Social distancing score helps Hong Kong Philharmonic musician put Covid-19 lockdown to good use
- HK Phil principal timpanist James Boznos’ piece called Social Distancing will be performed at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on Saturday
- The 11-minute composition will open the Phil’s first concert since around 100 of its members were quarantined in October after one tested positive for Covid-19
James Boznos and his wife, flute and piccolo player Linda Stuckey, were in quarantine last month after a fellow musician in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra tested positive for Covid-19. Boznos quit smoking during the two-week confinement, but that wasn’t his only accomplishment during the abnormal amount of downtime in 2020 for performing artists.
On Saturday at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, the orchestra will premiere one of several pieces he composed earlier this year when all concerts were cancelled. The 11-minute piece, aptly named Social Distancing, will open HK Phil’s first concert since around 100 of its members were quarantined in Penny’s Bay in October and subsequently cleared of coronavirus.
Boznos joined the HK Phil in 2000 and is its principal timpanist. He has always found time to write music besides his busy rehearsing, performing and teaching schedules.
The 51-year-old father of three says his composing schedule changed little despite the fact that the entire family were working and being schooled at home, because he has always preferred the quiet hours between midnight and 4am.
Writing a piece of music when the entire world is engulfed in a state of desolation gave rise to an experimental approach that reflects both isolation and the idea of contagion, he says.