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Sheryl Chow

Comprising 100 performers, led by conductor Yan Huichang, “Thousand Reeds, One Universe” was both the beginning and the end.
The concert on September 20 was the conclusion of the International Sheng and Reeds Festival 2026 and a successful commencement of the 2026/27 season of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO).
Continuing the vision of the festival to forge a borderless world in harmony, the concert brought together a family of reed instruments from around China and the world, including the Chinese sheng – a mouth-blown wind instrument made of vertical bamboo pipes – the lusheng of the Miao minority group, the Japanese sho, the Lao khaen (also played in northeast Thailand) and the Western pipe organ, thus demonstrating a music heritage of humanity.
A few soloists appeared in traditional attire, ranging from the Miao costume to the Japanese Heian garments, offering a rich visual feast that mirrored the sonic diversity on stage.


The concert began with the premiere of Equilibrium and Legacy, an overture commissioned by the HKCO and written by Chew Hee Chiat. The piece attempts to resurrect the profundity and solemnity of Chinese court ritual music, in which the clanging bronze bells and stone chimes play a central part.
Weaving these instruments together with a massive sheng ensemble and the Chinese orchestra, the overture’s prelude presented a grand texture, leading the audience through a dense, mysterious mist into the primordial past.
This then gave way to the very different sound of a qin solo, which was heard coming through the loudspeakers with artificial reverb. The amplification of the soft and delicate seven-string zither – usually associated with the edified and contemplative mind – was an unexpectedly overt technological intervention.
Following the grand conclusion of the overture was a piece written by Yang Zhengping and newly arranged by Ngai Kwun-wa. Titled Love Song from the Countryside, the piece is written for the lusheng and the Chinese orchestra.
The lively and energetic rhythm delivered by the orchestra and soloist Yang gave an impression of a rapturous and frenetic dance, perhaps during a harvest festival. Providing a fitting shift in mood, the subsequent work, Silken Fragments of Plum Blossom, is a sheng concerto written by Liu Ruixin.
The piece eloquently and poetically evoked the beauty, poignancy and evanescence of scattering plum petals through the diverse timbres and textures exquisitely executed by the orchestra and the sheng soloist Liu Chang.
The first half of the concert concluded with another shift in mood. Showcasing different sheng techniques with a virtuosic solo passage, “Touei – Lake and Joy” is the third movement of the sheng concerto Yi Jing (2015), which was adapted from the Western orchestral piece Changes (2003), written by German composer Enjott Schneider.
The second half of the concert opened with the world premiere of “One Breath. One World”, written by Chan Ming-chi. Commissioned by the HKCO, the piece puts the Siberian jaw harp, the sho and the khaen into a euphonious dialogue while preserving the idioms of the respective instruments, impeccably embodying the Chinese saying “harmony without uniformity”.
Sounds as contrasting as the vocal mimicry of a horse neighing and the solemn tones of the Japanese court, evoked by the sho, are all put together in the same piece. The thoughtful arrangement unites these seemingly disparate sounds harmoniously.


What truly transformed the concert hall into a harmonious universe was perhaps the engagement of the audience, which turned the performance from a one-way message into reciprocal communication.
The ensuing piece, “Reeds”, written by Wang I-yu, extended the trans-Asian dialogue to Europe by incorporating the Western pipe organ.
Finally, with Ng Cheuk-yin’s “Thousand Reeds in Harmony”, which showcased a wide variety of sheng accompanied by the players’ lively dance, the concert came to a spectacular conclusion.
“Thousand Reeds, One Universe”, opening concert of the 50th Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra season, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Reviewed: September 20.


