SoundBridge is a biannual contemporary music festival, celebrating its 4th edition this year. Organised by the Society of Malaysian Contemporary Composers (SMCC), the festival features some of the most prominent works from acclaimed Malaysian and international composers performed by a diverse range of musicians and visual artists. There will be concerts, panel discussions and workshops. The festival aims to bring forth a platform where young composers of South East Asia are able to explore interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration.
Amongst this year’s artists are the German string quartet Kairos and the Chinese pianist Ya-ou Xie, who is based in Berlin.
KAIROS QUaRTET
The Berlin-based Kairos Quartet was founded in 1996 and focusses on music of the turn of our century. Landmark compositions since 1950 and world premieres are at the heart of the quartet's activities. Its numerous performances led the quartet to several renowned festivals including Berliner Festwochen, Festival de Cervantino in Mexico, Eclat Stuttgart, Festival d’Automne, Huddersfield, Nordic Music Days, Salzburger Festspiele, Warsaw Autumn and Wien Modern.
Ya-ou xie
Xie Ya Ou is a conductor and a pianist guest professor at several universities. She is a co-founder and the director of the Ensemble Berlin PianoPercussion and the Berlin Kairos Quartet. In February 2017, Xie was nominated as Kayserburg-Artist by the world biggest piano producer Pearl River Piano Group. She is a guest performer at numerous festivals, amongst others Gaudeamus Music Week in Amsterdam, MaerzMusik Berlin, and the Beijing New Music Festival.
Below are some of the program points involving the artists:
String Quartet Master Class
Thu 21 Nov 11:00am-13:00pm
Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Lecture Theatre 20
The Master Class is open to the public and participants.
Concert “Bach meets Crumb”
Fri 22 Nov 13:00pm-14:00pm
Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Lecture Theatre 20
Ya-ou Xie presents 15 Inventions from Johann Sebastian Bach and examples of “Makrokosmos” by the American composer George Crumb.
Concert “Connecting Cities III”
Fri 22 Nov 20:00pm
Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Lecture Theatre 12
Connecting Cities features works by music composers from different cities all over the the world. Kairos Quartet will also perform.
Closing Concert Chong Kee Yong and friends
Sat 23 Nov 20:00pm
Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Lecture Theatre 12
The festival ends with a performance by the local contemporary music pioneer, Chong Kee Yong and his long-time friends.
The SoundBridge Festival 2019 is supported by the Goethe-Institut Malaysia.
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