Media

HKU & APA Join Hands in Music Education

09 Nov 2005

 

Students of music will have more learning options under a new partnership agreement between the Department of Music of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the School of Music of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), signed by Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, Vice-Chancellor of HKU, and Professor Kevin Thompson, Director of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts on 9 November 2005.

The agreement ushers in a new phase of closer cooperation between the two institutions in the teaching of music. Areas of collaboration will include:
1) Student exchanges in specific programmes and other academic activities;
2) Joint practice-led activities such as concerts, performances and composition showcases;
3) Sharing of library resources;
4) Joint research projects, particularly in the area of Cantonese Music (Guangdong Yinyue)
5) Academic staff exchanges for lectures, masterclasses, workshops, symposia, conferences, examinations and juries.

Professor Tsui welcomed the agreement, saying that 'both institutions have already had the opportunity to work together on some collaborative projects in the past, but formalising the agreement is good for a long-term outlook, as it allows us to strategically plan curricula that will benefit students the most.'

Professor Thompson is thrilled about the collaboration: 'The Academy plays a unique role in Hong Kong's higher education sector in providing comprehensive and performance-focused education for students who aspire to become professional performers, composers or teachers of music. This collaboration opens up the possibility of new modes of inquiry of new laboratories for practice for our staff and students.'

Dr Hing-yan Chan, Head of Music at HKU, and Dr Su-yin Mak, Head of Academic Studies in Music at HKAPA, hosted a press briefing after the signing ceremony. They highlighted a joint research project that aims to produce an analytical anthology of Cantonese Music.

The anthology will include representative works from the Guangdong Yinyue repertoire, with traditional (gonche) notation and detailed transcriptions in modern (staff) notation, a CD recording of the selected works in authentic Cantonese style, and bilingual scholarly commentary. A publication like this is unprecedented in Chinese music research not only in Hong Kong, but also in greater China and overseas.

The research team will comprise academic staff and postgraduate students from both institutions, while the performances will feature Academy students, led by Mr Yu Qiweh, the noted Guangdong Yinyue expert who is Head of Chinese Music at the HKAPA.

Dr Mak has high hopes for the project: 'We envisage this project as the integration of research, performance and pedagogy. The Academy's Chinese Music Department will be able to perform, give illustrations and record the diverse styles of the genre which will be invaluable to current Chinese music research.' Dr Chan adds that 'the project will benefit from the combined resources of the respective institutions' and is a good example of how the collaboration promotes 'reciprocity and mutuality of exchange of the two institutions' professional and/or academic experiences.'

As a preview of the project, Mr Yu and Dr Chan each took out a gaohu (高胡) performed together the Guangdong Yinyue standard Thunder in Drought（旱天雷) in authentic Cantonese style, to the delight of all present.

For further enquiries, please either contact Elsie Leung of HKU's External Relations Office by phone at 2859 2600 or Wendy Chung of APA's Public Relations Department by phone at 2584 8592.