The Royal Geographical Society of Hong Kong welcomes ex-red guard Dr Jung Chang to speak on “From Wild Swans to Empress Dowager Cixi”, in conversation with James Riley. At the event, the world-famous author Dr Jung Chang discusses the themes of her celebrated book, Wild Swans, leading on to talk about the subject of her most recent book, the Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China.
In Wild Swans, Dr Chang’s family autobiography, she tells the story of her family, primarily during the Cultural Revolution, an extraordinary tale which led her to international fame. While Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China examines the life of one of the most important women in Chinese history, who ruled China for decades, bringing a medieval empire into the modern age. The 16-year-old Cixi was chosen as one of the emperor’s numerous concubines. Her five-year-old son having succeeded to the throne, Cixi at once launched a palace coup making herself the real ruler of China, behind the throne, literally, with a silk screen separating her from her male officials.
Book signing and complimentary drinks reception 6.30pm; lecture 7.30pm.
What: From Wild Swans to the Empress Dowager Cixi: Dr Jung Chang in conversation When: 6:30pm, 29 October, 2013 Where: The Jardine Penthouse, 48/F Jardine House, One Connaught Place How Much: $150 for Royal Geographical Society of Hong Kong members and $200 non-members, tickets from [email protected]
What: The Voice of China – Season Two, Concert One When: 7pm, 20 September, 2013 Where: CotaiArena Venetian, Macau How Much: MOP$120, MOP$80 from www.CotaiTicketing.com, or by phone at +853 2882 8818 (Macao) / +852 6333 6660 (HK) / 4001 206 618 (China)
Hong Kong’s neon-lit concrete jungle stands bright against the night sky, a vibrant reminder of the city’s modernity and ability to continually evolve while retaining its unique identity. The Chinese lanterns that have become one of the symbols of the Mid-Autumn Festival float against the neon, their shapes and soft light a welcome traditional warmth in a cyber world.
Legends and and myths surrounding the origins of the Mid-Autumn/Lantern/Moon Cake Festival have, like our city home, evolved but the core traditions of families coming together, giving thanks for the harvest and past bounties, and praying/giving offerings for a good future remain strongly rooted. Into this convivial family festival João Marcos Mascarenhas and Sabrina Foote will be injecting some Latin passion and exuberance with their Festival de la Luna con Música Latina. bc chatted with them, trying to find what could possibly couple moon cakes with merengue.
When/how did your love of Latino music begin and how has it evolved over time? Sabrina: Actually my love of Latino music began at very early stage when I was studying in London. I learned Spanish as a second language and used to spend most of my holidays in different cities in Spain. During that period, I joined and participated in all the Latin student unions and communities, hence spending a lot of time with different Spanish-speaking people from all the Latin countries. Then later I worked in the hospitality business in Spain.
Sabrina Foote
I love the sound of Spanish with its very soft flowing speech and, together with the Latinos’ natural passions in life, the music and songs are so expressive and communicative, even for people who don’t speak the language.
After a long while away, recent time in different countries in Latin America has crafted me back into being almost a Latino again, especially in most of my music choices.
What prompted you to organise a concert marrying Latin passion with the family romance of the Mid-Autumn Festival? Sabrina: In my experience with the Latin culture, celebrations and love feelings in daily life are demonstrated with warm gusto. Old customs of families gathering when there’s a full moon and celebrations of love through music and dance are very similar to the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival where families congregate, old and new romances are honoured, love ones come together, and children play among all the drinking, eating, music and dances.
I wanted to revive my secret passion for Latin music and at the same time promote Latin music in Hong Kong. Most importantly, I am very fortunate to have met a very devoted and talented Latin artist in João, my musical director, who is highly respected in the music industry and among the Latino communities.
João Marcos Mascarenhas
Do you have any special musical plans for the Festival de la Luna con Música Latina? João: Of course! The whole event by itself is already unique and special. But I have to say very proudly that my band is the most special feature. I am a hybrid of the academic, jazz, and commercial music worlds in composing/arranging/performing/producing/teaching/researching. All of that makes me very selective when it comes to choosing the right musicians to perform or record under my direction. For this band, I carefully chose the best Latino musicians, as I want the evening to be as authentic as possible. I got the crème de la crème of Latin musicians in Hong Kong! Simply, the best ones! My advice: Don’t miss Festival de la Luna con Música Latina!
