Live performances to brighten your day
Taking place every Monday afternoon, “Afternoon Series” invites emerging local artists to curate and develop mini-concerts, dance, theatre, comedy and multi-disciplinary performances for the unique environment at Tai Kwun. Sitting in the heart of Central, Tai Kwun is perfectly located to offer a brief reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the week. Come and relax with your co-workers, friends and families all the while being inspired by the innovative ideas of the artists.
Click to view the programme timetable
October to December 2019 Performances
MUSIC
Of Melodies Old & New by Plucked Strings
Chinese Instrumental
Performances: 07.10 & 18.11.2019
Nowadays, young musicians of traditional Chinese instruments acquire skills for playing both traditional and contemporary repertoire. Such diversity is featured in the two concerts. On Oct 7, “Traditional Tones” include favourite classics such as Ambush from All Sides, Moon Light On the Spring River and High Mountains and Flowing Water. Audience can experience the various sound by various pairings of pipa, sanxian and guzheng. The “Chamber Works by Four Pipas” on Nov 18 features traditional pipa solo pieces and contemporary works written for pipa ensemble by young composers Liu Chang, Li Bo Chan and Hong Kong’s own Alfred Wong.
07.10.2019 Concert I: Traditional Tones
Performed by Chan Wan-in (Pipa), Lau Mo-wah (Sanxian), Chan Tin-chi (Guzheng)
18.11.2019 Concert II: Chamber Music by Four Pipas
Performed by Yue Pipa Ensemble
Members:
Lau Mo-wah
Chan Wan-In
Leung Ka-lok
Sun Cho-ham
About the artists
Performers of this concerts are award-winning young Chinese instrumentalists trained at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA). They carry on Cantonese music maestro YU Qiwei’s idea of “duality of Cantonese music” that Chinese musicians shall acquire skills to perform both traditional and contemporary repertoire. These musicians first met at school and their collaborations continue till today. Chan Wan-in, Lau Mo-wah and Chan Tin-chi are current members of Hong Kong Gaudeamus Duhang Ensemble (HKGDE). Chan Wan-in, Lau Mo-wah and Leung Ka-lok, and Sun Cho-ham has been playing for a long time as members of Yue Pipa Ensemble; and all four of them studied pipa under the tutelage of Zhang Ying.
Chan Wan-in graduated with a master of music degree at HKAPA. When she was still a student, she was invited to perform in Finland. Lau Mo-wah studied sanxian with Zhao Taisheng and is currently a part-time instructor and part-time performer of the Music Office. Chan Tin-chi was a student of Xu Lingzi and now teaches at the HKAPA. Leung Ka-lok and Sun Cho-ham are currently studies at HKAPA. Both are members of Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra and has toured with the Orchestra overseas.
Chan Wan-in (Pipa)
Lau Mo-wah (Sanxian/Pipa)
Chan Tin-chi (Guzheng)
Leung Ka-lok (Pipa)
Sun Cho-ham (Pipa)
Yue Pipa Ensemble
MUSIC
Bernard & Friends
Western Instrumental
Performances: 14.10 & 12.12.2019
The new generation of slash musicians are known for their multi-faceted talents, equally comfortable in classical, jazz and pop music.
CY Leo (harmonica), Bernard Chan (cello) and Joyce Cheung (piano) bring us an interesting mix of classical and pop on Oct 14. With “Cycle” as the theme, highlights of the programme include pop-song arranged by CY Leo and Bernard themselves, as well as Piazzolla’s monumental work The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. In contrast, Bernard Chan will join hands with his sister Ingrid Chan for solemn and sentimental music written for cello and piano, a musical statement of “Sense and Sensibility”.
