Israel Lai | composer

Israel Lai | composer

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“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....
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and optional off-stage tenor horn. Premiere recording at Jackie Choi's graduation recital, 26 May 2023, at the RNCM. 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 to complications from an eye injury. He never bothered to chew through a peanut shell, despite having loved peanuts more than anything throughout his life. His last peanut will forever lie unopened, waiting to be savoured, like his remaining months that could have been lived. Commissioned for Jackie Choi's graduation recital.
Israel Lai (2023) – Elegy for an unopened peanut, for tenor horn and piano
Trying out @dorico's score condensing on my piece ‘Mind the Gap’
Progress update on my orchestral piece Mind The Gap
Israel Lai – cranes among chickens (2022) for string trio
The verb wun6 waa2 refers to a cinema ending the run of a film and starting another. This changes the decor, the exhibits, the merchandise, and the general atmosphere inhabiting the physical space of the cinema. Despite that, the films' runs usually ease into one another, and at the end of the day, it's a similar experience of si ing in a dark room with a projector. This piece extracts a few scenes from my memory of being in Hong Kong, as if excerpts from several dusty film rolls. In rapid-fire succession, it switches back and forth between highly contrasting scenery, from busy street crossings to riversides, from metro trains to hiking trails. Yet as the ending shows, these scenes are all part of a whole, part of the same space, and blend into one continuous experience of a culture and its hustle and bustle. wun6 waa2 is written for Sandbox Percussion, as part of the Peter Reynolds Composers Studio 2022, at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival.
Israel Lai – wun⁶ waa² (2022) for percussion quartet (Score video)
#music #musician #composer #musicfestival #cardiff #caerdydd #wales #cymru
@valeofglamorganfestival here I come! Can't wait to meet everyone finally!
Recorded live on 15 June 2022, during a workshop with Ben Powell and Harvey Davies at the University of Manchester. 00:00 I: Two Pigtails 02:54 II: Do you have the time? 05:40 III: Disappearing statue Ghasts of the Lake portrays three spirits in different parts of Chung Chi College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Two Pigtails depicts a ghost girl on Pond Crescent. She arrived in Hong Kong as a refugee, having snuck onto a train and escaped the Cultural Revolution in China. As she jumped off the train by the university, her pigtail was caught and her face was ripped off. Now she haunts the dimly lit path as a ghost with a pigtail at the back, a pigtail in front, and no face. Do you have the time? depicts a water ghost in Lake Ad Excellentiam, at the heart of the college. She once agreed with her lover to meet on the bridge at midnight and elope, but the clock struck twelve, and he did not appear. She leapt to her death, and now, she appears at night to ask young men on the bridge for the time—and drags them into the water if they respond twelve. Disappearing Statue depicts the Goddess of Democracy statue in the college. She was first sculpted to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen massacre and subsequently relocated here in 2010, becoming a core landmark of the university as well as a symbol of liberty. At Christmas 2021, she was taken down under pressure from the Hong Kong authorities. While her form is no more, her spirit remains with the people of the university. Written in Jan-May 2022 in Manchester.
Israel Lai – Ghasts of the Lake (2022) for two pianos
Recorded live on 5 April 2022, during a workshop with Psappha for the University of Manchester. Conrad Marshall, alto flute Tim Williams, vibraphone 00:00 I: River 02:27 II: Surge 04:08 III: Down, down, down The title Clay Bodhisattva is taken from the Buddhist proverb, ‘a clay Bodhisattva (Buddhist deity known for compassion) crosses the river — unable to even protect itself’. This piece is dedicated to those who, knowing the risks to themselves, still attempt to help those in need. Written in Dec 2021 in Birmingham. 《泥菩薩》為中音長笛、顫音琴而作，喺2021年十二月寫成，獻畀明知不可為而為之嘅有心人。
Israel Lai – Clay Bodhisattva (2021) for alto flute and vibraphone
捨醫科讀音樂　尖子的大學真諦 (backup)
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What's on

Latest happenings and exciting music stuff.
Joining the Opus 1 scheme with Britten Sinfonia

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

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

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

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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16 September 2023

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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27 July 2023

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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26 May 2023

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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23 April 2023

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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30 September 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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"

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