“Hong Kong Music Series” presents the unique and diverse musical landscape of Hong Kong in London this summer

The Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) strives to make its mission to foster the development of Hong Kong artists. To that end, HKADC has been taking a proactive role in creating international opportunities for Hong Kong artists and sharing Hong Kong’s arts and culture globally. In 2016, HKADC led Hong Kong artists to perform and exhibit their works at the 10^th OzAsia Festival in Adelaide, Düsseldorf’s internationale tanzmesse nrw and at the Gwangju Biennale in Korea. This July, HKADC will follow up such successes with “Hong Kong Music Series”, bringing home-grown musical artists and their signature works to showcase in London.

The Hong Kong Music Series is funded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as an accredited event celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR. It is the first large-scale event focusing on Hong Kong music to be staged in London by HKADC. Over 70 acclaimed Hong Kong composers, musicians and performers will be featured in five exceptional productions, ranging from classical music, Chinese music theatre, contemporary music to chamber opera. By providing opportunities for the Hong Kong musicians to showcase their talent in one of the international music capitals, HKADC aims to offer to the world an opportunity to appreciate the latest Hong Kong music scene and to facilitate cultural exchanges of the two great cities, Hong Kong and London.

The five productions featured in the Hong Kong Music Series are specifically selected to demonstrate the unique and vibrant musical culture of Hong Kong, where East meets West. The Series opens with the Inaugural Concert Music Interflow -- a Dialogue of Two Cultures (7^th July) where a blend of Eastern and Western music ranging from classics of Britten, Holst and Bridge to contemporary works by outstanding Hong Kong composers will be performed to celebrate a musical dialogue between Britain and Hong Kong. At the same time, Hong Kong Episodes (7^th & 8^th July) will charm the audiences with a cinematic tapestry combining evocative imagery of Hong Kong cityscape and original jazz and contemporary music from Teriver CHEUNG and Fung LAM that weaves a lasting impression of the city during a virtual day. The energy will be carried on with an innovative three-in-one concert Fingerman X Beloved Clara X SMASH (10^th & 11^th July) produced by Music Lab, a young group led by charismatic pianist WONG Ka-Jeng. The tempo then turns to the contemplative and sophisticated Beyond the Senses – Atmospheric Music Theatre by Law Wing Fai (15^th July) where audiences will enter into a realm of oriental aesthetics with a meld of natural timbres of Chinese musical instruments, poetry, songs, music and dance. To bring the Hong Kong Music Series to a close, HKADC is pleased to present the European premiere of a three-act chamber opera Datong: The Chinese Utopia (27^th & 28^th July) featuring a sparkling cast of home-grown talents that tells the life of 20^th-century visionary Chinese scholar KANG Youwei and his daughter KANG Tongbi.

For details of the five productions, please refer to the Hong Kong Music Series’ website: www.hongkongmusicseries.hk

For regular updates please visit:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hk.music.series
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hk_music_series
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hk_music_series

About Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC)
Established in 1995, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) is a statutory body set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to support the broad development of the arts in Hong Kong. The major roles of HKADC are to fund, promote and support the broad development of the arts including literary arts, performing arts, visual arts as well as film and media arts in Hong Kong. Aiming to foster a thriving arts environment and enhancing the quality of life of the public, HKADC is also committed to facilitating community-wide participation in the arts and arts education, encouraging arts criticism, raising the standard of arts administration and strengthening the work on policy research.