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 are going through.

This will be my first public appearance after a period of musical exploration, and is an unmissable opportunity to hear the outcome of this introspection.

More details to come soon.

Image: Behind the Curtain, by Price Chu: the inspiration for Mind the Gap

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 gradually shift and morph from one theme to
another, building up to a joyous rendition of the festive song.


2 Flutes, 1 doubling piccolo
2 Oboes, 1 doubling cor anglais
2 Clarinets in B♭
2 Bassoons

2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in B♭

Timpani
Suspended Cymbal
Snare Drum
Bass Drum

Strings

Composed December 2019

Oxford

Workshopped 14 February 2020

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra
John Traill, conductor

Perusal Score

Summer,
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 gradually shift and morph from one theme to another, building up to a joyous rendition of the festive song.

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 workshopped by the Carducci Quartet at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. The original quartet aimed at depicting the sights around the Shing Mun River; the new work builds on this and focuses on the upstream area of the river.

This is the start of a series of works that will further explore this idea.

Receiving my MPhil in Music from Oxford

On 10 Sept 2022, over two years after finishing my degree (thanks to the pandemic), I’ve finally actually OFFICIALLY graduated from the University of Oxford and received my MPhil in Composition!

As I gear up for the second year of my PhD in Manchester, I’m grateful for the multitude of knowledge, skills and (most importantly) experiences that Oxford gave me.

I’ll forever miss this place.

Peter Reynolds Composers Studio at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival

I’m very excited to be joining 5 other brilliant composers at the Peter Reynolds Composers Studio the coming September in Cardiff!

The Vale of Glamorgan Festival is a music festival that celebrates living composers exclusively. Over the one-week programme, there will be concerts featuring music from some of the most prominent composers of our time, presented by equally brilliant ensembles and performers.

The Peter Reynolds Composers Studio, part of the festival, offers a chance to have our own music workshopped by the very same ensembles, and more importantly, learn from our mentors, peers, musicians, and the variety of musics at the festival.

I’m sure it’ll be a once in a lifetime experience for me as well as everyone involved. So come join us!

Gwela i chi yng Nghaerdydd!

Starting a doctorate at the University of Manchester

In August 2020, I finished my MPhil at the University of Oxford.

Due to the pandemic, I am not to be formally conferred my degree until late 2022.

Nevertheless, I have officially begun my new journey!

I am now studying for a PhD in Music Composition at the University of Manchester, with Prof Camden Reeves.

Despite the logistic hardships, UoM has been a welcoming community, and it’s been fun to explore the big city.

Stay tuned for more updates and more music!

Commission for Arts Go Digital Platform scheme

I am excited to announce that I have been commissioned under the Hong Kong Arts Development Council’s Arts Go Digital Platform scheme for workshops entitled Decoding Creativity: Interactive Platform for Contemporary Music Appreciation.

I will be writing a piece for a jiwu-guzang duet that draws heavily on observations and phenomena in our age of online meetings and performances. It is a piece that can only be performed through an online platform. Writing for unfamiliar instruments in such an aleatory setting will be a welcome challenge.

The piece will be workshopped and performed in the first half of 2021.

Stay tuned!

I’m graduating from Oxford!

This year has been very different and full of unexpected turns, to say the least. Amidst all the academic work, I wrote and staged an opera. I hurried to Hong Kong, while the pandemic was still beginning, for my grandmother’s funeral.

Thanks to you-know-what, my last term at Oxford was completely cancelled—the term for which, like many Oxford students, I had a bucket list planned. Now it’s all up in ashes.

This is all without mentioning the, quite honestly, history-defining changes that have been taking place in my home town, and the ripple effect that has ushered in a new cold war.

Within all of this, I submitted my dissertation and will soon be a Master of Philosophy in composition. So, no big deal.

There are many factors playing into this, but my most likely next destination from here will be developing my artistry within the UK, working with different ensembles and music lovers here.

I already miss Oxford already, so I am sure it will always have a special place in my heart.

Birmingham, August 2020

Bou6: a chamber opera on riot and tyranny now online

My chamber opera, Bou6, was successfully staged on 26 and 27 November 2019 in two sold-out concerts of the Oxford Contemporary Opera Festival. The recording of the second night is now online, complete with English and French subtitles. All of my team worked very hard on this, and it’s very exciting that new audience around the globe will be able to watch the show and contemplate power dynamics in society through my personal perspective. Please do give it a watch and tell me what you think!