Ground Search 2

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Ground Search

Ground Search 2

Venue

Arts Pavilion, West Kowloon Cultural District

Date and time (HKT)

16 Oct (Wed) 14:00

Pass holder

FULLDAYSTUDENT

Full pass holders, Day pass holders and Students pass holders are eligible to attend

Language

English mainly, supplemented with Cantonese or Mandarin

Date & Time	Sessions
16th October (Wed)
14:00 – 14:30	Yao Yueh Chinese Music Association Ltd.
14:45 – 15:15	Gordon Lee and Helen Cha
15:30 – 16:00	Yat Po Singers
16:15 – 16:45	One Table Two Chairs Charitable Foundation
17:00 – 17:30	More Than Musical
17:45 – 18:15	Wan Xing
18:30 – 19:00	World Harp Day - Alexander Boldachev, featuring Romer String Quartet

Yao Yueh Chinese Music Association Ltd.

www.yaoyueh.com/

Under the auspices of the Yao Yueh Chinese Music Association Limited, The Hong Kong Legends Ensemble focuses on diverse musical works centred around Hong Kong, highlighting the unique cultural sentiments arising from the city’s blend of Eastern and Western influences. The orchestra is led by Artistic Director Dr Leung Chi-cheung who collaborates with renowned musicians from both the local Chinese and Western music scenes, each shining brightly in the musical world both in Hong Kong and abroad. Their exceptional musical talent fully showcases the distinctive artistic charm of the Hong Kong metropolis.

1. YAU May-kay Alive II X LUK Wai-chun Jazz Pipa for cello and pipa (performed simultaneously)
2. Alfred WONG Nocturne to the Victoria Harbour for cello and orchestra
3. LEUNG Chi-cheung Taipo Snapshots, 5th movement: Temple and Street Market

This concert takes the audience on a mesmerising journey through Chinese culture’s rich musical heritage, blending traditional and contemporary elements. The performance features a fusion of traditional Chinese instruments with Western instruments, creating a distinctive sonic blend. The Ensemble will perform original works by Hong Kong composers. Apart from a composition depicting the beauty and charm of Victoria Harbour featuring cello and ensemble, there is a duo for pipa and cello—performing two different works simultaneously, blending into one, extending the concept of randomness in music in a new direction. The final work turns to Hong Kong’s countryside, about an ancient Buddhist temple in Taipo market. The work contrasts the noisy street market with the serene temple, at the same time chronicling Taipo’s past.

Gordon Lee and Helen Cha

www.youtube.com/@Harmonicagor

Gordon Lee (Harmonica)

Gordon Lee garnered international attention since 2017, when he won the championship at the prestigious 8th World Harmonica Festival in Germany. In 2024, he received the Award for Young Artist (Music) from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and the Parsons’ Music Advocacy Award from the International Society for Music Education. Among his teachers were two-time Grammy Award winner Howard Levy, Franz Chmel and Tak-wai Cheng. 
As a soloist, Lee has performed extensively with prestigious orchestras, including the Bursa Regional State Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. He has also been invited as a guest performer and adjudicator in numerous music festivals across Asia, America and Europe. In 2022, he held Hong Kong's first-ever solo harmonica concert at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall and was recognised as a “world-class soloist” by the IATC, a renowned international organisation of critics.

Helen Cha (Piano)

A prize-winning pianist in her youth, Cha has given concerts in USA, UK, Austria, Belarus, Germany, Italy, Moldova, South Korea and China, collaborating with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Moldova National Chamber Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, among others. A pioneer of cross-disciplinary projects, Cha has participated in the HKS McDull Music Project 2 (2007), Rubies from Hong Kong Ballet’s Tricolors (2008), with modern dancer Allen Lam in Pulsars Between Infinity and Nothingness (2018), and in 2019 on tour with the award-winning Winterreise – The Rite of Spring with the City Contemporary Dance Company and choreographer Helen Lai. 
Twice awarded scholarships by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Cha graduated with first-class honours from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under Gabriel Kwok, and earned her double Master’s degrees, Performer's Certificate and Doctorate from the Eastman School of Music under Nelita True.

