French Music Project at CUHK brings together the university's talented students and performance faculty for collaboration and exploration of French music. Together with students from the Department of Music, faculty pianist Poon Kiu Tung and countertenor Enico Luk, guest soprano Wang Xi, and guest pianist Kawai Chan will perform chamber and vocal music from nineteenth to twenty-first century greats.

*Tickets will be available at cuhkfrenchmusic.com from 23 April onwards.

*Please visit cuhkfrenchmusic.com for more ticketing and registration information.

Project Director: Poon Kiu Tung

Performers: Poon Kiu Tung, Kawai Chan, Wang Xi, Enico Luk, and students from CUHK Music Department

Programme

Jean-Marie Leclair Trio Sonata Op. 2 No. 8 (1728), for flute, viola and harp 

Francis Poulenc Sonata (1922), for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone 

Vincent d'Indy Animé from Trio for Piano, Clarinet and Cello in B-flat major, Op. 29 (1888)

Gabriel Fauré Lydia, Op. 4, No. 2 (1871)

Ernest Chausson Le colibri, Op. 2 No.7 (1879-80)

Reynaldo Hahn A Chloris (1960)

Intermission

Camille Saint-Saëns Selections from The Carnival of the Animals (1922)

Wendy Wan-ki Lee New Commission (2024) for 2 pianos

Maurice Ravel La Valse (1920), for 2 pianos

Claude Debussy La Romance d'Ariel, L.54 (1884)

Kiu Tung Poon

Young Steinway Artist Kiu Tung Poon appeared as a recitalist and collaborative pianist on concert stages in the US, UK, France, Germany, Portugal, Vienna, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China. International music festival appearances include Tanglewood and Aspen in the US, Konzerthaus in Austria, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Great Wall in Beijing, and French May in Hong Kong. Her rendition of Chinese and American contemporary compositions as well as Ravel's piano works was described as 'lyrical and emotionally nuanced... displayed lyricism and virtuosity' (Woodstock Times). Her playing with violinist Patrick Yim on their latest Naxos release on American living composers was noted as 'lively and authoritative' (American Record Guide) and 'effective presence' (Strad). Her debut solo album on Contemporary Chinese composers will be released by Naxos Grand Piano. Her world premiere of Mark Morris/Samuel Barber's Excursions with Mark Morris Dance Group in the Tanglewood Music Festival received enthusiastic reviews by critics writing for The New York Times and Boston Phoenix.

Graduated from the Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Texas at Austin with a DMA in Piano Performance, she currently teaches at her alma mater The Chinese University of Hong Kong as a lecturer in performance and serves as the performance stream coordinator in the Department of Music.

Kawai Chan

Kawai Chan has performed extensively as a soloist and collaborative artist in Austria, Italy, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. She has performed with various orchestras including Orchestra della Foundazione Salina and Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana. Awarded first prize at the Mary Hayes North competition and the Empire State Piano competition in New York, Chan was also a finalist at the Thousand Island Piano Competition. A recipient of many grants and fellowships, Chan was awarded a full scholarship to attend Ithaca College where she also graduated magna cum laude. While at Peabody Conservatory she was awarded the Peabody Grant for her Master's studies. During her doctorate studies at Michigan States University, Chan was one of the winners of the Research Enhancement Award in addition to the other scholarship and fellowship that she received. Her principal teachers include Read Gainsford, Boris Slutsky, and George Vatchnadze. Chan continues to be active in both performing and teaching. She has given recitals and collaborated with various artists in different concert series including Music Alive Series at HKUST, Citibank Plaza Concert Series; Art, Culture, and Music at the airport; and Music of Friends at RTHK Radio 4. Chan is currently an adjunct lecturer and artist teacher at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Praised by Opera News for her 'gorgeous timbre, skilled technique and outstanding musical expression', Chinese soprano Xi Wang is an exceptional artist. She has performed across Asia, throughout America, and in Europe. Opera performances have included Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, Der Rosenkavalier, Cosi fan tutte, and Prima Donna. Oratorios have included Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem, Mozart's C Minor Mass, Mozart's Missa Brenvis in B-flat, and Haydn's Nelson Mass. Xi Wang has given recitals from Beijing to Atlanta, from Macao to Cincinnati, and from Hong Kong to Lucca in Italy.

Wang has performed with international opera companies such as New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, San Francisco Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Des Moines Opera, among others. As a soprano soloist on the concert stage, Wang has performed with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Macau Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Macau Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Beijing International Music Festival, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra.

Wang received her both Doctorate of Musical Arts degree and Artist Diploma in Opera Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is currently a full-time voice faculty member at Macao Polytechnic University since 2014. She has been a guest voice faculty at Accademia Vocale Lorenzo Malfatti in Lucca, Italy since 2015.

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