Israel Lai | composer

Israel Lai | composer

“Israel Lai's thought-provoking ‘BOU6’

a visceral work... unreservedly powerful”

About

Israel Lai is an award-winning composer, collaborative pianist, and conductor from Hong Kong. His music, rich in harmony, deeply personal, and acclaimed as ‘thought-provoking’, ‘visceral’, and ‘unreservedly powerful’ in The Oxford Student, has been widely performed in Hong Kong and the UK, as well as abroad in Taiwan, Italy and North America....
Full biography "About"

What's on

Latest happenings and exciting music stuff.

Joining the Opus 1 scheme with Britten Sinfonia

In a serendipitous turn of events, I'll be joining this year's roster of Britten Sinfonia's Opus 1 scheme. This prestigious and competitive scheme offers developing composers an opportunity to work with world-class musicians from the Britten Sinfonia, and especially to experiment with combinations of sounds through their mixed ensembles. I'm late to... Read More "Joining the Opus 1 scheme with Britten Sinfonia"

Speaking at the Languages in Science Conference, Lancaster University

I have been confirmed as a speaker at the Languages in Science conference at the Lancaster University, 27-28 July 2023, giving a talk related to my compositional research, titled 'Why it matters to make art in neglected languages'. While I'm currently not working in the sciences, the conference explores ways that languages... Read More "Speaking at the Languages in Science Conference, Lancaster University"

Writing for the University of Manchester Symphony Orchestra

Exciting news! The University of Manchester Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Robert Guy, will be premiering my upcoming piece Mind the Gap in October this year. The piece is an intense and dynamic portrayal of being crushed between two clashing and unstoppable monoliths — an experience that a lot of people... Read More "Writing for the University of Manchester Symphony Orchestra"

Workshopping with the Trio Northumbria in Newcastle

I'm very excited that I'll be presenting my new work cranes among chickens at a workshop with Trio Northumbria, as part of the BFE/RMA Research Students' Conference in Newcastle in January. This work is a continuation and a development of my string quartet from earlier this year, out to tolo, which was... Read More "Workshopping with the Trio Northumbria in Newcastle"

Performances / Appearances

Oct 2023
21 October 2023
The Cosmo Rodewall Concert Hall, Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, Bridgeford Street
Manchester, M13 9PL United Kingdom
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£3.75 – £11.50

University of Manchester Symphony Orchestra

The UoM Symphony Orchestra will play Berlioz ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ and Lili Boulanger’s ‘D'un Matin de Printemps’. With a premier of a PhD composition by Israel …

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Britten Sinfonia Opus 1 Composers Showcase

Surprise concert announcement! I'm incredibly honoured to have been added to this year's roster of Britten Sinfonia's Opus 1 scheme. My work for clarinet, double …

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£8
All Saints’ Church, Jesus Lane
Cambridge, CB5 8BP United Kingdom
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Why it matters to make art in neglected languages

Art is usually intended to communicate to and touch a wide audience, so when language is involved, such as in poetry and classical music, multilingual …

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Free
The Storey, Meeting House Lane
Lancaster, LA1 1TH United Kingdom
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Premiere at Jackie Choi’s Graduation Recital

My commissioned piece, Elegy for an Unopened Peanut, will be premiered by Jackie Choi at his master's degree recital. The piece is the result of …

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Free
Royal Northern College of Music, 124 Oxford Road
Manchester, M13 9RD United Kingdom
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Talk on Minoritised Languages: Welsh and Taiwanese

My talk, Echoes of Oppression: Drawing Parallels between Welsh and the State of Sinitic Languages, will be presented as the last talk of the Edinburgh …

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£87.38
French Institute of Scotland, W Parliament Square
Edinburgh, EH1 1RF United Kingdom
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Peter Reynolds Composers Studio with Sandbox Percussion

Your second opportunity to hear six entirely new works by the next generation of Composers. This time, our emerging composers present their works for percussion …

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£5
Cardiff University Concert Hall, 31 Corbett Road
Cardiff, Wales CF10 3EB United Kingdom
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Latest works

“Best of the bunch” — Abingdon Music Festival

Mind the Gap

2023 For Symphony Orchestra Mind the Gap is a semi-autobiographical work that captures my current identity and state of mind as an immigrant. ‘Please mind the gap’ is a sonic element shared between the soundscapes of my hometown, Hong Kong, and famously of my adopted homeland, the UK. The ‘gap’ in the... Read More "Mind the Gap"

Elegy for an unopened peanut

2023 For tenor horn, piano, and optional off-stage tenor horn Oolong (Mar 2021–Mar 2023) was a gluttonous, quick-footed, well-travelled Syrian hamster with oolong-milk-tea-coloured fur and an oversized-peanut-shaped physique. He was my only friend and roommate during the pandemic, and has been to three cities around England and Scotland. He passed away due... Read More "Elegy for an unopened peanut"

Summer

2020 A Symphonic Metamorphosis Summer is the exhibition of a metamorphotic process between themes drawn from the Swedish folk song Små grodorna, sung at midsummer celebrations, and from the composer's other Swedish Rhapsodies, depicting the different seasons of his exchange year. The piece comes in five main sections, between which the melodies... Read More "Summer"

Bou6 / 暴

2019 A chamber opera on manufactured truth and reflected lies ‘There is no riot, only tyranny,’ said a black banner, erected in the heart of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong on 1 July 2019. Freedom fighters, predominantly in their early twenties and teenage years, had broken into the building to send... Read More "Bou6 / 暴"

Dusk in Chiufen

2019 For Symphony Orchestra Dusk in Chiufen was conceived during the composer’s one-day trip to the northeastern Taiwanese town of Chiufen (九份), where he was captivated by the literally picturesque sunset. Rather than depicting the sun, the piece paints three elements of the surroundings, framing the heart of the scenery in negative... Read More "Dusk in Chiufen"

Gallery