more

Join Mahan Esfahani a day before his Cosmopolis Festival solo recital as he discusses the harpsichord, an instrument popular in the 18th century, its role in the modern concert hall, and keeping the repertoire and the music fresh for today’s audiences. Presented in collaboration with Premiere Performances Hong Kong.   REGISTER   Bio Since making his London debut in 2009, Mahan Esfahani has established himself as the first harpsichordist in a generation whose work spans virtually all the areas of classical music-making from critically acclaimed performances and recordings of the standard repertoire to working with the leading composers of the day to pioneering concerto appearances with major symphony orchestras on four continents. He was the first and only harpsichordist to be a BBC New Generation Artist (2008–2010), a Borletti-Buitoni prize winner (2009), a nominee for Gramophone’s Artist of the Year (2014, 2015, 2017), and on the shortlist as Instrumentalist of the Year for the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards (2013, 2019).       As a concerto soloist his partners at the podium have included leading conductors such as Leif Segerstam, François Xavier-Roth, Ilan Volkov, Riccardo Minasi, Ludovic Morlot, Alexander Liebreich, Martyn Brabbins, Thomas Dausgaard, Antoni Wit, Thierry Fischer, Jiří Bělohlávek, and Andris Poga with major symphony and chamber orchestras and contemporary music ensembles. He also varies his solo engagements with meaningful chamber music partnerships alongside artists such as Antje Weithaas (violin), Nicholas Daniel (oboe), Michala Petri (recorder), Adam Walker (flute), and Hille Perl (viola da gamba).      Esfahani’s work with new and modern music is particularly acclaimed, with high-profile solo and concertante commissions from George Lewis, Bent Sørensen, Poul Ruders, Anahita Abbasi, Laurence Osborne, Gary Carpenter, Miroslav Srnka, Elena Kats-Chernin, Daniel Kidane, Michael Berkeley, and other contemporary voices in forming the backbone of his repertoire. His commitment to exploring the contemporary voice for the harpsichord is reflected in his 2020 Hyperion release ‘Musique?’ – a compilation of electronic and acoustic works including the modern revival of Luc Ferrari’s 1974 Programme commun for harpsichord and tape.      His richly varied discography for Hyperion and Deutsche Grammophon – including an ongoing series of the complete works of Bach for the former – has been acclaimed in the English- and foreign-language press and has garnered one Gramophone Award, two BBC Music Magazine Awards, a Diapason d’Or and ‘Choc de Classica’ in France, and an ICMA, as well as numerous Editor’s Choices in a variety of publications including a spot in the Telegraph’s compilation of essential classical music and the New York Times List of Top Recordings.       He can be frequently heard as a commentator on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 and as a host for such programs as Record Review, Building a Library, and Sunday Feature, as well as in live programs with the popular mathematician and presenter Marcus du Sautoy; for the BBC’s Sunday Feature he is currently at work on his fourth radio documentary following popular programs on such subjects as the early history of African-American composers in the classical sphere and the development of orchestral music in Azerbaijan.      Born in Tehran in 1984, Esfahani grew up in the United States and studied musicology and history at Stanford University and studied in Boston with Peter Watchorn before completing his studies in Prague with the celebrated Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková. Following several years spent in Milan, Oxford, and London, he now makes his home in Prague.    Read more

Mahan Esfahani has done the incredible: brought an 18th-century keyboard instrument into the 21st century. Not only does he revive and revitalize standard repertoire by Bach, Telemann, Rameau, Handel, and others, but works with the leading composers of today on new works for this antique instrument. He was the first and only harpsichordist to be a BBC New Generation Artist (2008–2010), a Borletti-Buitoni prize winner (2009), a nominee for Gramophone Artist of the Year (2014, 2015, 2017), and on the shortlist as Instrumentalist of the Year for the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards (2013, 2019). Don’t miss this fantastic and truly one-of-a-kind concert with a master of a rarely heard instrument. Presented in collaboration with Premiere Performances Hong Kong. REGISTER Program 
