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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Check out my stuff

23 August 2024 — today marks the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way, and the 5th anniversary of its successor. Watch 鍊 lin6-2 on @theflock.manchester now. #classicalmusic #music #piano #pianomusic #pianosolo #composer #musician #newmusic #contemporarymusic #composition #hongkong
Baltic Way at 35 Years 🔗 Hong Kong Way at 5 Years @theflock.manchester
How do you form your first impressions? First Impressions for piano quintet, now on YouTube
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Roast my music – In this silent world, these are all the sounds we needed
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Roast my music – Perfect Cadence
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Roast my music – Vocalise from the Abyss
A Conversation - Stewart Knights I got this impression from you Which I recon no-one else caught. Subterfuge - can’t pull the wool Over my eyes so easily mate, Not again anyway. You probably use a different name Around your closest friends, One which we’re all not privy to. But little do you know, I do too. Some call me time, others, revenge. Some call me the sweetness Of justice, others, a friend. But to you my friend, I am nothing more than That which you fear, Resent, complain about, abhor Improvsation by PlayMud Piano Quintet Israel Lai, piano Michael Fung, violin Kishi Li, violin James Cheung, viola Jackie Choi, cello
esK – A Conversation | Poem + Piano Quintet Improvisation
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What the flock is the flock?
Recorded on 22 March 2024, with the PlayMud String Quartet, in the International Anthony Burgess Foundation. 00:00 I. Allegro moderato 03:28 Untitled - Stewart Knights 10:35 II. Allegro vivo 15:09 III. Andante moderato 21:22 Ceremony - Stewart Knights 25:44 IV. Allegro molto Israel Lai, piano Michael Fung, violin Kishi Li, violin James Cheung, viola Jackie Choi, cello Poems by esK: Untitled - Stewart Knights Waves flow, flow, flow But never into your harbour. Your ships remain docked, beached and unable to fish. Run aground 40 miles inland, Lightning cracks the slates atop your home. But on this grey, grey, grey island, Faces alike smile over rims of teacups Smiling at the smiles alone. Anchored as you were, you weren’t immovable And the man in the suit reminded you of that. No thought for what suited, you were booted To the four corners of the island. Your feet hurried across hot sand on your way to somewhere cooler, you forget to pack your bags. It’s okay, though, you never unpacked them in the first place - choosing instead to wait For the waves to flow, flow, flow Into your living room Your hair wet and thoughts liquid, being carried away To that cooler place. Ceremony - Stewart Knights I’m in a house and to be honest, I’m fine, all things considering the fact, at least I think, of the matter arising about the sink and the ship Which happened when we weren’t listening. I’m sure you can relate. I’m sure you can relate. gaze is a powerful thing. Your soul on display, Open-wide, looking, planning, Ears pricked to a different breeze, A whole new song sing. #classicalmusic #music #concert #stringquartet #orchestra #musician
Gabriel Fauré – Piano Quintet No.2 in C minor, Op.115 | with poetry by esK
Premiered on 22 March 2024, with the PlayMud String Quartet, in the International Anthony Burgess Foundation. Commissioned by PlayMud. Israel Lai, piano Michael Fung, violin Kishi Li, violin James Cheung, viola Jackie Choi, cello First Impressions was written as a musical response to early 20th-century French works, featured in PlayMud's concert of the same name. It juxtaposes the ideas behind Impressionism with our personal experience of forming first impressions. Day in and day out, we are constantly forming and reforming our impressions of each and every person we meet, starting with their appearance, and developing with our understanding of their personality. This piece is a musical representation of that process: it first gives incomplete glimpses into the underlying harmonies, allowing the listener to form their own musical interpretation. Gradually, more and more of the hidden harmonies are revealed, challenging the listener to question their own impressions. In the meantime, the harmonies grow tighter and more interconnected, as they flow into each other increasingly smoothly. Ultimately, the piece asks the questions: did the opening give the correct first impressions? Does it matter if our first impressions are wrong? #classicalmusic #newmusic #contemporarymusic #composer #composition #musiccomposer #stringquartet #orchestra #musician
Israel Lai – First Impressions, for piano quintet (2024)
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What's on

Latest happenings and exciting music stuff.
Western Hemisphere Debut!

Western Hemisphere Debut!

