Western orchestration met unique Chinese philosophical reflections at a captivating concert held at the HKUST Shaw Auditorium on July 5 to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS).
This musical feast, “Together We Celebrate: Bright Sheng & Beethoven Across Time,” brought together world-renowned composer Prof. Bright SHENG, IAS Helmut & Anna Pao Sohmen Professor-at-Large, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO), and the SZSO Chorus.
“Every year, Prof. Bright Sheng brings remarkable music programs to our campus,” said Prof. CHAN Che-Ting, Interim Director of IAS and Danniel C K Yu Professor of Science, adding his thanks to the SZSO.
“As we mark the 20th anniversary of IAS and the 35th anniversary of the University in 2026, this specially curated concert was a truly memorable celebration for our 20-year journey of academic excellence,” he said.
The program opened with the ecstatic, dance-like rhythms of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. The orchestra rendered an exhilarating heroic anthem filled with passion and energy, resonating with joy, human resilience, and the power of life.
Following the intermission, the musical style shifted significantly with Prof. Sheng’s opera The Dream of the Red Chamber. Soprano YAO Jinglei enveloped the hall with her delicate, lingering charm and luminous voice. Her performance vividly conveyed the tender sorrow of the “Petal-Burial Aria” and “Dai Yu’s Drowning,” while the rich sonic backdrop of the Chorus heightened the poignant atmosphere.
The concert reached its powerful crescendo with another masterpiece by Prof. Sheng, Symphony: Song of Lingnan, a choral symphony commissioned by the SZSO and grounded in the literary works of SU Shi (SU Dongpo), a famous poet of the Song Dynasty.
Led by the baritone HU Sihao, the piece featured the distinctive humanistic character of the Lingnan region—today’s Greater Bay Area—and a heartfelt tribute to this vibrant land’s historical depth and contemporary vitality.
Expressing immense pride in the musicians, Prof. Bright Sheng highlighted the concert's deep significance.
“This meaningful concert marks three ‘firsts’: the Hong Kong debut of the SZSO, the Hong Kong premiere of Symphony: Song of Lingnan; and my very first time conducting this exceptional orchestra,” he shared.
“I am also deeply honored that this performance took place as a cornerstone celebration for both HKUST’s 35th anniversary and IAS’s 20th anniversary,” he added.
The concert was a fitting tribute to how HKUST IAS has thrived not only as a hub for groundbreaking scholarship across disciplines, but also as a vibrant space where scientific inquiry and artistic expression enrich each other.
It is precisely this harmonious, collaborative atmosphere that nurtures unexpected connections, the kind that often sparks the most transformative and influential ideas.