14.10.2019 Concert I: Bernard and CY Leo
Performed by CY Leo (Harmonica), Bernard Chan (Cello) and Joyce Cheung (Piano)
12.12.2019 Concert II: Bernard and Ingrid
Performed by Bernard Chan (Cello) and Ingrid Chan (Piano)
About the artists
The ambition to explore the cross-over of classical and pop music brought CY Leo, Bernard Chan and Joyce Cheung together. CY Leo is Hong Kong’s proud young star harmonica virtuoso and sing-song-writer. He is a multi-award winner, and have performed around the world in international harmonica festivals, HK Arts Festival and Clockenflap. Pianist Joyce Cheung has been partnering with CY Leo in various music occasion. The master programme graduate of the Berklee College of Music is one of the most active jazz pianists in Hong Kong. Bernard Chan is both a classical music cellist and a pop-music singer. He is a regular guest tutti cellist of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
Brother and sister Bernard Chan and Ingrid Chan both graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and further studied in London. Ingrid Chan is an experienced collaborative pianist. She recently graduated from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama with a master’s degree and has performed chamber music in Carnegie Hall and Barbican Centre.
Bernard Chan (Cello)
CY Leo (Harmonica)
Joyce Cheung (Piano)
Ingrid Chan (Piano)
MUSIC
The TimeCrafters
Classical Music
Performances: 21.10 & 30.12.2019
On 21 Oct, Linus, Waibun will join force with Lokyu to bring you a rare yet beautifully interesting pastoral programme of Clarinet-Oboe-Viola music. Enjoy the romantic pastoral lunchtime with works from British and American composers including Rebecca Clarke, Gordon Jacob, Randall Thompson and more.
On 30 Dec, Linus and Lillian are going to serenade your lunchtime with lyrical pieces in various styles with their Clarinet and Harp. A lunchtime with solitude, peacefulness and a bit of a warmth at heart to takeaway.
21.10.2019 Concert I
Performed by Linus Fung (Clarinet), Chan Wai Bun (Viola) & Lok Yu Cecilia Wan (Oboe)
30.12.2019 Concert II
Performed by Linus Fung (Clarinet) & Lilian Kong (Harp)
About the artists
The TimeCrafters is a Hong Kong-based classical chamber music group. The group aims to nurture classical music appreciation and rejuvenate classical chamber music performances. The TimeCrafters focuses on giving themed chamber concerts, and often they collaborate with some of the most enthusiastic young musicians in town. Through light-hearted explanations and quality performances, members are proud to provide an intimate, informative and cosy chamber music experience to the audience. The TimeCrafters Quartet has recently awarded full scholarship to attend the first Taipei Music Academy & Festival in 2019.
The TimeCrafters
Linus Fung (Clarinet)
Chan Wai Bun (Viola)
Lok Yu Cecilia Wan (Oboe)
Lilian Kong (Harp)
MUSIC
Cong Quartet
String Quartet / Chamber Music
Performances: 11.11, 02.12 & 23.12.2019
To echo the “Projekt Berlin” presented by Tai Kwun, Cong Quartet will perform string quartets written by Mozart and Dvořák on the Nov 11. Mozart dedicated his last string quartet (K.590) to the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II while he was building the Brandenburg Gate at Berlin in 1789, which was exactly 200 years before the Berlin Wall fell. We will also perform a reflective piece, Humanity: Side 1 by local composer Edward Wu.
Besides performing Beethoven’s masterpiece on Dec 2 to celebrate his birthday, Cong quartet will perform two light-hearted American compositions with guest violist Kaori Wilson and Mezzo-soprano Jeannette Lee. The last performance on the Dec 23 will be a special Christmas Celebration with festive movie tunes and classical music!