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Music

Russian musician Olene Uutai playing the Jaw Harp during “Thousand Reeds, One Universe”
Yang Zhengping playing the Lusheng during “Love Song from the Countryside”, in an arrangement by Ngai Kwun-wa for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra
Reimi Miura playing the shō, a traditional Japanese free-reed mouth organ


Sheng player Wu Wei playing the solo part of Yi Jing (excerpts) at the “Thousand Reeds, One Universe” concert in Hong Kong on September 19, 2026. Photo: HKCO

Yang Zhengping plays the lusheng during a performance of Love Song from the Countryside, in an arrangement by Ngai Kwun-wa for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. Photo: HKCO

Reimi Miura playing the sho, a traditional Japanese free-reed mouth organ. Photo: HKCO

Russian musician Olena Uutai playing the jaw harp during the “Thousand Reeds, One Universe” concert. Photo: HKCO 

Thai musician Sun Nantachai plays the khaen, a bamboo mouth organ from Laos and Thailand’s Isan region. Photo: HKCO

Metal meets Mongolian throat singing and instruments in Uuhai’s Hong Kong debut

Zorigoo Battsooj of Uuhai, who plays the horsehead fiddle (morin khuur) and performs throat singing. The Mongolian folk metal band will play in Hong Kong as part of the Asia+ Festival on September 23 and 24. Photo: Uuhai

Saruul Tsogt-Erdene is Uuhai’s lead vocalist. Photo: Uuhai

Uuhai were founded in Ulaanbaatar in 2020. Photo: Uuhai

Uuhai’s songs feature rock-metal beats while showcasing elements of Mongolian heritage. Photo: Uuhai

Uuhai’s Khurtsgerel Damiranjav is a horsehead fiddle player and throat singer. Photo: Uuhai

Pianist Eric Lu brilliantly reflects Chopin’s genius in HK Phil concert

International Chopin Competition Gold Medallist Eric Lu photographed during his debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, in a ocncert on September 9, 2026 conducted by Lio Kuokman. Lu played Chopin’s Concerto No. 1 in E minor. (Photo: Desmond Chan/ HK Phil)

International Chopin Competition Gold Medallist Eric Lu is pictured during his debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, “Chengdu Pre-Tour Concert: Eric Lu Plays Chopin”, conducted by Lio Kuokman, on September 9, 2026. Lu played Chopin’s Concerto No. 1 in E minor. Photo: Desmond Chan/HK Phil

Composer Yao Chen (centre) stands on stage with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Lio Kuokman (standing behind) after the premiere of Chen’s Waltz of the Rolling Giants at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on September 9, 2026. Photo: Desmond Chan/HK Phil

Lu plays Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 1 in E minor at the concert. Photo: Desmond Chan/HK Phil

Benjamin Grosvenor joins Hong Kong Sinfonietta for a memorable night

Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor during his performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta on September 12, 2026 at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall (Photo: HKS)

British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor plays as guest conductor Holly Hyun Choe (facing away) conducts the Hong Kong Sinfonietta during “Great Piano Concertos: Benjamin Grosvenor Plays Brahms”, at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall on September 12, 2026. Photo: HKS


Choe conducts the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Although she is left-handed, she holds the baton in her right. Photo: HKS

Choe (centre) conducts the Hong Kong Sinfonietta as Grosvenor plays piano during Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor”. Photo: HKS

Grosvenor plays the piano during his performance of Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor” with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Photo: HKS

CCOHK’s Space Fantasy is a visual spectacle great for the whole family

Miles Brown plays the theremin during the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong’s original family musical Space Fantasy at Tseun Wan Town Hall. Photo: courtesy of CCOHK

Recorder virtuoso Gabor Vosteen (right) and 10-year-old harpist and actress Adeline Wong perform during a scene in Space Fantasy. Photo: courtesy of CCOHK

Japanese dancer Kazuho Monster performs the moonwalk in his role as Earth’s Moon in Space Fantasy. Photo: courtesy of CCOHK

Jessica Peralta (left) and Adeline Wong perform during a scene from Space Fantasy. Photo: courtesy of CCOHK

Lifestyle

Arts

Wind instruments from China, Japan, Laos and beyond joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to close the International Sheng and Reeds Festival 2026


Wind instruments from China, Japan, Laos and beyond joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to close the International Sheng and Reeds Festival 2026.


Classical music

Chinese culture

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Traditional wind instruments from both East and West blow up a storm in Hong Kong concert

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Wind instruments from China, Japan, Laos and beyond joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to close the International Sheng and Reeds Festival 2026

Wind instruments from China, Japan, Laos and beyond joined the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to close the International Sheng and Reeds Festival 2026