HONG KONG (SE): The Hymnos Festival, now in its fifth year, promises to be a vibrant celebration of music and cultural exchange, featuring collaborative performances between choirs from Hong Kong and Vietnam.
The festivities will occur both in Hong Kong and Vietnam, culminating with a concert at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi on October 31. In Hong Kong, the highlight will be a performance at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on October 27.
The performers in Hong Kong will include music producer, Anthony Cheng; pianist, Colleen Lee; conductor, Professor Chan Wing-wah; as well as the St. Francis University Choir and others. They will collaborate with the Vietnamese performers, the Hanoi Voices Choir, Vietnam Suc Song Moi Bamboo Ensemble as well as its conductor, renowned musican, Dong Quang Vinh.
Programme director, Andrew Leung, told the Sunday Examiner that another highlight was the Festival Choir performance with over 200 participants from 36 parishes from Hong Kong joining hands to foster cross-cultural understanding through shared music and faith.
“I can see that we have a common music and a common faith, and these two elements bring together people from different regions and backgrounds so that we can sing together with one voice,” Leung said.
I can see that we have a common music and a common faith, and these two elements bring together people from different regions and backgrounds so that we can sing together with one voice
Andrew Leung
The festival’s theme, “Music for the Soul,” is reflected in its new key visual, incorporating symbolic elements from both cultures, such as a blue guitar and the iconic Vietnamese conical hat.
In addition to the main concert, the festival will feature four talks on Choral Vespers, bamboo instruments, the Canticle of the Creatures as well as Mozart’s Missa Brevis, showcasing a diverse range of musical styles and traditions.
Winnie Lam, secretary general of the Hong Kong Business Association Vietnam, which supported the event, said that the non-profit organisation is happy to promote cultural heritage exchange to strengthen ties between the two regions.
The music lover believes that the bamboo ensemble featured in the concert will be interesting as some Vietnamese instruments resemble the Chinese ones but differ in name, appearance, and sound, and will offer a novel experience.
Lam said she feel touched to see that despite challenges like visa restrictions for performers, the organiser and the Vietnamese consulate has worked hard to facilitate this event.