Cong Quartet:
Francis Yiu-Ting Chik, Violin
Sally Law, Violin
Caleb Wong, Viola
Yan-Ho Cheng, Cello
11.11.2019 Concert I: Wall & Humanity
| DVOŘÁK | String Quartet No.14 op.105 (excerpts) |
| EDWARD WU | Humanity: Side 1 |
| MOZART | String Quartet in F, K.590 (excerpts) |
02.12.2019 Concert II: Beethoven & Beyond the Quartet
| BEETHOVEN | String Quartet in c minor, Op.18 No.4 (Excerpts) |
| C. JACOBSEN | For Sixty Cents (Mezzo-Soprano: Jeannette Lee) |
| KENJI BUNCH | String Circle (Guest Violist: Kaori Wilson) |
23.12.2019 Concert III: A New Hope
| Christmas Selection | |
| SIBELIUS | String Quartet in D minor, Voces Intimae |
| MOZART | String Quartet in G major, K387 |
| WEBERN | Five Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5 |
| J. WILLIAMS | Star Wars (arr. by Attacca Quartet) |
(The programme and order are subject to change)
About the artists
Cong Quartet
Founded at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music by four musicians from Hong Kong, Cong Quartet is the first place and Grand Prize winner of the 2019 Salzburg Mozart International Chamber Competition in Tokyo. Their members have previously participated in the Robert Mann String Quartet Institute in New York, the Intensive String Quartet seminar at Music Academy Hörpu in Iceland, the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy in Japan, as well as the Chamber Music Residency at the Great Mountain Music Festival in South Korea. The Quartet has also coached younger string quartets at different occasions including Madeline Island Chamber Music and the Indiana University String Academy. They share the passion of promoting Asian and Hong Kong composers works, as well as integrating repertoire from our generation to daily lives.
Jeannette Lee, mezzo-soprano
Hong Kong mezzo-soprano Jeannette Lee is a sought-after versatile performer who recently received a special commendation for her performance in the semi-finals of the Pendine Voice of the Future at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. Her operatic roles include Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Grandmother (Little Red Riding Hood), Third Spirit (Die Zauberflöte), and Nursing Sister (Suor Angelica). As a concert soloist, Jeannette was the only invited solo artist who performed with the internet sensation TwoSet Violin with Hong Kong Festival Orchestra in their 2017 debut concert. Other performances include Händel’s Messiah with Masterworks Chorale (Boston, USA), Monteverdi’s Marienvesper with Lautten Compagney (Berlin), Bach’s BWV70 with Hong Kong SingFest, and Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with the CUHK New Music Ensemble (Hong Kong). She recently sang the alto solo in Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore with South Coast Community Chorale as their scholarship recipient. Jeannette received a Bachelor of Arts double majoring in English and Music (First Class Honors) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. This year, she obtained her Masters in Music at the New England Conservatory with the support of the prestigious Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund.
Kaori Wilson, Viola
Kaori Wilson has been Assistant Principal Viola with the Hong Kong Philharmonic since she joined, in 1996. Born in Yokohama, Japan, her introduction to classical music began on the violin, at the age of four. A full decade later, she started playing in a chamber music group, and on the viola, taking two years to choose the viola as her instrument. Kaori Wilson's studies have taken her to Toho University, working with Nobuo Okada, on to the Queensland Conservatory of Music in Brisbane Australia, where she studied with John Curro on full scholarship, and finally here to Hong Kong, where she had a two-year full scholarship at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, studying with Barry Wilde. Festival performances include the 1991 Nagano Aspen Music Festival, where she was Principal Viola, and the 1995 Pacific Music Festival, both in Japan. Kaori lives in Hong Kong with her husband and two children, Kohana and Kenzo.
|
Time |
Performing Group |
Music / Performance Genre |
Location |
|
|
07.10.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Of Melodies Old & New by Plucked Strings |
Chinese Instrumental |
Laundry Steps |
|
14.10.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Bernard & Friends |
Western Instrumental |
Laundry Steps |
|
21.10.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
The TimeCrafters |
Classical Music |
Laundry Steps |
|
28.10.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Brass Ensemble |
Laundry Steps |
|
|
04.11.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
World Music |
Laundry Steps |
|
|
11.11.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Cong Quartet |
String Quartet / Chamber Music |
Laundry Steps |
|
18.11.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Of Melodies Old & New by Plucked Strings |
Chinese instrumental |
Laundry Steps |
|
02.12.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Cong Quartet |
String Quartet / Chamber Music |
Laundry Steps |
|
12.12.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Bernard & Friends |
Western Instrumental |
Laundry Steps |
|
16.12.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Mixed Ensemble |
Laundry Steps |
|
|
23.12.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
Cong Quartet |
String Quartet / Chamber Music |
Parade Ground |
|
30.12.2019 (Mon) |
12:45pm-1:45pm |
The TimeCrafters |
Classical Music |
Laundry Steps |
Remarks: There will be no Afternoon Series performance on 25.11.2019.