For those who know nothing of música Latina, how would you describe the upcoming show?
An enjoyable evening to spend with your family and love ones with good food and romantic and energizing music with all the electrifying Latin rhythms of boleros, bachatas, merengue, salsa, samba, and much more.
For the singles; you never know – you might get lucky with all the Latin passion around!
Chris Polanco is your guest artist; what is it, do you think, that has allowed him to become one of the most sought-after drummers in Hong Kong? João: My friendship with Chris started when I met him in 2001. At that time I was the music director at the Grand Hyatt; my Brazilian band worked there for 7 months, while Chris was working somewhere else. I believe we were the only Latino musicians in Hong Kong at that time, or maybe the first ones. We were somewhat pioneers! After that job I went back to Brazil to do some music production and then went to the USA to get my Masters in composition. Chris stayed in Hong Kong. Later, in 2007, I came back to start my PhD in music composition at HKU, which I finished last year. Chris had his own band, Azucar Latina, performing regularly in the Hong Kong area. Since I cannot get away from my Latino roots, every time I had a chance I would stop at Chris’s performances and jam. During this period I saw Chris becoming an excellent percussionist, keyboard player, and music producer. His charismatic personality and unquestionable musical talent put him in amongst the music stars of Hong Kong.
Joining Chris and João on the Grappas stage are El Salvador’s Oscar Azahar, a seasoned professional saxophonist; Colombia’s Fernando Nohra, a drummer who’s been performing across the globe for over 20 years; Mexican Victor Geronimo on the bass and providing backing vocals; Filipino John Ralph Campo, whose trumpet has been energizing crowds for years, and, last but not least, our very own Angelita Li whose vocals will add a touch of femininity to the Latino passions.
What: Festival de la Luna con Música Latina When: 9pm, 19 September, 2013 Where: Grappa’s Cellar, Jardine House, 1 Connaught Road, Central How Much: $288 (inc one drink) advance tickets from [email protected] / tel: 2521 2322
Festival de la Luna con Música Latina @ Grappas – 9pm, 19 September, 2013
What: Festival de la Luna con Música Latina When: 9pm, 19 September, 2013 Where: Grappas Cellar, Jardine House, 1 Connaught Road, Central How Much: $288 (inc one drink) advance tickets from Grappa’s Cellar tel: 2521-2322 or email booking: [email protected]
Fragile and emotional neoclassical are perhaps the best terms to describe Ólafur Arnalds music, a man who over the past 5 years by combining classical instrumentation with an ambient aesthetic has established himself as one of the most interesting musicians to emerge from Iceland’s vibrant music scene. His sorrowful neoclassical pieces evoked the stark minimalism of Sigur Rós, combined with the simple ambience explored by Brian Eno. Through these influences and others, Arnalds has created a simple, short-form take on modern classical music that has enough crossover appeal to be enjoyed by fans of post-rock, ambient, and even pop music genres – but Arnalds by mixing strings and piano with loops, ambiance, electronics and beats is sculpting his own epic, string-laden compositions.
Only 26 years of age, Arnalds returns to Hong Kong (after a sold out show in 2010) hard on the heels of his well-liked soundtrack to Broadchurch and in support of his ‘major label’ debut For Now I Am Winter which sees Arnalds adding an impressive amount of variety into what is already a well-established formula, what will be interesting is how the vocal embellishments to some of the new album’s tracks come across live?
To find out more have a listen https://soundcloud.com/olafur-arnalds
What: Ólafur Arnalds When: 8pm, 16 September, 2013 Where: Grappa’s Cellar, Basement Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Hong Kong How Much: $300 from http://olafurarnalds.ticketflap.com
Australian medieval electro duo Dandelion Wine are coming to Hong Kong! The band originated as a four-piece outfit in mid-1996, but have had many line-up shifts throughout the years, with core members Naomi Henderson and Nicholas Albanis the only remaining members of the original line-up. After ten years of touring the world and playing some of the top alternative and gothic festivals and clubs throughout Europe, Japan and Australia, Dandelion Wine are finally going to play their first ever show in Hong Kong at Hidden Agenda on Saturday August 10 with special guests Chock Ma.