  Louis Andriessen (1934–2021): Overture to Orpheus (1980)   Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757): Eight Sonatas  – Intermission (10 minutes) – Domenico Scarlatti: Five Sonatas   Miroslav Srnka (b. 1975): Triggering (2018), for harpsichord and E-Bow     Bios    Since making his London debut in 2009, Mahan Esfahani has established himself as the first harpsichordist in a generation whose work spans virtually all the areas of classical music-making from critically-acclaimed performances and recordings of the standard repertoire to working with the leading composers of the day to pioneering concerto appearances with major symphony orchestras on four continents. He was the first and only harpsichordist to be a BBC New Generation Artist (2008-2010), a Borletti-Buitoni prize winner (2009), a nominee for Gramophone’s Artist of the Year (2014, 2015, 2017), and on the shortlist as Instrumentalist of the Year for the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards (2013, 2019).     As a concerto soloist his partners at the podium have included leading conductors such as Leif Segerstam, François Xavier-Roth, Ilan Volkov, Riccardo Minasi, Ludovic Morlot, Alexander Liebreich, Martyn Brabbins, Thomas Dausgaard, Antoni Wit, Thierry Fischer, Jiří Bělohlávek, and Andris Poga with major symphony and chamber orchestras and contemporary music ensembles. He also varies his solo engagements with meaningful chamber music partnerships alongside artists such as Antje Weithaas (violin), Nicholas Daniel (oboe), Michala Petri (recorder), Adam Walker (flute), and Hille Perl (viola da gamba).   Esfahani’s work with new and modern music is particularly acclaimed, with high-profile solo and concertante commissions from George Lewis, Bent Sørensen, Poul Ruders, Anahita Abbasi, Laurence Osborne, Gary Carpenter, Miroslav Srnka, Elena Kats-Chernin, Daniel Kidane, Michael Berkeley, and other contemporary voices in forming the backbone of his repertoire. His commitment to exploring the contemporary voice for the harpsichord is reflected in his 2020 Hyperion release ‘Musique?’ – a compilation of electronic and acoustic works including the modern revival of Luc Ferrari’s 1974 Programme commun for harpsichord and tape.     His richly varied discography for Hyperion and Deutsche Grammophon – including an ongoing series of the complete works of Bach for the former – has been acclaimed in the English- and foreign-language press and has garnered one Gramophone Award, two BBC Music Magazine Awards, a Diapason d’Or and ‘Choc de Classica’ in France, and an ICMA as well as numerous Editor’s Choices in a variety of publications including a spot in the Telegraph’s compilation of essential classical music and the New York Times List of Top Recordings.     He can be frequently heard as a commentator on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 and as a host for such programs as Record Review, Building a Library, and Sunday Feature, as well as in live programmes with the popular mathematician and presenter Marcus du Sautoy; for the BBC’s Sunday Feature he is currently at work on his fourth radio documentary following popular programmes on such subjects as the early history of African-American composers in the classical sphere and the development of orchestral music in Azerbaijan.    Born in Tehran in 1984, Esfahani grew up in the United States and studied musicology and history at Stanford University and worked as a repetiteur and studied in Boston with Peter Watchorn before completing his studies in Prague with the celebrated Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Růžičková. Following several years spent in Milan, Oxford, and London, he now makes his home in Prague.   Read more

Online discussion between composers featured at this year’s festival which will see a total of three world premieres and multiple Asian premieres, including music commissioned for Cosmopolis. Participants include Grammy Award-winner and Pulitzer-finalist Augusta Read Thomas; noted sound and installation artist Samson Young; Guggenheim Fellow and University of London composition faculty Tonia Ko; award-winning Baptist University composition professor Stylianos Dimou, joining HKUST’s composition faculty, Ilari Kaila and Timothy Page. 