Melodic Echoes: A Journey through Harmonica Classics

This concert will feature world champion harmonica virtuoso Gordon Lee and Dr Helen Cha reinterpreting A Blues Concerto and Lee’s own harmonica arrangement of Bizet’s Carmen. Lee will employ various contemporary harmonica techniques, including innovative tonguing and circular breathing.
By performing classical masterpieces on the harmonica, this concert establishes iconic works for the harmonica community, promoting more repertoire for the instrument.

Yat Po Singers

yatposingers.org/

The first professional a cappella choral theatre company in Hong Kong with founding Co-Artistic Directors Patrick Chiu, Ng Cheuk-yin and Yuri Ng, Yat Po Singers is currently led by Ng Cheuk-yin and Anna Lo. The company focuses on producing and developing original works in order to promote the art of a cappella singing and demonstrate innovative interaction between music and theatre. The Yat Po Singers also aim to enrich the arts scene particularly by nurturing young composers and artists, new audiences and arts education.

Yat Po Singers—Excerpts of A Cappella Theatre

Original a cappella theatrical works performed by the Yat Po Singers include such highly acclaimed compositions as Om Encounter, Love, Death and Everything In-between, This Victoria Has No Secrets and Save The Next Song For Me. This performance showcases A Cappella Theatre, a unique art form in Hong Kong established by the Yat Po Singers. Using pure vocal harmonies without instruments, this singular artistic style brings a refreshing experience to HKPAX delegates attending “Ground Search”.

A Cappella artists: Ronald Tsang, Keith Wong, Winky Wong, Avery Wong*, Nick Yam#

* 2023/24 The Arts Talents Internship Matching Programme is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council
# The Artistic Internship Scheme is supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council

One Table Two Chairs Charitable Foundation

www.1table2chairs.com/

Established in 2018, One Table Two Chairs Charitable Foundation (OTTC) is a Hong Kong-based non-profit charity dedicated to preserving, promoting, and developing Cantonese opera and its related folk arts. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Professor Yuen Siu-fai, a renowned Cantonese opera veteran with a remarkable 70-year stage career, OTTC aims to capture the essence of traditional Cantonese opera while connecting it to contemporary life. By producing captivating and relevant works that skillfully blend tradition with modernity, OTTC seeks to appeal to younger generations, igniting their appreciation and love for this treasured art form and expanding the audience base for Cantonese opera.

Dic Dic Chang Chang Playground : Cantonese Opera x Children’s Interactive Theatre

“A lovely introduction to Cantonese Opera, interactive, elegant, fun & funny.”–The Quintessential Review (Edinburgh Fringe)

Dic Dic Chang Chang Playground is an award-winning show from the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, masterfully guided by Professor Yuen Siu-fai. This interactive and innovative performance offers a captivating glimpse into the marvellous world of Cantonese Opera, highlighting exquisite costumes, mesmerising makeup and stylised movements within an engaging adventure.

As the first-ever Cantonese opera designed specifically for families, kids and the young at heart, this production is performed in English, bringing lively adventure stories to life and inviting audiences to participate in playful interactive games. Perfect for newcomers, it allows audiences of all ages and backgrounds to dive into the enchanting world of Cantonese opera, experiencing its unique charm through laughter and surprise.

The Cantonese Opera Parent-Child Workshop further invites families to "learn Cantonese opera through play," offering a delightful and meaningful artistic experience through engaging body movement games!

MORE THAN MUSICAL

www.morethanmusical.org/

More Than Musical is a non-profit opera company founded in 2016 with the vision to make opera in Hong Kong more accessible, relevant and contemporary to broad and diverse communities. We present opera in a compact, intimate and modern way. Our performances focus on critical scenes, highlighting the drama and power of sensational arias in more intimate venues without traditional stagings, providing our audience with a unique experience. We aim to bring what we have produced from Hong Kong to other cities, to showcase "Made in Hong Kong” immersive operas to the world.

