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About JohnChen Ensemble
JohnChen Ensemble focuses on creating, performing and promoting original world music with a unique Hong Kong style. In addition to concert performances, the group also partners with guest musicians as well as artists and groups from other artistic genres such as dance, theatre, video and visual art, sometimes incorporating advanced music technologies into their shows. Members of the Ensemble come from very different musical backgrounds, and by applying musical ideas and instruments from the East and the West, they can fuse the different music cultures seamlessly into what is truly "Music Without Boundaries". The group's recent performances include the 2007 school touring Borderless Music by the JohnChen Ensemble, the 2006/07 Community Cultural Ambassador Scheme JohnChen Ensemble Borderless Music, and Songs from Within concert in the 2006 New Vision Arts Festival.
Programme Content
In the view of JohnChen Ensemble, "Music Without Boundaries" means music that contains artistic and musical elements from many different cultures around the world. Every piece of music that they play shows some form of musical or cultural fusion, which means that certain musical elements of two or more musical genres are mixed together to form a new musical expression. For example, Brazilian rhythms, jazz harmony and Chinese instrument can be fused together for an original arrangement of a classical piece by Bach. In attending the concert and participating in the post-concert interactive discussions, students cannot only sense the presence of the various cultures or genres fused within the "Music Without Boundaries", but also explore its cultural significance of transcending physical boundaries and the divides between the old and the new, the classical and the modern, and the East and the West. In addition to using the concept of cultural fusion, improvisation is also a key feature in music by the Ensemble. In most of the pieces performed by the group, different musicians always have the opportunity to play with improvisation - a section within a piece where a musician can make up musical melodies and rhythms on the spot. This means that the player would play something different every time the piece is performed. However, the accompaniment music is usually pre-arranged so that the basic structure is still the same and the improvisational language is consistent. The programme includes the concert and the post-concert interactive discussion.
"Music Without Boundaries" Concert
The concert features original works as well as arrangements by the Ensemble's Artistic Director, John Chen and other music-makers. Music works include Diary, Chinese Medley and Down South, etc..
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Artistic Director/Spanish Guitar: John Chen
(John Chen is a Professor of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University. His accolades include the RTHK Best Pop Song Award and the CASH Most Performed Serious Composition Award.) |
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Drum Set/Percussion: Les Fong |
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Electric Guitar: Aron Melson |
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Erhu/Violin: Herbert Cheung |
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Bass/Electric Bass: Lui Ngao-yuen |
Post-concert Interactive Discussion
The group members will be hosting the discussion session, in which they would share with the students their views, feelings and experience in music-making, and take them to broader vistas about music. Participants will also have an opportunity to make impromptu music with the musicians on stage, in order to experience the impact of improvisation and cross-cultural music.
Teachers and students who have bought concert tickets will receive the educational materials which will cover:
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Understanding "music without boundaries", "cultural fusion" and the background to its development |
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Rhythms, styles and characteristics of world music |
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Improvisation features, instruments and style of the Ensemble |
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Improvisation and music-making of the Ensemble |
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Timbre and tone colour of the instruments |
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Ways to enjoy "music without boundaries" |
Under the guidance of teachers, participants are encouraged to write reviews on the programme afterwards in school, expressing their opinions on the concert and discussing their written reviews with other students. Students who attend this programme will be awarded a Certificate of Attendance.
Programme Details
25-26/11/2008
(Tue - Wed) |
3-4/12/2008
(Wed - Thur) |
| 3pm |
Auditorium,
HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity |
Auditorium, North District Town Hall |
about 2.5 hours
(including the concert and the post-concert interactive discussions) |
| 370 / performance |
450 / performance |
| $30 (Students, Teachers) |
| Cantonese |
Acknowledgement:
This programme received rental subsidy from HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity.
Application and General Enquiries: 2268 7263 (LCSD)
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