  JOIN DISCUSSION   Bios:   One of the most widely performed living composers in America today, Augusta Read Thomas (“a true virtuoso composer” —The New York Times) has won the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and was featured on a Grammy-winning CD by Chanticleer. In 2016, Thomas was named the Chicagoan of the Year. Championed by such luminaries as Barenboim, Rostropovich, Boulez, Eschenbach, Salonen, Maazel, Ozawa, and Knussen, she rose early to the top of her profession. The American Academy of Arts and Letters described Thomas as “one of the most recognizable and widely loved figures in American Music."  Recent and upcoming commissions include those from the Santa Fe Opera in collaboration with the San Francisco Opera and other opera companies, PEAK Performances at Montclair State University and the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington D.C., the Indianapolis Symphony, Tanglewood, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, Boston Symphony, Utah Symphony, Wigmore Hall in London, JACK quartet, Third Coast Percussion, Spektral Quartet, Chicago Philharmonic, Eugene Symphony, the Danish Chamber Players, Notre Dame University, Lorelei Vocal Ensemble, and the Fromm Foundation.  Thomas is a University Professor of Composition in Music and the College at the University of Chicago. Thomas was the longest-serving Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for conductors Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez (1997–2006). She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.    Multi-disciplinary artist Samson Young (b. 1979, Hong Kong) works in sound, performance, video, and installation. He graduated with a PhD in Music Composition from Princeton University in 2013. He was Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s Artist Associate from 2008 to 2009. In 2017, he represented Hong Kong at the 57th Venice Biennale. Other solo projects include the De Appel, Amsterdam; Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh; SMART Museum, Chicago; Centre for Contemporary Chinese Art in Manchester; M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Ryosoku-in at Kenninji Temple, Kyoto; Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne; and Jameel Art Centre, Dubai, among others. Selected group exhibitions include Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Gropius Bau, Berlin; Performa 19, New York; Biennale of Sydney; Shanghai Biennale; National Museum of Art, Osaka; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; Ars Electronica, Linz; and documenta 14: documenta radio, among others. In 2020, he was awarded the inaugural Uli Sigg Prize.    Tonia Ko’s creative evolution is largely guided by three conceptual pillars: texture, physical movement, and the relationship between melody and memory. These ideas permeate her work across a variety of media—from instrumental solos and large ensemble pieces to improvisations and sound installations.  The Recipient of a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship, Ko has been commissioned by leading soloists and ensembles from a broad range of the music scene. She recently collaborated with Riot Ensemble, Tangram Collective, Grossman Ensemble, and Spektral Quartet. Her work has been performed at prominent venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, LSO St. Luke’s, and featured at the Hertzbreakerz Sound Spaces Festival and Thailand International Composition Festival. Ko was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. She earned a B.M. with Highest Distinction from the Eastman School of Music and an M.M. from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She holds a D.M.A. from Cornell University, where she studied with Steven Stucky and Kevin Ernste. Her practice has been enriched by further studies at the Tanglewood Music Center and Royaumont Académie Voix Nouvelles. She was the 2018-19 Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Chicago’s Center for Contemporary Composition. Upon relocating to the United Kingdom, she served as 2019-20 Honorary Research Fellow at City, University of London and was appointed Lecturer in Composition at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2020.    Stylianos Dimou is a Greek composer of acoustic, electroacoustic, and acousmatic music. Recipient of numerous International Awards and Grants, his music has been premiered and commissioned by Festivals and Institutions in Europe and the USA such as the Société des arts technologiques [SAT], impuls 2019, Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival 2019, IRCAM/manifeste, Gaudeamus Music Week, etc. His academic and artistic activities have been supported by organizations such as the Fulbright, IRCAM, Cité Internationale des Arts Paris, Herrenhaus Edenkoben, etc. His music has been premiered by renowned orchestras and ensembles such as the Ensemble InterContemporain, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, International Ensemble Modern Academy, the Arditti Quartet, Talea Ensemble, ICE ensemble, and others. Some of his awards include the Charles S. Miller Prize (2019) from Columbia University, Award for artistic excellence as a Promising young Composer from the European-wide Ulysses Network / IRCAM (2018–19), 1st Prize at the International Prize for Composition “Luigi Nono”, 3rd edition, 2nd Prize in the 24th Annual Martirano Award, etc. Dimou is an alumnus of the prestigious professional training program, Cursus, at IRCAM in Paris, and he holds a Doctoral Degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. He is a Research Assistant Professor of Music in the Department of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University.    