Dandelion Wine combine ethereal female vocals and medieval instruments (dulcimer, bell cittern, flute) with electronic beats and cranked guitars. Their most recent album “All Becompassed By Stars” (released on the German label Ars Musica Diffundére/Black Rain) was recorded in a freezing Berlin winter and is the band’s most diverse album yet. For their Hong Kong debut Dandelion Wine will be playing songs from their last four albums as well as a sneak peak at their new single “One Of My Friendly Days”.
What: Dandelion Wine supported by 戳麻 Chock Ma When: 8:30pm, 10 August, 2013 Where: Hidden Agenda, 2A, Wing Fu Industrial Bldg, 15-17 Tai Yip Street, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong How Much: $150 (Advance), $180 (Door) from www.ticketflap.com
The 18th CityU BandSoc Presents: New Breed Live In Hong Kong 2013 featuring – The Twisted Habour Town, Maniac, 門生, 意色樓 from 7pm at Hang Out in Sai Wan Ho
What: New Breed Live In Hong Kong 2013 When: 7pm, 16 August 2013 Where: Hang Out, Youth Outreach Jockey Club Building, 2 Holy Cross Path, Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong. How Much: $120 (Advance), $160 (Door) – reserve tickets by email: [email protected]
Summer in Hong Kong offers many interesting events, among these is City University’s Pulitzer Writer Series which this month presents two free lectures from poet Rae Armantrout and novelist Adam Johnson who will give readings, speak in conversation and sign books. Both events will be introduced by Xu Xi, Writer in Residence, on behalf of the Department of English.
Biographies: Rae Armantrout is an American poet generally associated with the Language poets. Armantrout was born in Vallejo, California but grew up in San Diego. She has published ten books of poetry and has also been featured in a number of major anthologies. Armantrout currently teaches at the University of California, San Diego, where she is Professor of Poetry and Poetics. On March 11, 2010, Armantrout was awarded the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for her book of poetryVersed published by the Wesleyan University Press, which had also been nominated for the National Book Award. The book later earned the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Armantrout’s most recent collection, Just Saying, was published in February 2013. She is the recipient of numerous other awards for her poetry, including an award in poetry from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in 2007 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008.
Adam Johnson was born in South Dakota and raised in Arizona. He earned a BA in Journalism from Arizona State University in 1992; a MFA from the writing program at McNeese State University, where he was a classmate of the writer Neil Connelly, in 1996; and a PhD in English from Florida State University in 2000. Johnson is currently a San Francisco writer and associate professor in creative writing at Stanford University. He founded the Stanford Graphic Novel Project and was named ‘one of the nation’s most influential and imaginative college professors’ by Playboy Magazine. Johnson is the author of the novel The Orphan Master’s Son (2012), which Michiko Kakutani, writing in The New York Times, has called, ‘a daring and remarkable novel, a novel that not only opens a frightening window on the mysterious kingdom of North Korea, but one that also excavates the very meaning of love and sacrifice.’ Johnson also wrote the short-story collection Emporium and the novel Parasites Like Us, which won a California Book Award in 2003. His work has been published in Esquire, Harper’s Magazine, Tin House and The Paris Review, as well as Best New American Voices and The Best American Short Stories.
What: Rae Armantrout in conversation with poet Ravi Shankar When: 7pm, 20 July, 2013 Where: Lecture Theatre M3017, Level 3, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, 18 Tat Hong Avenue, City University of Hong Kong. How Much: Free with registration www.english.cityu.edu.hk/pulitzer
What: Adam Johnson in conversation with novelist Sybil Baker When: 7pm, 26 July, 2013 Where: Lecture Theatre M3017, Level 3, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, 18 Tat Hong Avenue, City University of Hong Kong. How Much: Free with registration www.english.cityu.edu.hk/pulitzer
