Young musicians plucked from the ranks of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) have created three adventurous concert programmes for the troupe’s abbreviated new season that starts in October. Pipa virtuoso Belle Shiu Pui-yee from Hong Kong, Shanghai-born huqin player Li Xiaoding, and daruan principal Lau Yuek-lam from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, hope their programme choices will strengthen the contemporary voice of the 91-strong orchestra of Chinese traditional instrument players. Shiu, for instance, has included in her concert a new work by Chow Jun-yi that features a rare fusion of the sounds of the pipa, or Chinese lute, and the suona, a double-reeded horn that produces a loud, high-pitched sound. “You will see very little of the pipa and suona played together. The timbres and volumes of each instrument are different. The suona has a robust blare while the pipa comes off as more delicate and elegant,” explains Shiu, who will be performing Chow’s The Neon City with suona player Wu Chun-hei. To weave the two sounds together, they drew inspiration from the novel Intersection by Lau Yee-cheung and from the city’s neon signage. “Most of the audience will be Hongkongers. So we wanted to present a concert that represents our city, and there’s nothing more iconic than neon lights,” says Shiu, who has been with the orchestra since 2016. Pianist Alexander Krichel on his quarantine for Hong Kong concert recording For daruan principal Lau, the intention behind her programme for a concert titled “Plucked String Notes” is simple: to promote the appreciation of plucked instruments. The instruments she plays is a bass lute. Lau says concerts of plucked string ensembles are a rare thing. “Even in an orchestral concert, you only have a brief moment to appreciate the plucked instruments before it’s over,” says Lau, who joined the 43-year-old troupe in 2007. “Regardless of which instrument family it is, we all just hope for the opportunity to show the audience the exquisite quality of our instruments,” Lau says. Crafting a programme solely for plucked instruments has its challenges. There are as many as 40 different types, each with its own charm, and one of the challenges is that they produce sounds at different volumes, Lau says. Another consideration is the audience’s musical preferences – some may like the classics, while others prefer contemporary tunes. To appeal to both, Lau has come up with a programme interspersed with classics, such as High Mountain and Flowing River and The Night of the Torch Festival . The ensemble concert will also see the world premiere of Between the Dots and the Lines by local composer Ng Cheuk-yin, a work commissioned by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. The dichotomy between tradition and contemporary music is at the heart of huqin virtuoso Li’s programme for a concert called “Touching a Soulful Chord”. “For huqin [a family of bowed-string instruments], we still wish to showcase traditional Chinese melodies like On The Grassland and Shanxi opera tunes, classics that we wish to carry forward the tradition,” says Li. In the later part of the programme, various music styles, such as jazz in The Bow Dancing on Strings or tango in Nightclub 1960 are incorporated, which Li hopes can show off the versatility of huqin. Li, who joined the orchestra in 2011, says: “When selecting the music, I have this rule that the tunes must be listener-friendly so that the programme is approachable for our audience, and they can relaxed, immerse themselves in our music and appreciate the variety of musical styles.” In Hong Kong, Chinese orchestral music has often lacked an understanding audience and been eclipsed by its Western counterpart, says pipa player Shiu. “As members of the orchestra, I see it as one of our responsibilities to bring our music to a wider audience and to forge a path ahead for Chinese music,” she says. HKCO artistic director Yan Huichang explains that the upcoming concerts are part of the company’s HKCO4U series, which started in 2009 to give young musicians a platform to express their ideas and creativity. Seven troupe members were selected for the initiative this season and Yan says: “I hope they can use this opportunity to create a programme that can reflect their artistic style and personality.” Lau says they all hope to give audiences something to take away from the concerts. “Music is often up to our own interpretation; you don’t have to be particularly moved or inspired by it, it’s enough if you have enjoyed it,” she says. Plucked-String Notes, October 17; Touching a Soulful Chord, January 16, 2021; The Neon City, June 25, 2021