Ilari Kaila is a Finnish-American composer whose music has been described with words such as “haunting”, “intriguing”, “engaging … soulful” (The New York Times), “nearly unbearable beauty… A modern masterpiece” (The WholeNote), “melodically euphoric” (Rondo Classic), “hypnotic… trancelike… fascinatingly colorful” (New York Music Daily), “I kept coming back to it… the music is so beautiful, and I want to experience it again and again” (Orchestergraben—5 Best New Music Albums of 2020), “magnificent and glistening” (Amfion), “powerfully resonating” (Helsingin Sanomat), “haunting” (The New Yorker), and “Kaila brings with him an exciting message of rebirth built upon classical foundations” (Percorsi Musicali—Best of 2020).  His work has been presented by the MATA Festival in New York City, including the inaugural composer portrait concert in the “MATA Continued” series (“offering return engagements by some of its brightest discoveries” — Steve Smith, The New Yorker); as the Composer-in-Residence of the Chelsea Music Festival in New York and Taipei; at the American Music Festival in Albany; the Intimacy of Creativity in Hong Kong; the Metropolis Festival in Australia; the Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival in Canada; and the New York International Fringe Festival. Artists and ensembles Kaila has worked with include the Escher String Quartet, Aizuri Quartet, Tanglewood New Fromm Players, Alcott Trio, Kamus Quartet, Uusinta Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Emil Holmström, Melinda Masur, Rachel Cheung, Olli Mustonen, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Avanti Chamber Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Joensuu Symphony Orchestra, Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra’s chamber ensembles. An album of Kaila’s chamber music, recorded by the Aizuri Quartet and pianist Adrienne Kim, was released on the Innova Recordings label in March 2020.    Chicago-born composer, musician, and performance artist Timothy Page creates works that revolve around play with style and context, body, physical materials, and space. Page holds degrees from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, where he established himself as a composer and studied with Veli-Matti Puumala; and the University of Chicago, where he completed his PhD with mentors Augusta Read Thomas and Anthony Cheung. In 2019 he was appointed Lecturer in Music and Digital Arts at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Page is a founder and co-director of Dayjob Collective – a Helsinki-based interdisciplinary ensemble investigating meeting points between contemporary music and performance art. His works have been performed around the globe by ensembles such as Ensemble Dal Niente (US), Third Coast Percussion (US), Eighth Blackbird (US), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FI), Avanti! (FI), Uusinta (FI), Defunensemble (FI), Dayjob Collective (FI), S.E.M. Ensemble (US/CZ), Caput (IS), and Cikada (NO).    Read more

Avant-garde multi-instrumentalist Glen Lloyd, a.k.a. JUNK!, works with HKUST’s music technology students on performing with virtual reality equipment. Students get to inhabit VR spaces, observed by the audience from outside, in which they experiment with virtual instruments. The event is open to the public. You can hear and see Glen’s own performance at the Cosmopolis Festival event Synesthesia: An Electroacoustic Music and Multimedia Concert.  REGISTER   Bio JUNK! is the alter-ego of Hong Kong-based, avant-garde multi-instrumentalist Glen Lloyd, who uses technology to push the boundaries of live performance. Glen has been experimenting with music technology since high school, using loopers, video game controllers, and other unconventional hardware to build live shows. When consumer virtual reality equipment became available, he took on the challenge of creating live music from inside a virtual space that could be simultaneously enjoyed by an audience. Glen has performed extensively as JUNK! in his native Australia, Japan, Vietnam, China, and Korea. Alongside his work as a musician, Glen runs a voiceover and music production business.  Read more