Opera in the 21st century

More Than Musical (MTM) modernises opera, a genre that is stereotyped, institutionalised and conservative in its repertoire. Our model can serve as a reference to other traditional art forms as they aim to revitalise and challenge existing norms so as to serve a wider and younger audience.

A presentation by co-founder Lucy Choi is followed by examples of MTM’s past productions, including a short live performance extract from Carmen I Hong Kong, a production adapting the traditional French opera into the near future of contemporary Hong Kong.

Wan Xing

www.wanxing-music.com

Artistic curator Wan Xing’s music is often perceived as spiritual and imbued with Asian aesthetics. In 2023, she was chosen to participate in the Global Musician Workshop hosted by the Silk Road Project founded by Yo-Yo Ma, during which she performed in the US. In recent years, she cooperated with the Hong Kong Museum of Art three times in its commissioning of thematic music for specific exhibitions. She was the artistic director of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s music video series “Heartstrings of the Guzheng” of which the episode Traces was featured at the Asia Culture Co-operation Forum in 2022.

Philo – Wan Xing and Master Musicians from Hong Kong

Combining traditional Chinese music with Celtic bagpipes, frame drums and beatbox in a 30-minute performance, Philo is a unique encounter spanning ancient to modern and East to West. Enriched with Eastern ambiance and vibrant rhythms, the programme blends elements of pop and world folk music. Philo aims to promote high-quality music from Hong Kong to international arts institutions, showcasing the creativity of local musicians. It seeks international performing opportunities to build global networks.

Zheng: Wan Xing
Frame Drum: John Lee
Beat box: Eric So
Bagpipe: Chris Lee

World Harp Day—Alexander Boldachev, featuring Romer String Quartet

World Harp Day:
www.worldharpday.com

Alexander Boldachev:
alexanderboldachev.com

Romer String Quartet:
www.romerstringquartet.com

World Harp Day aims to be a platform facilitating intercultural collaboration to drive innovation, embrace diversity and advocate for world peace through harp music. Previous events include those with the World Peace Art Exhibition in Japan, Milan Conservatory in Italy and “Harp Marathons” during the COVID pandemic involving more than 100 professional harpists from more than 80 countries.

Alexander Boldachev is an internationally acclaimed harpist, improviser, arranger and composer for film and theatre, having performed in such prestigious venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein. He is currently an exclusive artist of Salvi Harps and Lyon&Healy Harps and guest professor at the Royal Academy of Music, UCLA School of Music and Milan Conservatory.

Recognised for performances “full of energy and refinement” with “superb balance and sensitivity”, the Romer String Quartet is one of Hong Kong’s most sought-after chamber ensembles. It has gained wide acclaim for its international appearances at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Tokyo’s Toppan Hall and illustrious occasions such as the Hong Kong Arts Festival and Beare's Premiere Music Festival. The Romer String Quartet is also known for its versatility in cross-disciplinary projects with acclaimed artists of diverse background.

Cultural Solidarity

Cultural Solidarity reminds us that even in the darkest moments, our individual creativity, cross-cultural connections and collective memory can illuminate the path toward a more peaceful and beautiful future.

The harp first sets a reflective mood with its soliloquy contemplating the resilience and beauty shown during times of struggle, loss and fear. Recurring themes of death, love and strife prove that human history has never stopped repeating itself..

The string quartet then joins the harp in the second part to symbolise the resonance and understanding between each individual’s personal trauma. Melody, by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk, depicts full acceptance of memories from the painful past and advocates for unity of humanity. .

The final composition, Rutka, represents a new dawn when lessons from historical conflicts are not forgotten. Our collective hope is vital in shaping a future where different cultures all live in perfect harmony.