The inaugural Chinese Culture Festival, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), will hold a lecture series titled "Exploring the Roots of Local Music in silk-and-bamboo, wind-and-percussion" from June to July. It will be hosted by pipa virtuoso Ho Kang-ming and the Executive Director of the Centre for Chinese Music Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Chan Chi-chun. The duo, along with veteran Chinese music performers and practitioners as guest speakers, will share their insights on the origin, dissemination and development of traditional Chinese music in Hong Kong.
As traditional Chinese music forms, "silk-and-bamboo" (Chinese strings and pipe music) and "wind-and-percussion" are the essential elements in the modern Chinese orchestra setting, carrying a traditional Chinese sense of humanity and cultural significance. Hong Kong has always been considered a melting pot of talent from China's north and south. In the past days, many Cantonese opera virtuosi and music maestros came to Hong Kong to develop their careers, enriching the local "silk-and-bamboo" soundscape. These sounds formed the foundation for the subsequent popularisation of Chinese music in the city, and have been passing them on from generation to generation. This lecture series consists of six lectures. In the first three lectures, seasoned musicians will share their experiences of learning the traditional "silk-and-bamboo" instruments, pipa, huqin and dizi respectively, from veteran mentors. They will also discuss the acquisition of musicianship and the joy of appreciating music. The last three lectures will invite the guest speakers to elaborate the rise and fall of the Chinese music recording industry in Hong Kong, the inheritance of traditional music skills, and the application and significance of wind-and-percussion instruments in celebrating traditional festivals.
　　Details of each lecture are as follows:
Lecture 1: Pipa Master Lui Pui-yuen and his Profound Influence
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Date: June 5 (Wednesday)
Guest Speaker: Fung Tung
Content: Pipa performer Fung Tung will reminisce about the days when he received training under the pipa maestro Lui Pui-yuen, and share his fondness for pipa music.
Lecture 2: Huqin Playing of North and South
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Date: June 19 (Wednesday)
Guest Speaker: Koo Sing-fai
Content: Huqin performer Koo Sing-fai will recall how his teacher, huqin maestro Tong Leung-tak, taught him about the art of the huqin, and will share his personal experience of acquiring the huqin playing techniques of both North and South.
Lecture 3: Kunqu Singing and Bamboo Flute Accompaniment
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Date: June 26 (Wednesday)
Guest Speakers: Sou Si-tai, Cheung Lai-chun
Content: Guqin performer Sou Si-tai and Kunqu researcher Cheung Lai-chun will explain the intricate singing and dizi accompaniment based on the notations on the Sulu Score, as well as the joy of appreciating the elegance of Kunqu and "silk-and-bamboo" music.
Lecture 4: Recording Industry of Chinese Music in Hong Kong
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Date: July 3 (Wednesday)
Guest Speakers: Cheng Wai-tao, Kong Kwok-ping
Content: Cheng Wai-tao and Kong Kwok-ping from Hong Kong's music recording industry will introduce the historical crests and troughs for the distribution of Chinese music records in Hong Kong, and the impact records have on local and Chinese culture.
Lecture 5: Music Heritage Lies in the Family
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Date: July 17 (Wednesday)
Guest Speaker: Ko Yun-hung
Content: Ko Yun-hung, a fourth-generation of a musical family in Hong Kong, will share his experiences in learning Cantonese opera and Taoist Zhengyi music, and evaluate the importance of one-on-one, hands-on teaching when passing down the tradition.
Lecture 6: Wind-and-percussion music of Chaozhou
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Date: July 24 (Wednesday)
Guest Speakers: Lau Fok-kwong, Frederick Lau
Content: Lau Fok-kwong, a Chaozhou music performer, and Frederick Lau, a Professor of the Department of Music of the CUHK, will introduce the music lineup and its meaning of wind-and-percussion instruments used in the traditional festivals of the Chaozhou community of Hong Kong.
Ho Kang-ming holds a Master's degree in Cultural Studies from the Lingnan University Hong Kong. He was a full-time pipa musician with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO). In 2012, he joined members of the Hong Kong Cantonese Orchestra to compete in the All China Traditional Instrumental Music Competition organised by the China Central Television, and won the second prize. Ho has been actively promoting the safeguarding of naamyam (a genre of song from Canton) and the local Cantonese music culture in recent years.
Chan Chi-chun is a dizi and xiao performer. He is also a Postdoctoral Fellow and teaches Chinese instrumental ensemble in the Department of Music at the CUHK. Chan was a part-time lecturer of the School of Music and the School of Chinese Opera at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and was also a freelance musician with the HKCO and the Macao Chinese Orchestra. In recent years, he has taken part in accompaniment for naamyam, Kunqu excerpts and Cantonese opera.
All lectures will be conducted in Cantonese and will start at 7.30pm at the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum. Tickets priced at $60 (for each lecture, with free seating) are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit
www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1672.html.
Apart from the above-mentioned lecture series, this year's CCF will organise various extension activities of the Chinese Opera Festival, including meet-the-artists sessions, talks on the cultures of Chinese opera and art of Kunqu opera, as well as talks and masterclasses of Northern Kunqu opera. This year's CCF will also collaborate with the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association to organise a number of exhibitions and talks. They include the "Legacy and Vision: Conversations with Chinese Cultural Masters" lecture series, the exhibition "A New Era of Ink Painting in Hong Kong", "Red Chamber Expressions – Art Exhibition and Red Studies Forum" and "Loong Legacies: Culture, Arts & Design Exhibition with IP Product Development Programme and Talks". For details, please visit the CCF website www.ccf.gov.hk.
The CCF, presented by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and organised by the LCSD's Chinese Culture Promotion Office, aims to enhance the public appreciation of Chinese culture and cultivate citizen's national identity and cultural confidence. The inaugural CCF will be held from June to September. Through different performing arts programmes in various forms and related extension activities, including selected programmes of the Chinese Opera Festival, exemplary local arts projects recognised by the China National Arts Fund, performing arts programmes from arts and cultural organisations, film screenings, exhibitions, talks and more, the festival allows members of the public and visitors to experience the broad and profound Chinese culture with a view to promoting Chinese culture and patriotic education as well as enhancing national identity amongst the people of Hong Kong, making contributions to the steadfast and successful implementation of "one country, two systems". Please visit the above-mentioned CCF website for details.
The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.