An eclectic program of works for solo live performer and digital media showcases Shaw Auditorium’s state-of-the-art audio-visual system and promises cross-stimulation of the senses! The concert will include multi-instrumentalist JUNK!’s live performance on virtual reality instruments, as well as the world premiere of a new work by prize-winning Hong Kong composer and multimedia artist Samson Young, commissioned for the festival. REGISTER Program  
  Stylianos Dimou: momentum "I": death & escape (2019) for bass flute and electronics
Angus Lee, bass flute
Stylianos Dimou, electronics  Timothy Page: Striate (2018/2022) for timpani-enhanced cello, objects, electronics, and video
Chak Yin Pun, timpani-enhanced cello Tonia Ko: Breath Contained I (2013/2016) for bubble wrap soloist and live electronics
Timothy Page, bubble wrap and electronics Samson Young: Two Airs (2022) for solo viola with white noise machine, piano, and live electronics
I. Orphic air
II. Gush
(world premiere — Cosmopolis Festival Commission)
William Lane, viola Natasha Barrett: Dusk’s Gate (2018) for fixed media, 7.1 surround version JUNK!: JUNK!VR (2021) solo performance for virtual instruments and video   Bios     Stylianos Dimou is a Greek composer of acoustic, electroacoustic, and acousmatic music. Recipient of numerous International Awards and Grants, his music has been premiered and commissioned by Festivals and Institutions in Europe and the USA such as the Société des arts technologiques [SAT], impuls 2019, Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival 2019, IRCAM/manifeste, Gaudeamus Music Week, etc. His academic and artistic activities have been supported by organizations such as the Fulbright, IRCAM, Cité Internationale des Arts Paris, Herrenhaus Edenkoben, etc. His music has been premiered by renowned orchestras and ensembles such as the Ensemble InterContemporain, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, International Ensemble Modern Academy, the Arditti Quartet, Talea Ensemble, ICE ensemble, and others. Some of his awards include the Charles S. Miller Prize (2019) from Columbia University, Award for artistic excellence as a Promising young Composer from the European-wide Ulysses Network / IRCAM (2018-19), 1st Prize at the International Prize for Composition “Luigi Nono”, 3rd edition, 2nd Prize in the 24th Annual Martirano Award, etc. Dimou is an alumnus of the prestigious professional training program, Cursus, at IRCAM in Paris, and he holds a Doctoral Degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. He is a Research Assistant Professor of Music in the Department of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University.    One of the most versatile musicians of his generation, Angus Lee is a graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (2010 – 14) and the Royal Academy of Music in London (2014 – 16). Lee has appeared at numerous international music festivals, chiefly among them the Lucerne Festival, where in 2013 he worked briefly with the Academy’s founder Pierre Boulez. Returning in 2015, he performed as soloist in Boulez’s 90th birthday celebration concert series, and reprised the performance in spring 2016 at the composer’s memorial concert. Lee retains a strong working relationship with the Lucerne Festival, having returned to perform on tour on multiple occasions. Since returning to Hong Kong in 2016, Lee has joined the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, with which he has presented numerous regional and world premieres. Lee was appointed programme manager of the Ensemble from summer 2020 onwards. In 2020, Lee was conferred the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, a specialised teaching degree offered by the Royal Academy of Music. Lee maintains a private studio at his residence.   Tonia Ko’s creative evolution is largely guided by three conceptual pillars: texture, physical movement, and the relationship between melody and memory. These ideas permeate her work across a variety of media—from instrumental solos and large ensemble pieces to improvisations and sound installations.  The Recipient of a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship, Ko has been commissioned by leading soloists and ensembles from a broad range of the music scene. She recently collaborated with Riot Ensemble, Tangram Collective, Grossman Ensemble, and Spektral Quartet. Her work has been performed at prominent venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, LSO St. Luke’s, and featured at the Hertzbreakerz Sound Spaces Festival and Thailand International Composition Festival. Ko was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. She earned a B.M. with Highest Distinction from the Eastman School of Music and an M.M. from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She holds a D.M.A. from Cornell University, where she studied with Steven Stucky and Kevin Ernste. Her practice has been enriched by further studies at the Tanglewood Music Center and Royaumont Académie Voix Nouvelles. She was the 2018–2019 Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Chicago’s Center for Contemporary Composition. Upon relocating to the United Kingdom, she served as 2019–2020 Honorary Research Fellow at City, University of London and was appointed Lecturer in Composition at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2020.     