Having won the Musicus Society Call for Scores in 2024, I'm fortunate to be able to take my music to a whole new part of the world, to meet new audiences. In just a month and a half, I'll be in Canada as Composer in Residence at Biglake Arts to join up... Read More "Western Hemisphere Debut!"
the flock — Manchester’s brand-new composing-performing new music collective

the flock — Manchester’s brand-new composing-performing new music collective

Over the past year, I have convened the flock, a new musical collective in Manchester that puts the focus on the creative process. We create our works by regularly workshopping our ideas with each other, and playing each other's unfinished and finished works, before presenting them to the public. Our debut concert... Read More "the flock — Manchester’s brand-new composing-performing new music collective"
Music Salon II with Mivos Quartet

Music Salon II with Mivos Quartet

I'm very excited that my string quartet out to tolo will be performed in an online concert ‘Music Salon II’ by the world-renowned Mivos Quartet. I previously worked with Mivos at a 2018 reading session on the piece Playwright, when they visited the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The work out to... Read More "Music Salon II with Mivos Quartet"
Workshopping with the Trio Anima in Cardiff

Workshopping with the Trio Anima in Cardiff

I'm very excited that I'll be presenting my new work Porthladd at a workshop with Trio Anima, as part of the BFE/RMA Research Students' Conference in Cardiff in January. This work is inspired by harbours, a geographical feature that connects Cardiff and my hometown Hong Kong. Harbours embody contrasting things: they're always... Read More "Workshopping with the Trio Anima in Cardiff"

Performances / Appearances

There are no upcoming events at this time

20 February 2025

Four Walls, with the Dior Quartet

Four Walls, commissioned by Musicus Society and Biglake Arts, will be premiered by the amazing Dior Quartet in Wellington, Ontario, Canada. The piece is a …

$55
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Drake Devonshire, 24 Wharf St
Wellington, K0K 3L0 Canada
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15 January 2025

Contemporary and Experimental Ensemble, University of Manchester

My piece, Clash (2017, new version 2024) will be premiered by students of the University of Manchester, as part of their contemporary ensemble course.

Free
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Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, Bridgeford Street
Manchester, M13 9PL United Kingdom
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11 August 2024

Music From Home – Sounds of the Homelands

Lakewold Gardens is pleased to present Sounds of the Homelands, its 2024 Music from Home season. Each concert program features the music of a particular …

US$39.19
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Lakewold Gardens, 12317 Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest
Lakewood, Washington 98499 United States
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11 July 2024

Flock Descending: The Flock’s Debut Concert

Our Manchester-based Hongkonger composer collective is finally in motion! Come see our first concert and check out the cool things we can do when we …

£9
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International Anthony Burgess Foundation, 3 Cambridge St
Manchester, M1 5BY United Kingdom
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04 May 2024

Music Salon II with Mivos Quartet

My work, out to tolo (movements 'source' and 'retrospect'), will be performed at a virtual concert by the renowned Mivos Quartet.

Free
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Online,

Latest works

“Best of the bunch” — Abingdon Music Festival
Vocalise from the Abyss

Vocalise from the Abyss

2024 For Voice, Viola, and Cello The inverse-square law in gravity means that as two objects get closer to each other, the attraction between them get exponentially stronger. As in a black hole, once you get past a point of no return, you fall head-first, straight into your own demise. Vocalise from... Read More "Vocalise from the Abyss"
鍊 / lin6-2

鍊 / lin6-2

2024 For Piano Solo Thirty years ago, three nations stood in a chain to show the world that they were united in their desire for peace and freedom. Thirty years later, a fourth connected to that legacy — a desperate cry for the dark history not to repeat itself. One chain connects... Read More "鍊 / lin6-2"
First Impressions

First Impressions

2024 For Piano Quintet First Impressions was written as a musical response to early 20th-century French works, featured in PlayMud's concert of the same name. It juxtaposes the ideas behind Impressionism with our personal experience of forming first impressions. Day in and day out, we are constantly forming and reforming our impressions... Read More "First Impressions"
Porthladd

Porthladd

2023 For flute, viola, and harp Porthladd is an ode to two harbours, one in my hometown Hong Kong, and one in Cardiff, where the piece is premiered. It responds to the theme of 'identities', a theme that strikes a chord with me, as someone who's frequently pondering dynamics between identities in... Read More "Porthladd"
out to tolo

out to tolo

2022–2024 For String Quartet out to tolo outlines the flow of Shing Mun River in Shatin, Hong Kong, towards the Tolo Harbour. It portrays the diversity of landscapes and architecture that the river passes by, and the sudden widening towards the sea. cranes among chickens follows the flow of the river and... Read More "out to tolo"
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"

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