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[29th Orchestral Season]
Press Release (2 pages)
February 24, 2005
A mass concerto in tribute to zheng virtuosi in Hong Kong
HKCO presents ¡§Zheng Virtuosi in Concert¡¨
Being one of the high-lights of the Hong Kong Zheng Festival, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) will present the Zheng Virtuosi in Concert at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall on March 24-25 at 8pm.
The zheng is the most popular Chinese musical instrument in Hong Kong, thanks to the dedicated efforts of numerous zheng players in the last few decades. One of the outstanding figures is So Chun-bo, who has been teaching and composing zheng music since the 1960¡¦s. His work exudes a typical Hong Kong style that is uniquely his own. He will be performing with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra some of his most representative works in this concert.
Other soloists performing with the Orchestra include Hon See-wah and Choi Ngar-si from Hong Kong, and Wang Zhongshan from Beijing. They share the same passion for their chosen instrument, and have played a contributive role to the development and popularity of the zheng music scene in Hong Kong. There will also be a mass concert featuring a hundred zheng students of Choi Ngar-si at the age from 6 to 60 as they pay tribute to their teachers and mentors, who have been instrumental in making the Hong Kong Zheng Festival possible, in a beautiful rendition of Song of the Homebound Fishermen.
The performing art practices of the Chinese zither, zheng, like Chinese martial art, have different provenances and stylistic schools, each with its own character and features. The division into different styles came about with the development of the genre. As one of the oldest musical instruments of China, the zheng, also called zheng, originated in the State of Qin of the Warring States Period (475-221 BCE), or what is Shaanxi today - hence also the name ¡¥Qin Zheng¡¦. As it spread to other parts of China, slowly characteristic features developed and the music types came under the ¡¥Northern¡¦ and the ¡¥Southern¡¦ schools. The zheng music of the Han people alone evolved into five main stylistic schools, namely those of Henan, Shandong, Zhejiang, Chiuchow and Hakka.
Like kung fu in the Chinese martial art world, where different ¡¥clans¡¦ would have different ¡¥skills¡¦, zheng performers also have their own lineage to follow and a repertoire in their own ¡¥school¡¦. But the most important thing is regional zheng music often assimilates the vernacular features of the place, such as folk music, regional opera, narrative singing etc. to form a music idiom which finds affinity among the local people.
In Hong Kong, zheng music has come into its own since the end of the Second World War, with contribution from local composers of zheng music such as Louis Chen, So Chun-bo, Ng Tai-kong, Chow Shu-san, Kwan Sheng-yau, Chen Ning-chi, Lo Leung-fai, See Kam-bo, Daniel Law Ping-leung, Tse Chun-yan, Yip Chee-kwong and Timothy Wilson. It is characterized by its urban roots and demonstrates a vitality that is unique to Hong Kong.
Tickets for Zheng Virtuosi in Concert are now available at all URBTIX Outlets at $200, 180, 130 and 100. Half-price tickets are offered for senior citizens, people with disabilities and full-time students. Please refer to the programme leaflet for more details on discount schemes. Enquiries: 3185 1600; Booking Hotline: 2734 9009. Internet Booking: www.urbtix.hk; HKCO website: www.hkco.org.
¢w End ¢w
Press Enquiry¡G Ms.Vivian Ip (Public Relation & Publicity Executive)
Tel ¡G3185 1601 / 9553 2244 Fax¡G2815 5615
E-mail¡Gvivianip@hkco.org HKCO Website¡Gwww.hkco.org
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Artists Biography
Yan Huichang Conductor
National Class One Conductor. As a conductor who has worked with all professional Chinese orchestras in Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, Yan has won the acclaim of the music circles in China and abroad for his artistic and conducting talents. Under his baton, and in collaboration with the famous composer Zhao Jiping, the Symphony Orchestra section of the China National Symphony Orchestra made the soundtrack recordings for such award-winning films as Raise the Red Lantern, Ballad of the Yellow River, and Five Girls and a Rope. Yan was awarded the ¡§Cultural Medallion (Music)¡¨ by the National Arts Council of Singapore in September 2001. Since 2004, he has been a Visiting Professor in many music conservatories. Yan was awarded a Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) by the Chief Executive of HKSAR in 2004 in recognition of his remarkable achievements in Chinese music as well as his efforts in promoting Chinese music.
So Chun-bo Zheng
So Chun-bo has been a driving force behind the local zheng music scene and has devoted all his energy and time to his chosen art form since 1965. He formed the first zheng ensemble in Hong Kong in 1971, and expanded the performing formats, other than the solo, to more than ten to enrich the expressiveness of the instrument. As an innovator of zheng music, he gave the first ever zheng recital in Hong Kong in 1974, and set up the Hong Kong stylistic school of zheng music in 2001. So is currently Chairman of the Hong Kong Zheng Ensemble, Director of the Hong Kong Zheng Academy, a lecturer in zheng at the Department of Music of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Honorary Director of the Zheng Professional Committee under the auspices of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society in China. His zheng compositions number more than 70, and his publications include A Complete Anthology of Chinese Zheng Music in two volumes.
Hon See-wah Zheng
Hon See-wah graduated from the Department of Ethnic Music of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and worked, at different times of her career, with the Beijing Film Philharmonic Folk Orchestra and the China National Chinese Opera and Dance Drama Company, and taught at the China Conservatory and the Central Conservatory of Music. Hon went to Hong Kong in 1981 and taught Chinese Music at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Since relocating to Canada in 1993, she has been dedicated to zheng performance and teaching of the instrument. In May 2005, she gave another solo recital in Vancouver. Her recent recording releases include two albums under the ¡¥China Record Corporation¡¦ label.
Wang Zhongshan Zheng
Wang Zhongshan started learning the zheng when he was young, and was a student of Li Wanfen at the China Conservatory. He came first in the Zheng Section of the International Chinese Ethnic Instruments Solo Competition. He is currently a lecturer at the China Conservatory, the General Secretary of the Zheng Society under the Chinese Musicians¡¦ Association, the General Secretary of the Zheng Professionals Committee of the China Nationalities Orchestra Society and an executive member of the Orchestral Society. Wang has developed new performing practices in zheng, including the new ¡§rolling¡¨ fingering techniques. He was the first to wear four plectrums on the left fingers to perform, and developed the ¡§multiple finger rolling¡¨ as well as ¡§left-hand rolling¡¨ techniques. He is listed in The Essentials of Chinese Music and Who's Who in the Contemporary Music World of China .
Choi Ngar-si Zheng
Renowned zheng player Choi Ngar-si first joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1977. Two years later, she left the Orchestra to take up teaching. But she rejoined the Orchestra in 1985, and currently holds the position as Education Executive of the Orchestra. Choi has been teaching zheng at the Music Office, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Music Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra since 1979. She set up the ¡§Choi Ngar-si Zheng Ensemble¡¨ in 1973. She compiled An Introduction to Zheng for publication, and has made many recordings as teaching aid. She is listed in the Who¡¦s Who of China¡¦s Contemporary Music Circles.
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