Chicago-born composer, musician, and performance artist Timothy Page creates works that revolve around play with style and context, body, physical materials, and space. Page holds degrees from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, where he established himself as a composer and studied with Veli-Matti Puumala; and the University of Chicago, where he completed his PhD with mentors Augusta Read Thomas and Anthony Cheung. In 2019 he was appointed Lecturer in Music and Digital Arts at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Page is a founder and co-director of Dayjob Collective – a Helsinki-based interdisciplinary ensemble investigating meeting points between contemporary music and performance art. His works have been performed around the globe by ensembles such as Ensemble Dal Niente (US), Third Coast Percussion (US), Eighth Blackbird (US), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FI), Avanti! (FI), Uusinta (FI), Defunensemble (FI), Dayjob Collective (FI), S.E.M. Ensemble (US/CZ), Caput (IS), and Cikada (NO).    Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chak‐Yin Pun received his Diploma and Bachelor of Music Degree in cello from Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) in 2012 and 2015, under the tutelage of cellist Karey Kwok‐Chee Ho. In 2017, Pun completed his Master of Arts Degree in cello performance at Royal Academy of Music, where he was awarded the Mary Stuart Harding entrance award, under the tutelage of Professor David Strange. Pun currently teaches at the HKAPA Junior Music Programme. Pun has participated in masterclasses with cellists such as Professor Li Ji Wu, Bion Tsang, Professor Zhu Yi Bing, and Jens Peter Maintz. He has also participated in music festivals and projects such as Musicus Festival and the Modern Academy 2015. Pun has been awarded scholarships including the Breguet Trey Lee Scholarship in Pursuit of Musical Excellence, the Freemason's Lodge Scholarship, the First Initiative Foundation Music Scholarship, and the Breguet Trey Lee Performing Arts Scholarship. Highly active as a chamber musician, Pun participated in masterclasses with Vladimir Mendelssohn and Miami Quartet and is In 2021, Pun joined the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble (HKNME) as the group’s associate musician.    Multi-disciplinary artist Samson Young (b. 1979, Hong Kong) works in sound, performance, video, and installation. He graduated with a PhD in Music Composition from Princeton University in 2013. He was Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s Artist Associate from 2008 to 2009. In 2017, he represented Hong Kong at the 57th Venice Biennale. Other solo projects include the De Appel, Amsterdam; Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh; SMART Museum, Chicago; Centre for Contemporary Chinese Art in Manchester; M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Ryosoku-in at Kenninji Temple, Kyoto; Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne; and Jameel Art Centre, Dubai, among others. Selected group exhibitions include Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Gropius Bau, Berlin; Performa 19, New York; Biennale of Sydney; Shanghai Biennale; National Museum of Art, Osaka; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; Ars Electronica, Linz; and documenta 14: documenta radio, among others. In 2020, he was awarded the inaugural Uli Sigg Prize.   William Lane performs as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. He studied under Jan Sedivka, Bruno Giuranna and Garth Knox, as well as in Germany at the International Ensemble Modern Academy, and in Switzerland at the Lucerne Festival Academy under Pierre Boulez. He was a prizewinner of the Valentino Bucchi Competition in Rome in 2005. Lane was Principal Viola of Ensemble Resonanz and a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic; and has appeared as guest violist of Ensemble Modern and the Lucerne Festival Strings. Based in Hong Kong since 2008, he is Founder, Artistic Director and Violist of Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Asia’s most active professional chamber ensemble dedicated to new music. In 2013 he was awarded the Award for Young Artist (Music) from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Internationally acclaimed electroacoustic composer and researcher Natasha Barrett creates acousmatic and live electroacoustic concert works, sound and multi-media installations, and interactive music. Since 2000 she has been highly active in ambisonics, 3-D sound, and its contemporary music context. Barrett has received awards such as the Nordic Council Music Prize, (Nordic Countries), Giga-Hertz Award (Germany), Edvard Prize (Norway), Jury and public first prizes in Noroit-Leonce Petitot (France), Five prizes and the Euphonie D’Or in the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Awards (France), prizes at Musica Nova (Prague), the TEM international composition competition (Italy), CIMESP (Brazil), Concours Scrime, (France), International Electroacoustic Competition Ciberart (Italy), two prizes in Concours Luigi Russolo (Italy), two prizes in the International Rostrum for electroacoustic music, and prizes in two Ars Electronica competitions (1998 and 2017). Active in performance, education and research, Barrett co-founded and now co-directs EAU (Electric Audio Unit, the Norwegian spatial-music performance ensemble) and 3DA (the Norwegian society for 3-D sound-art). She is currently professor of composition at the Norwegian Academy for Music, Oslo.    