Charles KwongComposer
2019 Ode to Freedom Concert
Born and raised in Hong Kong, composer Charles Kwong's creative output ranges from orchestral and choral music to works written for all types of chambers ensembles and solo performers. Distinguished musicians that performed Kwong’s music include Ensemble intercontemporain, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Divertimento Ensemble, Ensemble Offspring, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Eastman BroadBand, Kreutzer String Quartet, Mario Caroli and Tosiya Suzuki, among others. In recent years, his music has been internationally featured in festivals such as Takefu International Music Festival (Japan 2018), Ticino Musica (Switzerland 2018), Rondò a Bobbio (Italy 2018), IRCAM ManiFeste (France 2017), Festival International de Piano La Roque d'Anthéron (France 2017), Gezeitenkonzerte in Ostfriesland (Germany 2017), Marvão International Music Festival (Portugal 2017), Ciclo de Música Contemporánea de Oviedo (Spain 2017), Hong Kong Arts Festival (2017), soundSCAPE Festival (Italy 2016), New Vision Arts Festival (Hong Kong 2016), among other presentations. In 2016, his work Lachrymae was selected by Matthias Pintscher and Ensemble intercontemporain as part of the programme for the ensemble's Hong Kong début.
In composing Kwong is also active in creating works beyond paradigms of concert hall music, extending his explorations in music as experiential situations. This has brought Kwong to the creations of site specific compositions, sound installations and collaborations with artists from other disciplines such as visual art, dance, literature and theatre. Kwong is the curator and composer of Our Audible City (2018-2019) - a project-in-progress in collaboration with the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, soundpocket and Frank Tang, and supported by the Arts: Transforming Hong Kong Grant of The Robert H.M. Ho Family Foundation. For the project Kwong is creating a series of site-specific compositions tailored for non-concert-hall spaces in Hong Kong, titled Atlas.
Kwong studied music at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2004-2007) and King’s College London (2007-2008), with multiple scholarships from the respective institutes and the Composers and Authors Society Hong Kong. In 2013, he earned his doctorate in compositions from The University of York under the supervision of Thomas Simaku as an R C Lee Scholar with full sponsorship from the Drs Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation. He also received important benefits for his artistic development from the tutelages of Toshio Hosokawa, Francesco Filidei, Mauro Lanza and Oscar Bianchi, among other composers, via international academies and masterclasses.
Currently living in Hong Kong, Kwong has also been actively involved in promoting contemporary music in the scene. He was the Research Coordinator of Hong Kong New Music Ensemble in 2014-2015, and he now works with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for the orchestra’s research and programming in contemporary music. Kwong currently teaches at the Music Department of the University of Hong Kong as part-time lecturer. (Updated till 2019)