Press Release
HKBU Symphony Orchestra presents its Annual Gala Concert featuring classical music and jazz performers
Friday, 09 Jul 2021
The Hong Kong Baptist University Symphony Orchestra (HKBU Symphony Orchestra) Annual Gala Concert will be presented to the public on 16 July (Friday) at 8:00pm in the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
The Orchestra will be conducted by its Music Director, Professor Johnny M Poon, Head of the Department of Music at HKBU. This year's programme includes a wide array of musical genres, ranging from classical music to jazz, and the concert will feature renowned pianist Mr Patrick Lui, bassist Mr Sylvain Gagnon, drummer Mr Nate Wong, sheng virtuoso Mr Wei Shen-fu, and erhuist Mr Chu Wan-pin.
The diverse concert programme includes Wen Jia-liang's Winter Hunt (arranged by Natheniel Siu); Huang Haihuai, Ludwig van Beethoven and BanYa's Horse Racing & Beethoven Virus (arranged by Chu Wan-pin); Claude Bolling's Suite for Chamber Orchestra & Jazz Piano Trio, IV. Aria. Animée & V. Brillante; Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.2 in E Minor, Op. 27, IV. Allegro vivace – Adagio – Tempo precedente; Ennio Morricone's Cinema Paradiso; and Joe Hisaishi's My Neighbor Totoro.
Members of the public who are interested in attending the concert can obtain free admission tickets at the enquiry counter of Hong Kong Culture Centre from now on. Each person can obtain up to two tickets on a first-come-first-served basis. For the programme details, please call the Department of Music at HKBU on 34115153.
Introduction to the performers:
Pianist Mr Patrick Lui
Mr Patrick Lui is a local award-winning pianist, composer, arranger, and producer. He won the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Award (Jazz Composition, Emerging Division) in March 2021. He has performed his original works with foreign jazz orchestras, and he has been invited to perform with the Taipei Jazz Orchestra at the Chiayi City International Band Festival in Taiwan and the Kyoto Composers Jazz Orchestra in Osaka as a guest conductor and pianist. His own big band, the Patrick Lui Jazz Orchestra, jointly performed with Will Vinson, a renowned saxophonist, at the opening of the Hong Kong Jazz Marathon in 2019.
Mr Lui is also active in film score composition and pop music creation. He contributed to the scores for three feature films, namely The Bounty, This Is Not What I Expected, and Chasing The Dragon. He also frequently collaborates with the local band RubberBand.
Bassist Mr Sylvain Gagnon
Mr Sylvain Gagnon is a bassist from Montreal in Canada. Since his relocation to Hong Kong in 2000, he has been one of the busiest bassists in Asia, and he has played jazz double bass and electric bass with a large number of musical acts. He has extensive experience of playing different styles of music from various continents, ranging from rock to standard jazz, Carnatic (classical music from South India) to African music, and funk to Latin music. Mr Gagnon has also played everything from solo gigs to big band shows.
He is active in the studio and on the stage, and he has played on hundreds of CDs and toured with local and international artists, including a world tour with Mr Jackie Cheung, where he played 146 concerts for 2.8 million people. His CD Blue Moon has been a best seller in Hong Kong since its release at the end of 2014.
Drummer Mr Nate Wong
Local drummer Mr Nate Wong grew up in the United States and he graduated from the Berklee College of Music. He is a versatile musician, well known for his diverse collaborations and his ability to adapt to a wide range of musical styles. He has appeared at different venues and festivals around the world, including The SSE Arena Wembley, Graceland Guest House Theatre, Tokyo Jazz Festival and the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival.
Besides being the drummer of the indie band Nowhere Boys, Mr Wong also leads the edgy and artistic swing band Wong Way Down, and the group performs fast-paced, high-energy and original jazz music.
Sheng virtuoso Mr Wei Shen-fu
Mr Wei Shen-fu is a sheng virtuoso with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Born in Taoyuan, Taiwan, he graduated from the Chinese Music Department at the National Taiwan University of Arts. During his studies, he received a number of awards, including the First Prize with Distinction in the Taiwan Music Competition and the Budding Artist of the National Theater and Concert Hall in Taipei, as well as the title of "The Pride of Taoyuan".
Mr Wei is an experienced performer, and he gave his solo recital in 2018. He was also selected as one of the International Youth Ambassadors in 2015 to represent Taiwan on a tour to countries in Europe and Africa, and he won acclaim for his performances.
Erhuist Chu Wan-pin
Mr Chu Wan-pin is an international award-winning erhuist and film composer from Hong Kong. He performed solo erhu for Mr Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, and Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, in October 2015. He was then invited to perform again for Prince William at his private event in July 2016.
He started to learn erhu, gaohu and banhu under his father's influence when he was seven years old, and Mr Chu won the Advanced Erhu Solo Competition, the Advanced Gaohu Solo Competition and the Advanced Banhu Solo Competition at the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival when he was only eleven.
Conductor Professor Johnny M Poon
Professor Johnny M Poon is the Music Director and Conductor of the HKBU Symphony Orchestra and the Collegium Musicum Hong Kong. During his distinguished career, Professor Poon has been the Music Director of the Evansville Collegium Musicum in the US, Associate Conductor of the Operafestival di Roma in Italy, and Artistic Director of the Harlaxton Music Festival in the UK. He has also been a guest conductor with symphonic and philharmonic orchestras in Russia, the Czech Republic, the USA, Germany and Hong Kong.
HKBU Symphony Orchestra
The HKBU Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest university orchestras in Hong Kong and it comprises the University's finest musicians. Regular concerts include concerto and orchestral performances featuring a wide repertoire of Romantic masterpieces and 20th century classics, as well as works by contemporary composers. The Orchestra has performed with renowned artists including Chuanyun Li, Laura Fygi, Changyong Liao, Warren Mok, Ryu Goto, Mengla Huang, Dan Zhu, Valentina Lisitsa, Simone Lamsma, Nicole Cabell, Anne Akiko Meyers, Eriko Daimo, Zhang Liping and Andrew von Oeyen.
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