JUNK! is the alter-ego of Hong Kong-based avant-garde multi-instrumentalist Glen Lloyd, who uses technology to push the boundaries of live performance. Glen has been experimenting with music technology since high school, using loopers, video game controllers, and other unconventional hardware to build live shows. When consumer virtual reality equipment became available, he took on the challenge of creating live music from inside a virtual space that could be simultaneously enjoyed by an audience. Glen has performed extensively as JUNK! in his native Australia, Japan, Vietnam, China, and Korea. Alongside his work as a musician, Glen runs a voiceover and music production business in Hong Kong.    Program notes
Stylianos Dimou: momentum "I": death & escape (2019) for bass flute and electronics
momentum "I": death & escape is a piece for bass flute and live electronics composed in 2019 and was commissioned by the 20th Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik Weimar. The piece is developing a continuum of repetitive, rhythmic models which are in a constant counterpoint with counter-repetitive live-generated electronic sounds. The acoustic image of the live electronics is filtered by impulse responses, derived from the resonant parts of the bass flute. The ultimate goal is the creation of an electrified, electroacoustic experience that is characterized by acoustic hybridity and extends the sonic vocabulary of the bass flute. The piece was written for and is heartily dedicated to Carin Levine.


Timothy Page: Striate (2018/2022) for timpani-enhanced cello, objects, electronics, and video
Striate is an audio-visual exploration in instrumental hybridity. Amplified signal from the cello excites the membrane of a timpani, which acts as a variable resonator that the performer can adjust while playing. A series of images and actions on stage provides counterpoint to the sonic content, which focuses on the percussive potentials of the cello and the pitch content of the timpani sounds. Striate was a commission for the Society of Electroacoustic Music Festival in 2018, and is dedicated, with gratitude, to cellist Tyler J. Borden, with whom I developed the work in close collaboration.


Tonia Ko: Breath Contained I (2013/2016) for bubble wrap soloist and live electronics
Since 2013, I have been using air packaging as my creative playground for both sonic and visual realms. This overall ongoing project is entitled Breath, Contained as I attempt to release the “voice” of this mundane object without popping (well, only on rare occasions…). My output using bubble wrap ranges from composed works to free improvisation to sound installations.


Samson Young: Two Airs (2022) for solo viola with white noise machine, piano and live electronics
I. Orphic air
II. Gush
This is a mini suite of two lyrical pieces written for William Lane. The first piece features the commercial white noise machine Dohm, which is an upgrade of James K. Buckwalter’s original “sound conditioner” design from 1961, which is basically a fan in a plastic enclosure. In the second piece, the viola can be heard in a duet with bursts of intense electronic sounds, which William triggers through a MIDI breath controller by maintaining a constant flow of air.


Natasha Barrett: Dusk’s Gate (2018) for fixed media, 7.1 surround version
Dusk’s Gait is partly narrative in form while projecting an overarching appreciation of the natural world: as dusk falls, a habitat of fictional creatures is let loose, celebrating moments of real nature that may easily expire. Although acousmatic sounds may appear abstract, they can be imbued with a sense of character through their gait - or literally the manner of moving, which can occur in space, in spectrum and in morphology. In Dusk’s Gait, ambisonics spatialization and custom-made sound analysis and transformation methods are used to create tangible spatial objects, each with a characteristic gait.


JUNK!: JUNK!VR (2021) solo performance for virtual instruments and video
JUNK!VR is the live, multimedia culmination of JUNK!’s meticulous work repurposing virtual reality equipment for use in musical performance. The one-man show puts the audience inside the virtual reality experience of the performer by projecting video of the “virtual instruments” that he plays on. JUNK!VR features a series of JUNK! originals and some reworkings of popular repertoire. ​ Read more